Excellent progress with the Pico 2! Interesting op amp tests. One thought - as it's rx only, many may choose a small antenna such as a mini loop, where the lower signal level requires a lower noise op amp. But if you can hear the change in background noise between antenna and no antenna then job done. Following progress with great interest. Thank you!
Exciting and great video! Just like a kid, as soon as I got the notification I couldn't wait to watch it. Awesome improvements. Really looking forward to following along. The fact that you're taking such an analytical approach to this while sharing it openly and ensuring that the cost and buildability is good for everyone warms my heart and seems like the spirit of amateur radio! I was already subscribed but I would subscribe again if I could.
Are you planning on making a PCB for this, possibly something that you could make available on PCBway? It's been forever since I designed a PCB, but I could dust off some cobwebs to try to make one. Becky, my ham wife, just finished building a qcx mini. While inexpensive, I'm still daydreaming about something even less expensive and less hard to build. I believe that PCBway and others like it can not only make the PCB for you but also pre-assemble surface mount parts very inexpensively. Perhaps we could make a version that is all surface mount except for the what absolutely can't be. Then people can order it super cheap and very little soldering. As a super extra bonus, still also daydreaming about one that can also do Morse code transmit also. The same concept for PCBs and surface mount components could apply there.
Very pleased and a bit surprised to see that the RISC-V cores perform as well as the ARM cores! Since they are license-free, this could lead to future Pico MCUs with equal performance but even lower cost. The overall reduction in CPU time is amazing and bodes well for the ability to add new features in future. Thanks for your great work Jon!
Thanks! Yes, I was surprised too. Suspect the the ARM cores would be much faster for floating point code though. Looking forward to adding some more features!
Woah… steady on there! The RP2350 has been out for about a month and we’re already here. This is a $1.00 chip also which makes it super exciting. Great work!
Thanks for the great work. I did a remix of your cabinet STL files in OPENSCAD so I could fit the components I had on hand a little easier. The pico , display, encoder and buttons are mounted in the faceplate and wired together and working as expected. I built the tayloe circuitry on a separate board so I can try different muxes and op amp combinations. The next step is to wire the tayloe detector up to the pico and add so input filtering. Looking forward to another video.
Interesting project for sure. I've been meaning to try a Pico. I wonder though if this would also work with an ESP32-S3 for example? They're pretty affordable and apparently have about double the processing of a Pico plus wifi and BT. Interesting series for sure keep up the good work!
Price. I wanted to do some DSP work on the RP2040 due it it’s ridiculous price but not having an FPU made it hard work. The RP2350 changes all of that. And it’s still cheap compared to the ESP32.
Fantastic stuff! I can’t remember if you addressed this before, but do get any noise from the OLED display? I seem to remember some people having an issue with them on homebrew rigs.
Yes, OLED noise is definitely a thing. There are workarounds to avoid using the charge pump, but I just used a separate filtered supply for the Tayloe detector. Its not perfect, but not too troublesome either.
I saw the image of the PCB design in your docs. I can't wait until you have a PCB to simply plug in a PICO 2 and get an SDR -- bonus if it did CW TX also! If I can help somehow let me know, including help fund the first batches.
love to have 8k0 fm\11k fm\16khz fm selectable bandwidths,FM noise squelch detector ,Am carrier Squelch S meter,extend rx range upto 55mhz 100hz\1.0\2.5\5.0\6.25\11.25\12.5\20.0\25khz kc step selection ,AGC Fast\Slow selection. Big list but makes a exellent vhf lowband RX monitor. One idea did have is a FM deviation monitor for testing cb and 10m fm gear deviation! Love your vids Rob.P 73's
Thanks that's great! I think we have most of the features you listed already, but we are still adding new features all the time. Extending the frequency range might be possible with an overclock, or by using another mixer/down converter. A few people have reported success recieving VHF and UHF this way.
I just noticed the Pico 2 w has hdmi so, could it be used to display on a large screen? It also has bluetooth so maybe a smarphone could be used as display, n'est pas? Of course nothing beats the .96 Oled for portability.
I have experimented with using gpios to make a crude mixer by periodically grounding and ungrounding an RF signal through a resistor. (This was using an FPGA rather than a microcontroller, but I think the principal is the same). It did work and I was able to receive strong stations, but the performance wasn't amazing, and of course you would still need some kind of external amplifier to achieve a reasonable sensitivity. I'm using the PIO to generate the quadrature local oscillator, which does eliminate the need for an external clock generator ic. This seems like a good compromise. It allows a much more useful receiver to be constructed, but is still relatively simple to build.
@@101Things-ds8tc All understood, thank you. I found the H-Mode mixer to be be best I have used in SDRs. However, it does need RF transformers so the Tayloe detector has its advantages.
5:56 I just went looking for the alternative op amps, and they seem as difficult to source. I’ve already ordered a package of MCP6022’s. I’m just being impatient. I was hoping to find one that wouldn’t take a week or two to get 😂 I’ll be fine. I’m fine. FINE
I’m not saying any are difficult to source. They just aren’t overnight or second-day available. I’m ruined by modern availability expectations. We used to wait for parts from across the continent and it took 3-5 days just to get boxed and shipped, then a few more days. It often took 3 weeks, and we LIKED it.
Amazing project! Thank you for doing it and making it open source! I feel something important for the HAM world will come out of this :) One thing I am wondering about is the frequency accuracy. If I understand correctly, the actual tuning step is a few khz (dependent on frequency) and you get it by "mocking" a pll out of PIO outputs. After that, in the frequency "window" you get, you slide the demodulation bandpass by software, so you can get it to be much more granular. Is the same process possible for TX as well?
Thanks, yes that's exactly right, the hardware oscillator has a few kHz resolution, but the software tuning is very precise. In principle, the same approach would work in a transmitter. It is possible to get sub-Hz resolution from the PIO, but it does require software intervention (around 10% CPU), I used that approach in the transmitter. The course-grained local oscillator in this design uses the hardware clock dividers and doesn't need any software intervention leaving all the CPU free for the DSP.
That chip should work in the Tayloe detector. The MUX needs to work at two or four times the maximum received frequency to produce the desired I and Q signals. Check out Dan Tayloe's paper: "Ultra Low Noise, High Performance, Zero IF Quadrature Product Detector and Preamplifier". That paper focuses on a 4x max received frequency configuration, but there is at least one other configuration that for only 2x the max received frequency.
Great little project, built it up the other Saturday afternoon. Have to say I'm surprised how good the audio output is considering the simple pwm circuit used. I was wondering though if you think it would be possible to use I2S, something like the pcm5102 dac. Just curious as I have some in the component drawers that I've used before with the esp32. Looking forward to the next installment, keep up the good work.
Cool, really pleased you got it working! We have a gallery of completed projects here: github.com/dawsonjon/PicoRX/issues/99 would love to see a picture if you have the time. I'm sure you could get an i2s dac working without too many problems, I think there are some examples driving i2s using pio. I agree with you about the PWM audio though, for something so crude and simple, its surprising how well it works.
Thx for the great video. I am new to the SDR topic and was wondering what it would take to extend the frequency rang up to the 2m band? Could this be done with an external programmable oscillator?
Cool, glad you liked it! Yes, should be possible to get to 2m band with and external mixer and oscillator. I haven't tried it myself, but others have reported success.
Nice project! Do you mind if i play around with what you've done so far and see what I can do with it? There are still quite a few gpio pins available and with the pico2, you have plenty of memory overhead.
Thank you for your video. I commented on FM Radio with RDA5807 Video. I decided to try this out next time, so I gathered the parts. I am trying to configure it on a breadboard. I've only tried AM, but I was able to receive it anyway. So, I would like to ask if you could explain how to use the buttons, the meanings of the menu items, and how to use them. Thank you for your support.
@@101Things-ds8tc Thanks for the user manual. The menu items may differ from what I see here. I think it is compatible with the latest software. I am using the pre-build that was uploaded. It seems that the pre-build is not currently uploaded. In my environment, building from code doesn't work well. I don't have the skills to do that.
I updated pico-sdk to v2.0 and was able to build it. The menu items are now the same as the manual. However, even if I press the back button, the display does not change.Other than this, everything is as per the manual.
@@101Things-ds8tc voy a construir el circuito, y modificare los filtros pero con un selector manual para evitar estos IC del filtro. GRACIAS POR SU TIEMPO!!!
i think you should not go for a larger screen but add a second oled one like this just for the waterfall, a waterfall is a welcome solution mainly when you have adjustable Loop antennas, also do you have the board file to order JCPCB?
Cool, we now have selectable views on the OLED, including a waterfall view. I have been prototyping an optional extra TFT waterfall that will be in the next release.
@101Things-ds8tc I'm about to order parts to build a PicoRX, I really like the project! Can we maybe move the display to a completely seperate housing? I was thinking about sending data via serial between two Pico's to have the OLED/other Display completely decoupled. Then we can chose different displays and even "remote control" it via a PC? Similar to the YAESU FTM-400!
I had thought that it might be cool to make a "headless" version without a display that has a CAT interface and USB Audio. Then it could be used with a phone, or a PC, or some other custom interface. Good luck with your build!
Aside from tx and mesh capabilities, would be awesome if the software was more dynamic/generic and you'd have a BT connection to a cellphone that can change parameters, config settings, upload/download txt and media streams, and even flash/ over the air file updates, without a computer. If a computer is needed use the pi 0w and do the flashing from there haha Leme know what you think All the best!
Great project my build is well on the way I noticed that you have a revised front panel with a speaker grill is there any chance of making the files available
I am seriously thinking of building this, as an entry into SDR. I have one question: looking at the schematic, there are three outputs from the Pi:- bands 0, 1 and 2. Where do they go? Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I couldn’t figure this out. Thanks for your help.
Cool, best of luck with the build! The band outputs aren't used in the breadboard version, but the original PCB version used them to automatically switch between low-pass filters in the preselector. The idea with the breadboard version was to keep things simple by using external/plug in filters, or leaving them out altogether. I have kept the control signals for backwards compatibility and for more advanced constructors who want to upgrade their receiver by adding a preselector.
Hi, no I haven't done anything with the pi pico zero. Looks kind of neat though, if I needed something with a smaller form factor, it looks like a much easier option than building a custom rp2040 board, certainly something worth considering.
Yes, sure, it's got the bandwidth and has good noise performance. It's a 5v device though, so you will probably have to adapt the circuit to run the op-amp from 5v rather than 3.3v.
I cant get it working with Pico2. I'm using github and vscode via clone Github. Any other simple program as test Blink works. Pico Rx is a project for me very important and i'd like to get an help for Pico2. Thanks a lot.
Happy to help! Can you tell me a bit more about the problem - how far have you managed to get? You could try using the pre-compiled version first and see if that works?
@@101Things-ds8tc Hi dear! Tnx for the prompt answer. I'm a newbee on pico family. I get receiver working with pico 1 so I could test the functionality. Yesterday i got my brand new pi2 so I try to make it work. As a result is 1) cant open the file....(where the picorx is) or 2) missing partition table. I usually clone the project on github, dowload on github desk top and finally I open it with visual studio. I see all the pico rx files, i go further with run on usb, i see it running, but ends with nothing. code -4 or cant open the file or again no partition table. Thanks a lot for your help,
@@101Things-ds8tc I mean I dont have similar problems with other projects, so I dont think this is the problem.But never be sure! What do you suggest? Did you use VSC for charging the program? I did by passing thought Github desktop as usual. With pico1 no similar issue.
Great information We are going to build 3 receivers. I only have a hard time finding the small boards you got for the chips as a module, its not in the BOM, got any advice on these?
Thanks, this is the sort of thing I bought shorturl.at/fcEnQ, shorturl.at/L6Rsp. The major electronic distributors do them too, but its usually cheaper to source from amazon, ebay, aliexpress or similar. They are usually double sided and have fine pitched SSOP on one side and course pitched SOIC on the other. Just search for "SSOP-16 adaptor" (for the mux) or "SSOP-8 adaptor" (for the op-amp) and you should find something that will work.
@@101Things-ds8tc Hi, this is great, we installed 4 Pico2's and it works fine, I am using the 1.3'' display, next step will be to install the op amp and the mux. Point is that the frequency is 6.3Kc off and it is the same on all 4 boards and on all bands . Is there a way to calibrate this ? Further more if you can spare the time could you get the driver for a 1.54 Oled, SSD1309 in a future version? Thanks in advance and so far you have 4 radio amateurs enjoying your Xtal receiver and having having great fun!
Hi, really pleased to hear you are enjoying it! One of my collaborators has recently added support for a more sophisticated display library, so it might be possible to support a greater range of displays in time. I use a small IF frequency offset of about 6kHz to avoid noise close to DC, so its normal that the local oscillator will be about 6kHz away from the dial frequency, the difference is taken care of in software. I will be adding frequency calibration, but the oscillators on the pi-pico tend to be well within spec, so you probably won't need it in most applications. We have started a gallery here: github.com/dawsonjon/PicoRX/issues/99, would love to see your builds if you want to post them!
I haven't really considered using clock outputs to drive the Tayloe Detector, but I have toyed with the idea of using a clock outputs to drive a down-converter to allow VHF usage.
Tnx Jon was talking about findings playing with pico2 this morning with another radio amateur. Other than the cmake calls to the SDK did you have to change anything else?
Yes, I had to add some extra calls to gpio_set_function() that weren't needed on the pico. Without it, the encoder didn't work. Still, the process was quite simple all things considered.
@@101Things-ds8tcOK I see the additions to the code rx.cpp already... < gpio_set_function(PSU_PIN, GPIO_FUNC_SIO); and < gpio_set_function(2, GPIO_FUNC_SIO); < gpio_set_function(3, GPIO_FUNC_SIO); < gpio_set_function(4, GPIO_FUNC_SIO);
The noise voltage is a little bit high at 16nV, so there might be better options. It would probably work OK on the lower bands, especially if using a pre-amp.
Here’s a starting point. Basically you need to set up one of the PIO units to put out your data/sync etc. Very easy to implement. I’ve used it to drive a data rich HUD for a radio control project. ruclips.net/video/ZXMdZGQzrWg/видео.html If the link fails search for RP2040 Hunter Adam’s Pico VGA The first time I implemented a display (video out) was on the pic 12f683 over a decade ago in assembler. Things have gotten simpler and much more powerful since! It might make sense to offload this to its own dedicated RP2040 because the RP2350 has its work cut out for it, namely DSP noise reduction and bandwidth filters etc. nudge nudge, wink wink. 😉
Thanks for the update and mention. I noticed your code uses the C/C++ SDK. Is it possible to use ONLY micropython code? It would be easier for me to understand how the code works if it was using micropython alone or a mix, if this is possible. I'm a beginner with both languages but find micropython easier. Thanks.
Thanks, I went bare-metal for this design to get the performance. Micropython would be nice, but I don't think it would be fast enough unless the performance critical parts were Python libraries implemented in C.
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
"If you look at Dan Tayloe's paper"... is the only quote I needed to hear. Excellent work!
Yes, it was a huge advancent.
Would love a nutshell explanation, this going over my head , would be nice to know what the premis is and if to dig deeper 🙏
Excellent progress with the Pico 2! Interesting op amp tests. One thought - as it's rx only, many may choose a small antenna such as a mini loop, where the lower signal level requires a lower noise op amp. But if you can hear the change in background noise between antenna and no antenna then job done. Following progress with great interest. Thank you!
Yes, that's exactly the setup I am using with a You-loop. I just use an external LNA which works very well.
Exciting and great video! Just like a kid, as soon as I got the notification I couldn't wait to watch it. Awesome improvements. Really looking forward to following along. The fact that you're taking such an analytical approach to this while sharing it openly and ensuring that the cost and buildability is good for everyone warms my heart and seems like the spirit of amateur radio! I was already subscribed but I would subscribe again if I could.
Awesome! Thank you!
Are you planning on making a PCB for this, possibly something that you could make available on PCBway?
It's been forever since I designed a PCB, but I could dust off some cobwebs to try to make one.
Becky, my ham wife, just finished building a qcx mini. While inexpensive, I'm still daydreaming about something even less expensive and less hard to build. I believe that PCBway and others like it can not only make the PCB for you but also pre-assemble surface mount parts very inexpensively. Perhaps we could make a version that is all surface mount except for the what absolutely can't be. Then people can order it super cheap and very little soldering.
As a super extra bonus, still also daydreaming about one that can also do Morse code transmit also. The same concept for PCBs and surface mount components could apply there.
Very pleased and a bit surprised to see that the RISC-V cores perform as well as the ARM cores! Since they are license-free, this could lead to future Pico MCUs with equal performance but even lower cost. The overall reduction in CPU time is amazing and bodes well for the ability to add new features in future. Thanks for your great work Jon!
Thanks! Yes, I was surprised too. Suspect the the ARM cores would be much faster for floating point code though. Looking forward to adding some more features!
@@101Things-ds8tc Were you able to measure the current consumption of RISC-V vs ARM, since power efficiency has been a focus of ARM optimization?
Ah yes… ‘features’… call them what they are, FPU / DSP filters 😉
Woah… steady on there!
The RP2350 has been out for about a month and we’re already here.
This is a $1.00 chip also which makes it super exciting.
Great work!
Thanks! It actually wasn't that hard to port across, the process was quite straight-forward.
Thanks for the great work. I did a remix of your cabinet STL files in OPENSCAD so I could fit the components I had on hand a little easier. The pico , display, encoder and buttons are mounted in the faceplate and wired together and working as expected. I built the tayloe circuitry on a separate board so I can try different muxes and op amp combinations. The next step is to wire the tayloe detector up to the pico and add so input filtering. Looking forward to another video.
Cool, glad you like it! Let me know how you get on!
Keep up the good work. Waiting for the larger screen feature to build mine❤
Thanks, its in the pipeline!
Great work !
I now regret soldering the pico down to my donut board hack job.
Thanks, Don't worry, I won't be ditching the original pi-pico any time soon!
Exceptional work! I'm looking forward to your future developments.
Cheers!
Thanks for another great and informative video!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great presentation Jon! Thanks!
Much appreciated!
You have polar modulation going. Quite nice. :) Once again, very nice work.
Thanks 👍
Thanks 👍 It would be interesting to see how much improvement you get from using hardware floating point from the M-33 core.
Cheers, I think it should be a massive improvement, particularly for single precision.
Interesting project for sure. I've been meaning to try a Pico. I wonder though if this would also work with an ESP32-S3 for example? They're pretty affordable and apparently have about double the processing of a Pico plus wifi and BT.
Interesting series for sure keep up the good work!
Thanks, I expect the ESP32-S3 would make a pretty good SDR, plenty of capacity for upgrades!
@@101Things-ds8tcare there ANY advantages of the pico 2 over the latest esp32 ?
I also love esp32 used it a bunch in the past
Price.
I wanted to do some DSP work on the RP2040 due it it’s ridiculous price but not having an FPU made it hard work.
The RP2350 changes all of that.
And it’s still cheap compared to the ESP32.
Fantastic stuff!
I can’t remember if you addressed this before, but do get any noise from the OLED display? I seem to remember some people having an issue with them on homebrew rigs.
Yes, OLED noise is definitely a thing. There are workarounds to avoid using the charge pump, but I just used a separate filtered supply for the Tayloe detector. Its not perfect, but not too troublesome either.
I saw the image of the PCB design in your docs. I can't wait until you have a PCB to simply plug in a PICO 2 and get an SDR -- bonus if it did CW TX also! If I can help somehow let me know, including help fund the first batches.
Thanks, loving the enthusiasm, I will give it some thought!
love to have 8k0 fm\11k fm\16khz fm selectable bandwidths,FM noise squelch detector ,Am carrier Squelch S meter,extend rx range upto 55mhz
100hz\1.0\2.5\5.0\6.25\11.25\12.5\20.0\25khz kc step selection ,AGC Fast\Slow selection.
Big list but makes a exellent vhf lowband RX monitor.
One idea did have is a FM deviation monitor for testing cb and 10m fm gear deviation!
Love your vids
Rob.P 73's
Thanks that's great! I think we have most of the features you listed already, but we are still adding new features all the time. Extending the frequency range might be possible with an overclock, or by using another mixer/down converter. A few people have reported success recieving VHF and UHF this way.
I just noticed the Pico 2 w has hdmi so,
could it be used to display on a large screen?
It also has bluetooth so maybe a smarphone could be used as display, n'est pas?
Of course nothing beats the .96 Oled for portability.
Yes, it's an intriguing idea, I think the hardware support is there. The challenge might be meeting the CPU and RAM constraints.
An excellent project. I wonder if the Tayloe detector could be implemented in the Pico 2 PIO rather than using an external IC
I have experimented with using gpios to make a crude mixer by periodically grounding and ungrounding an RF signal through a resistor. (This was using an FPGA rather than a microcontroller, but I think the principal is the same). It did work and I was able to receive strong stations, but the performance wasn't amazing, and of course you would still need some kind of external amplifier to achieve a reasonable sensitivity.
I'm using the PIO to generate the quadrature local oscillator, which does eliminate the need for an external clock generator ic. This seems like a good compromise. It allows a much more useful receiver to be constructed, but is still relatively simple to build.
@@101Things-ds8tc All understood, thank you. I found the H-Mode mixer to be be best I have used in SDRs. However, it does need RF transformers so the Tayloe detector has its advantages.
5:56 I just went looking for the alternative op amps, and they seem as difficult to source. I’ve already ordered a package of MCP6022’s. I’m just being impatient. I was hoping to find one that wouldn’t take a week or two to get 😂 I’ll be fine. I’m fine. FINE
I’m not saying any are difficult to source. They just aren’t overnight or second-day available. I’m ruined by modern availability expectations. We used to wait for parts from across the continent and it took 3-5 days just to get boxed and shipped, then a few more days. It often took 3 weeks, and we LIKED it.
I feel your pain 😭
Amazing project! Thank you for doing it and making it open source! I feel something important for the HAM world will come out of this :)
One thing I am wondering about is the frequency accuracy. If I understand correctly, the actual tuning step is a few khz (dependent on frequency) and you get it by "mocking" a pll out of PIO outputs. After that, in the frequency "window" you get, you slide the demodulation bandpass by software, so you can get it to be much more granular.
Is the same process possible for TX as well?
Thanks, yes that's exactly right, the hardware oscillator has a few kHz resolution, but the software tuning is very precise. In principle, the same approach would work in a transmitter. It is possible to get sub-Hz resolution from the PIO, but it does require software intervention (around 10% CPU), I used that approach in the transmitter. The course-grained local oscillator in this design uses the hardware clock dividers and doesn't need any software intervention leaving all the CPU free for the DSP.
Wonderful! - Two questions: What are the criteria for the MUX chip? Could one use a simple 74HC4052 (which is available in a DIP package)?
That chip should work in the Tayloe detector. The MUX needs to work at two or four times the maximum received frequency to produce the desired I and Q signals. Check out Dan Tayloe's paper: "Ultra Low Noise, High Performance, Zero IF Quadrature Product Detector and Preamplifier". That paper focuses on a 4x max received frequency configuration, but there is at least one other configuration that for only 2x the max received frequency.
Thanks, you want to look for a mux with a low on resistance (the one I use is 5 ohms) and a fast switching time (e.g.
Really interesting project thanks for sharing 😀
Thanks! Glad you like it!
Great little project, built it up the other Saturday afternoon. Have to say I'm surprised how good the audio output is considering the simple pwm circuit used.
I was wondering though if you think it would be possible to use I2S, something like the pcm5102 dac. Just curious as I have some in the component drawers that I've used before with the esp32.
Looking forward to the next installment, keep up the good work.
Cool, really pleased you got it working! We have a gallery of completed projects here: github.com/dawsonjon/PicoRX/issues/99 would love to see a picture if you have the time.
I'm sure you could get an i2s dac working without too many problems, I think there are some examples driving i2s using pio.
I agree with you about the PWM audio though, for something so crude and simple, its surprising how well it works.
Regarding display options...have you considered the CYD - Cheap Yellow Display?
Very interesting, the CYD had completely passed me by, but I will certainly be taking a look. Thanks for the tip!
Thx for the great video. I am new to the SDR topic and was wondering what it would take to extend the frequency rang up to the 2m band? Could this be done with an external programmable oscillator?
Cool, glad you liked it! Yes, should be possible to get to 2m band with and external mixer and oscillator. I haven't tried it myself, but others have reported success.
Nice project! Do you mind if i play around with what you've done so far and see what I can do with it? There are still quite a few gpio pins available and with the pico2, you have plenty of memory overhead.
Sure, that would be great!
Pre-built .uf2 firmware image not available anymore.
Sorry, I'm using actions to build them automatically now. You should be able to find them here: github.com/dawsonjon/PicoRX/actions
Have you looked at using the HSTX outputs on the pico2?
Yes, I'm starting to, I think they open up some exciting possibilities!
Thank you for your video. I commented on FM Radio with RDA5807 Video. I decided to try this out next time, so I gathered the parts. I am trying to configure it on a breadboard. I've only tried AM, but I was able to receive it anyway. So, I would like to ask if you could explain how to use the buttons, the meanings of the menu items, and how to use them. Thank you for your support.
Thanks! Probably a bit to much to put in a comment, but I will post a user manual when I get a spare moment!
@@101Things-ds8tc OK, I understand. I can use it somehow, so it's fine when you have free time.
I have written a user manual, you can find it here: github.com/dawsonjon/PicoRX/blob/testing/user_manual/Pi%20Pico%20Rx%20User%20Manual.pdf
@@101Things-ds8tc Thanks for the user manual. The menu items may differ from what I see here. I think it is compatible with the latest software. I am using the pre-build that was uploaded. It seems that the pre-build is not currently uploaded. In my environment, building from code doesn't work well.
I don't have the skills to do that.
I updated pico-sdk to v2.0 and was able to build it. The menu items are now the same as the manual. However, even if I press the back button, the display does not change.Other than this, everything is as per the manual.
Excelente !!!!! 👏👏👏👏👏👏
Thanks 👍
@@101Things-ds8tc voy a construir el circuito, y modificare los filtros pero con un selector manual para evitar estos IC del filtro. GRACIAS POR SU TIEMPO!!!
i think you should not go for a larger screen but add a second oled one like this just for the waterfall, a waterfall is a welcome solution mainly when you have adjustable Loop antennas, also do you have the board file to order JCPCB?
Cool, we now have selectable views on the OLED, including a waterfall view. I have been prototyping an optional extra TFT waterfall that will be in the next release.
@101Things-ds8tc I'm about to order parts to build a PicoRX, I really like the project! Can we maybe move the display to a completely seperate housing? I was thinking about sending data via serial between two Pico's to have the OLED/other Display completely decoupled. Then we can chose different displays and even "remote control" it via a PC? Similar to the YAESU FTM-400!
I had thought that it might be cool to make a "headless" version without a display that has a CAT interface and USB Audio. Then it could be used with a phone, or a PC, or some other custom interface. Good luck with your build!
Aside from tx and mesh capabilities, would be awesome if the software was more dynamic/generic and you'd have a BT connection to a cellphone that can change parameters, config settings, upload/download txt and media streams, and even flash/ over the air file updates, without a computer. If a computer is needed use the pi 0w and do the flashing from there haha
Leme know what you think
All the best!
Great ideas, thanks! 👍
Great project my build is well on the way I noticed that you have a revised front panel with a speaker grill is there any chance of making the files available
Thanks, yes will update the STL files when I get a moment.
I am seriously thinking of building this, as an entry into SDR. I have one question: looking at the schematic, there are three outputs from the Pi:- bands 0, 1 and 2. Where do they go? Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I couldn’t figure this out. Thanks for your help.
Cool, best of luck with the build!
The band outputs aren't used in the breadboard version, but the original PCB version used them to automatically switch between low-pass filters in the preselector.
The idea with the breadboard version was to keep things simple by using external/plug in filters, or leaving them out altogether.
I have kept the control signals for backwards compatibility and for more advanced constructors who want to upgrade their receiver by adding a preselector.
@@101Things-ds8tc Thanks!
good day
maybe you experimented with "pi pico zero" if so, could you share your experience?
Hi, no I haven't done anything with the pi pico zero. Looks kind of neat though, if I needed something with a smaller form factor, it looks like a much easier option than building a custom rp2040 board, certainly something worth considering.
Thanks for the answer. If I have interested you, I am waiting for a video where you tested "pi Pico zero" in the near future.@@101Things-ds8tc
It is posible to replace the operacional using a NE5532DR ? because I have it
Yes, sure, it's got the bandwidth and has good noise performance. It's a 5v device though, so you will probably have to adapt the circuit to run the op-amp from 5v rather than 3.3v.
of course you can. did you run with pico2?
@@antoniobertezzolo6307 I bought a pico 2 and , i install Python , but still not run the code
I cant get it working with Pico2. I'm using github and vscode via clone Github. Any other simple program as test Blink works. Pico Rx is a project for me very important and i'd like to get an help for Pico2. Thanks a lot.
Happy to help! Can you tell me a bit more about the problem - how far have you managed to get? You could try using the pre-compiled version first and see if that works?
@@101Things-ds8tc Hi dear! Tnx for the prompt answer. I'm a newbee on pico family. I get receiver working with pico 1 so I could test the functionality. Yesterday i got my brand new pi2 so I try to make it work. As a result is 1) cant open the file....(where the picorx is) or 2) missing partition table. I usually clone the project on github, dowload on github desk top and finally I open it with visual studio. I see all the pico rx files, i go further with run on usb, i see it running, but ends with nothing. code -4 or cant open the file or again no partition table. Thanks a lot for your help,
Ok, have you tried using the pre-compiled uf2 file? Do you still have the same issue?
Yes. Nothing.
@@101Things-ds8tc I mean I dont have similar problems with other projects, so I dont think this is the problem.But never be sure! What do you suggest? Did you use VSC for charging the program? I did by passing thought Github desktop as usual. With pico1 no similar issue.
Great information
We are going to build 3 receivers. I only have a hard time finding the small boards you got for the chips as a module, its not in the BOM, got any advice on these?
Thanks, this is the sort of thing I bought shorturl.at/fcEnQ, shorturl.at/L6Rsp. The major electronic distributors do them too, but its usually cheaper to source from amazon, ebay, aliexpress or similar. They are usually double sided and have fine pitched SSOP on one side and course pitched SOIC on the other. Just search for "SSOP-16 adaptor" (for the mux) or "SSOP-8 adaptor" (for the op-amp) and you should find something that will work.
@@101Things-ds8tc Ah fine thats it thank you!
The link to your prebuild is broken, got 404
@@101Things-ds8tc Hi, this is great, we installed 4 Pico2's and it works fine, I am using the 1.3'' display, next step will be to install the op amp and the mux. Point is that the frequency is 6.3Kc off and it is the same on all 4 boards and on all bands . Is there a way to calibrate this ?
Further more if you can spare the time could you get the driver for a 1.54 Oled, SSD1309 in a future version?
Thanks in advance and so far you have 4 radio amateurs enjoying your Xtal receiver and having having great fun!
Hi, really pleased to hear you are enjoying it!
One of my collaborators has recently added support for a more sophisticated display library, so it might be possible to support a greater range of displays in time.
I use a small IF frequency offset of about 6kHz to avoid noise close to DC, so its normal that the local oscillator will be about 6kHz away from the dial frequency, the difference is taken care of in software.
I will be adding frequency calibration, but the oscillators on the pi-pico tend to be well within spec, so you probably won't need it in most applications.
We have started a gallery here: github.com/dawsonjon/PicoRX/issues/99, would love to see your builds if you want to post them!
Just curious, did you consider using one or more of the Pico’s clock outputs rather than the PIO to drive the Tayloe switch?
I haven't really considered using clock outputs to drive the Tayloe Detector, but I have toyed with the idea of using a clock outputs to drive a down-converter to allow VHF usage.
Tnx Jon was talking about findings playing with pico2 this morning with another radio amateur. Other than the cmake calls to the SDK did you have to change anything else?
Yes, I had to add some extra calls to gpio_set_function() that weren't needed on the pico. Without it, the encoder didn't work. Still, the process was quite simple all things considered.
@@101Things-ds8tchope you put that in the docs haha 😅
@@101Things-ds8tcOK I see the additions to the code rx.cpp already...
< gpio_set_function(PSU_PIN, GPIO_FUNC_SIO);
and
< gpio_set_function(2, GPIO_FUNC_SIO);
< gpio_set_function(3, GPIO_FUNC_SIO);
< gpio_set_function(4, GPIO_FUNC_SIO);
Thank you
You're welcome
Would MCP6487 be a good fit?
The noise voltage is a little bit high at 16nV, so there might be better options. It would probably work OK on the lower bands, especially if using a pre-amp.
@@101Things-ds8tc Thanks for prompt reply.
please make it a transreciver
It's something I'm planning...
Rather than a larger waterfall display. Provide an HDMI output to take advantages of comerical monitors with built in audo amps and speakers.
That's a cool idea, driving hdmi is definitely doable with pi-pico, think it could be challenging to fit it all in though...
Here’s a starting point. Basically you need to set up one of the PIO units to put out your data/sync etc. Very easy to implement. I’ve used it to drive a data rich HUD for a radio control project.
ruclips.net/video/ZXMdZGQzrWg/видео.html
If the link fails search for RP2040 Hunter Adam’s Pico VGA
The first time I implemented a display (video out) was on the pic 12f683 over a decade ago in assembler. Things have gotten simpler and much more powerful since!
It might make sense to offload this to its own dedicated RP2040 because the RP2350 has its work cut out for it, namely DSP noise reduction and bandwidth filters etc. nudge nudge, wink wink. 😉
Thanks for the update and mention. I noticed your code uses the C/C++ SDK. Is it possible to use ONLY micropython code? It would be easier for me to understand how the code works if it was using micropython alone or a mix, if this is possible. I'm a beginner with both languages but find micropython easier. Thanks.
Are you aware that there is also a BASIC interpreter that runs on a Pico? Search for "Picomite".
Thanks, I went bare-metal for this design to get the performance. Micropython would be nice, but I don't think it would be fast enough unless the performance critical parts were Python libraries implemented in C.