Great, I finished soldering my (tru)SDX last week, now I have to print the case. Can't wait to try it out. This feels more like ham radio than pulling a transceiver off the shelf.
Manuel (and Guido) again, thank you two so much for all your hard work and innovation! I purchased a kit for myself and a fellow ham, co-worker and dear friend. He and I have enjoyed this project so much! I recently purchased the kit for the "high bands" and want to build another rig for the "classic" bands. These sorts of things are what has drawn me to the hobby 🙂
Sehr sehr gut, Manuel! Ich freue mich wirklich, bei dieser grandiosen Entwicklung dabei zu sein. Hatte neulich erst ein SSB Contest QSO mit Russland, mit dem internen Micro, dem trusdx und einem Stück Draht in einem Berliner Park-Baum…
Hi Manuel, it must be clear that your project, although excellent, can never be compared to commercial products. I can testify and have videos uploaded to my channel that the modulation is good. I didn't have to do anything, it worked right away. So keep going and thank you for your effort.
This worked for me as well. The tip to listen to yourself on SSB is good to find your radio's mic sweet spot for best sound. Maybe one suggestion if it's not already a feature I've yet to discover is an audio meter to show if it's maxing out. Would be icing on the cake but not a show stopper as i love the radio as it is.
Knew you would figure it out. I find a lot of hams tent to yell into their Mic's. Used to get on an 80m net, and there was an older gentleman (very nice guy just deaf as a post) that would put the mic against his mouth and scream into it. You could hear the scrape of his whiskers on air. Once we convinced him to back off a bit and talk a little softer everything was great. Found out later that he was just about deaf, and he would yell when talking. His talking voice was a normal mans screaming voice. I'd hate to be at a urologists office and be in the waiting room with him in the office. I think it would make a lot of people snicker!!! Like you said, 1 bit messed up would create a lot of issues.
Your bootloader instructions clearly say that you should erase the EEPROM as part of the flashing process. v1.02x of the open-source uSDX software fixed an issue related to CW keying waveform that manifested when the EEPROM was not cleared. I wonder if what has been seen with the SSB splatter is in some way similar, if the EEPROM is not cleared when flashing the bootloader/firmware?
Looking at it again the 1.02x problem was related to PROGMEM, not EEPROM, but in my case one uSDX exhibited the behavior and another didn't, because the code was reading from an incorrect location in memory, and what was at the location read depended on the configuration of the firmware.
Re loaded the bootloader and firmware AND did the reset 3 times....Still distorted TX SSB audio. Another thing, what are the "fuse" settings for? Are they different settings for the two different 328P and the 328PB MCU's?
When we were in Belgium, there was an OM who told us, that our modulation would sound distorted. He explained in great detail with terms, that sounded familiar to me from youtube/facebook/forum-comments.... So we listened to ourselves via web-SDR, and agreed (Guido, David and myself), that´s just how (tr)uSDX sounds. If you´re not affected with splatter in spectrum, you´re experiencing (tr)uSDX´s Sound. Remember: It´s all digitally generated. In this Video @22:14 your hear Guido´s explaination of why (tr)uSDX sounds different: ruclips.net/video/Ze4jYq4KLsc/видео.html Fuse Settings need to be set regardless of processor Version, but ONLY, when installing Bootloader via ISP Connection. Never ever do that when updating firmware via USB Connection. Latest Beta Firmware has an modulation indicator: If you see 999 while speaking, you´re overloading the audio and should move further away from mic and/or talk less loud.
@@dl2man I meant “splatter’ not distortion. The bandwidth of my TX'ed SSB signal is ~10 kHz wide. I don't know how to add an image of the waterfall display here on uTube. Perhaps a new firmware release may help and correct it once and for all?
I don't understand. Doesn't the bootloader do a load and verify? If the bootloader isn't loading the program properly, the verify will fail. Unless the bootloader is so bad it's giving a false verification? Also, you haven't explained why the bootloader fixes the issue? Is it just that the fixed bootloader is now loading the program correctly?
Imagine you have mapped out a westward car route with a number of odometer readings as waypoints with the first 0.0 miles start point located in the center of your town. For some reason the car is moved 5 miles to the east edge of town and the odometer is set at 0.0 miles. As you drive west you seem to hit all of your waypoints 5 miles too early and none of them match the original physical locations recorded with the waypoint. Same thing when you don't have the bootloader in the 328's memory space. Any critical program instruction that references a particular point in the 328's memory map is now off by the amount of memory space that the bootloader previously occupied.
@@4youian A bootloader only has one function: "Its main function is to wait for the Arduino software on your computer to send it a new program for the Arduino, which it then writes to the memory on the Arduino." So other than that it simply eats up memory space
Dear Manuel, I have 'testet' my (TR)_U_SDX on several SDR-Radios across EU, ... ! (Hack-Green [G] and Twente [PA] are the best, for my 'test'! I'm located 5km/3miles, east of LX! JN39FQ) When I monitored my signal in SSB, on different bands, (80/40/20m) i can see a small steady signal, when no 'Modulation' is made, and 'normaly' no power should be created! It is a sub-300Hz tone, that I discovered! When speaking into the microfon, the 'tone' is gone! But pushing the PTT-button, and not 'modulating', I can hear and see that 'tone' exactly under the 300Hz-mark! (When switching to a slightly other frequency, on the WEB-SDR-radio, I can hear that 'tone', also!) I 'switched' from LSB to USB and vis-versa, problem still persists! My radio seems to be O. K. without any 'splatter' and distortion! Fiddled a bit with the parameters, and it gets better! Only the 'Sub-300Hz-Ton' still exists! :-( Did you 'see' or 'hear' such a 'problem' with any of your radios ? Happy christmas, happy hollyday, or what ever you prefere, ... to you and all the YL's/HAM's here on the channel! 73/72 de Markus ; db9pz
This is not normal. I suggest a firmware Update and a reset. If that doesn´t fix things, investigate for anything neaby, that creates that tone. Try to isolate the rig from the rest of your shack (run with batteries...)
That´s usually only present in the first econd after you performed a "factory reset". I´d check if your rotary encoder button "hangs up" or if you have a short on the contacts of the rotary encoder button.
Oh. Boy, thank you Manuel. As I bought my affected unit already loaded, how do I reload this firmware? I really have no idea on this one. Best, de VA2LDN
@@denislacroix654 Hi, of course, you need a PC, but you also need an Arduino UNO or USBasp as "Translator Interface" between PC and (tr)uSDX. It cannot be programmed with PC alone.
Hi. I tried to re install the bootloader and firmware because of the terrible SSB audio and splatter. Everything failed, and the radio is dark now. I tried to re-install with from the beginning with Arduino studio as well as with Xload. No success. Any Idea or should I paste the box to the waste? Best regards Alex
The problem now is: We don´t know if it´s just a software issue, or if you damaged some hardware during your attempts. All I can suggest is: Try to find someone nearby, who has successfully installed bootloader and firmware on his (tr)uSDX and let him try it.
@@dl2man Update: Sometimes you have the Covid and a flue together;) I had a hardware failure at the programming board as well as on two USB cables. Anyway, after I fixed it, I could upload the Bootloader and the new firmware. The first time it doesn't change anything. I did it again and after that the rig has a much better signal in SSB. May you have to try it a couple of times. Another thing was strange. By uploading the bootloader, the software detected a ATMEGA328PB. After the bootloader upload was successfully, the tools detected an ATMEGA328P (by uploading the firmware). Anyway, not it works
I don't have a commercial sdr with a waterfall display. What is my best way to tell if I am splattering? Is it to transmit and then watch on a web sdr? So far, when I have done this my signal makes a very faint, if any, visible trace. I did not follow exactly how the old tech guy did it...
Don´t fix what ain´t broke..... The reason I figured out, that my affected rig could be affected, was, that I was told that it sounded as if I had RF on my Audio. Then I changed the (tr)uSDX and I was told it is now better. SO if nobody tells you, you sound bad, no need to fix anything. 73 Manuel; DL2MAN
The sequence is (if you have a PB Version): Burn Bootloader and set fuses as 328PB (Version of AtMega), Once Bootloader is installed, AtMega is Adressed as 328P (Version of AtMega !) -> Install Firmware as 328P, and what I forgot to mention: RESET SETTINGS by pressing rotary encoder while powering it up, then try again. If it doesn´t work for you, please share a video of your rigs behavior. 73 Manuel; DL2MAN
Is Manuel really saying that re-flashing the firmware is EASY, or am I misunderstanding him? I watched the Ham Radio Crash Course video on programming the (tr)USDX and it was incredibly complex, involving special equipment and was a literal word-salad of technical jargon. I must be misunderstanding something? 73
You need some kind of ISP Programmer (eG Arduino Uno, or USBasp), then AVRDUdess, the same software-tool, you needed when uploading firmware via USB and the file, which is on my homepage together with the instructions. Come on, we´re hams ! It´s not rocket science..... If in doubt: Ask someone in your local club for help with programming. And yes, I said that and I would say it again ;)
I wish people would stop acting like this little rig is an Icom appliance rig. I have no interest in people on RUclips showing me that their radio doesn't work. I patiently watch their videos about their broken radios, then I say, "And?" What I want to see is videos by hams showing me how they found a problem with their radio, then fixed the problem and made their radio work. The first people apparently misunderstand the nature of the amateur radio hobby. They act like they found a fly in their soup at a fancy restaurant. But ham radio isn't a hobby for Karen's. I know Manuel allowed the design to be commercially assembled for the benefit of those who can't solder. But unfortunately, that creates the inaccurate impression that they are a commercial transceiver all set to plug in and talk around the world like a commercial appliance radio. Manuel, your patience in putting up with the expectations of people who buy one of the presoldered kits and act like they bought a $10000 Icom directly from you is impressive. By now I would have stopped commercial assembly and told people to go build their own and make it work, or don't. They can go buy an Icom and send in the warranty card. The (tr)uSDX is a brilliantly ingenious, ridiculously inexpensive hobby project, designed by ham hobbyists, WHO AREN'T SELLING THEM TO ANYONE. As hams, RF electronics is our hobby. We experiment. We build things. We modify things. We test things. We fix things. We make them work. Then we make them work better. We are licensed to experiment. We are licensed to do whatever we want to with our radio gear. And we are responsible for what we do. That's what ham radio is all about, and more new hams really need to figure that out. We're hams, not CBers. I'm amazed at the number of people who still don't understand what the hobby actually is about. Ham radio is NOT about a high-power CB radio. This situation is like a golfer who complains that he bought the clubs and the balls and he hit the ball but it didn't go into the hole. The hobby isn't about the radio. It's about the person and their learning about and their understanding of RF communications. The complainers expect all the skill to come from the box, not from the operator. What they don't understand is that you can't buy your way into becoming a ham. Passing a simple test doesn't make you a ham. It gives you a license to LEARN to be a ham. Buying a box with knobs and blinky lights doesn't make you a ham. It just gives you a toy to play with. You become a ham by learning about RF, about atmospheric and ground reflections, about inductance and capacitance, and how to make RF do what you want it to do. Ham radio isn't a hobby for Karen's. It's a hobby for learners.
YES, indeed ! Thank you Manuel to be so dedicated to explain your approach. We know this cost a lot of time and effort. But this is invaluable for all of us that are seeking to get better at experimenting and trying new things by ourselves. 73, Fred HB3XBA
Thanks god, that the (TR)_U_SDX is NOT an ICOM-radio! Now I'm feeling better. If it where an Icom, I would understand a lot of the 'dents' and 'dings' it has, ... ! - Sorry, I couldn't resist! - I had only two 'Icom' radios in more than 33 years, and was not 'a happy camper' with this two radios, ... ! I say that, in front, that the IC-7300 is 'every bodie's darling', ... ! I have seen the 'overload' on that radio, and not having the promised 100W pep. output, also the low modulation in SSB, and other 'small problems' that occured, ... ! An other radio (Japanese, but not an Icom) works better for me. But I will not say what radio it is, but it is not a 'Kenwood', ... ! - Keep smiling - Times are hard enough! - Merry X-mas, happy Hanuka, happy hollydays, what ever you like and prefare, to all of you, all around the world. 73 de Markus ; db9pz
That's not how computers work. Something was amiss on those samples. It would be useful to figure out what, so that it could be avoided in the future. Has anyone been able to confirm all calibration settings were defaulted on these "bad" samples? I don't doubt the issue is related to the software loaded on them, as clear by reflashing resolving the issue as demonstrated in this video, but if anyone is suspecting flipped bits or similar, that is just grasping at straws. The NOR flash in these Atmega chips has a 20yr@85C and 100yr@25C retention rate and if one did have a memory cell failure, it would still be present after flashing (e.g., if flashed with "verify" the verify would fail). While reflashing is a good initial work-around, the real question is how some of Sunny's units are getting programmed differently. The mystery continues...
Fixed rig shows 20db lower signal peak compared to splattering rig (watch the S meter). Turn up the gain on 705 to match peak signal from both rigs. This is not an honest comparison. Also show power meter reading of both tests. Better yet, run 2 tone test through fixed rig and show the spectrum display on the 705.
In Fact, I used the same settings in all 3 cases. Yes, the fixed rig has a different Signal strength, but so does the non affected rig. That was not beacause of different setting, but because of different interpretation of the Icom. Comparison was 100% fair. I would and could not cheat myself. And while I totally agree, that I could have done more professional tests, I am not a radio workshop and only tried to document what was going on for myself and Guido. Since it was no longer visible after installing Bootloader, troubleshooting was over.
@@dl2man At 5:05 s-meter reads s9+15 or -58 dBm. At 7:16 s-meter reads s8 or -76 dBm, difference of 18 dB. Same thing on spectrogram. First test shows peak at -20 dB on the vertical scale and last test at -40 dB. You are shifting your signal down on the spectrogram which only visually hides far end IMD products. Looking closer, the sideband rolloff slope of both examples is nearly identical. At 5:09 your fundamental peak at +1kHz is -20 dB on the spectrogram. At +2kHz IMD products are at -40 dB or only 20 dB down. At 7:16 we see the same rolloff slope of -20 dB IMD products at +2kHz. This would cause objectionable splatter interference to operators on your upper adjacent frequency. This rig should not be driving any kind of linear amplifier and should be used as is with no more than 5w output which limits the damage to other users on the band.
Ok I've tried this, and can confirm - for me, it has absolutely solved the problem! Thank you!!!
Very cool. Thanks for the feedback. I think you´re the first confirming it worked. 73 Manuel; DL2MAN
Great, I finished soldering my (tru)SDX last week, now I have to print the case. Can't wait to try it out. This feels more like ham radio than pulling a transceiver off the shelf.
It is.
Manuel (and Guido) again, thank you two so much for all your hard work and innovation! I purchased a kit for myself and a fellow ham, co-worker and dear friend. He and I have enjoyed this project so much! I recently purchased the kit for the "high bands" and want to build another rig for the "classic" bands. These sorts of things are what has drawn me to the hobby 🙂
Sehr sehr gut, Manuel! Ich freue mich wirklich, bei dieser grandiosen Entwicklung dabei zu sein. Hatte neulich erst ein SSB Contest QSO mit Russland, mit dem internen Micro, dem trusdx und einem Stück Draht in einem Berliner Park-Baum…
Hi Manuel, it must be clear that your project, although excellent, can never be compared to commercial products. I can testify and have videos uploaded to my channel that the modulation is good. I didn't have to do anything, it worked right away. So keep going and thank you for your effort.
This worked for me as well. The tip to listen to yourself on SSB is good to find your radio's mic sweet spot for best sound. Maybe one suggestion if it's not already a feature I've yet to discover is an audio meter to show if it's maxing out. Would be icing on the cake but not a show stopper as i love the radio as it is.
Glad it’s a simple fix.
Thanks for all you do for the hobby!
Thanks for this radio. As one who does qrp, this radio is the next best thing for portable ops.
Mine works great. Thank you for a fun little qrp rig.
I knew from the get go that DL2MAN and PE1NNZ would detect the issue!
Knew you would figure it out. I find a lot of hams tent to yell into their Mic's. Used to get on an 80m net, and there was an older gentleman (very nice guy just deaf as a post) that would put the mic against his mouth and scream into it. You could hear the scrape of his whiskers on air. Once we convinced him to back off a bit and talk a little softer everything was great. Found out later that he was just about deaf, and he would yell when talking. His talking voice was a normal mans screaming voice. I'd hate to be at a urologists office and be in the waiting room with him in the office. I think it would make a lot of people snicker!!!
Like you said, 1 bit messed up would create a lot of issues.
Your bootloader instructions clearly say that you should erase the EEPROM as part of the flashing process. v1.02x of the open-source uSDX software fixed an issue related to CW keying waveform that manifested when the EEPROM was not cleared. I wonder if what has been seen with the SSB splatter is in some way similar, if the EEPROM is not cleared when flashing the bootloader/firmware?
Looking at it again the 1.02x problem was related to PROGMEM, not EEPROM, but in my case one uSDX exhibited the behavior and another didn't, because the code was reading from an incorrect location in memory, and what was at the location read depended on the configuration of the firmware.
@@jburchm1 Please don´t mix uo uSDX and (tr)uSDX. The issue described in the Video has nothing to do with uSDX source code.... 73 Manuel; DL2MAN
Great information thank you
Thank you, Manuel!
Oi..Less of the Old....mine works OK.. Great fun to use!!!.73
Re loaded the bootloader and firmware AND did the reset 3 times....Still distorted TX SSB audio.
Another thing, what are the "fuse" settings for? Are they different settings for the two different 328P and the 328PB MCU's?
When we were in Belgium, there was an OM who told us, that our modulation would sound distorted. He explained in great detail with terms, that sounded familiar to me from youtube/facebook/forum-comments.... So we listened to ourselves via web-SDR, and agreed (Guido, David and myself), that´s just how (tr)uSDX sounds. If you´re not affected with splatter in spectrum, you´re experiencing (tr)uSDX´s Sound. Remember: It´s all digitally generated. In this Video @22:14 your hear Guido´s explaination of why (tr)uSDX sounds different: ruclips.net/video/Ze4jYq4KLsc/видео.html Fuse Settings need to be set regardless of processor Version, but ONLY, when installing Bootloader via ISP Connection. Never ever do that when updating firmware via USB Connection. Latest Beta Firmware has an modulation indicator: If you see 999 while speaking, you´re overloading the audio and should move further away from mic and/or talk less loud.
@@dl2man I meant “splatter’ not distortion. The bandwidth of my TX'ed SSB signal is ~10 kHz wide. I don't know how to add an image of the waterfall display here on uTube. Perhaps a new firmware release may help and correct it once and for all?
I don't understand. Doesn't the bootloader do a load and verify? If the bootloader isn't loading the program properly, the verify will fail. Unless the bootloader is so bad it's giving a false verification? Also, you haven't explained why the bootloader fixes the issue? Is it just that the fixed bootloader is now loading the program correctly?
Sorry, I´m the hardware designer, not the coder of this project. I honestly dont know why. All I know is: It worked for me.
Imagine you have mapped out a westward car route with a number of odometer readings as waypoints with the first 0.0 miles start point located in the center of your town. For some reason the car is moved 5 miles to the east edge of town and the odometer is set at 0.0 miles. As you drive west you seem to hit all of your waypoints 5 miles too early and none of them match the original physical locations recorded with the waypoint. Same thing when you don't have the bootloader in the 328's memory space. Any critical program instruction that references a particular point in the 328's memory map is now off by the amount of memory space that the bootloader previously occupied.
@@teotwaki If you think that is what's happening the program would fail completely.
@@4youian It's been months since I dug into the code but I don't think there are many lines in the code that are tied to specific line numbers
@@4youian A bootloader only has one function: "Its main function is to wait for the Arduino software on your computer to send it a new program for the Arduino, which it then writes to the memory on the Arduino." So other than that it simply eats up memory space
Dear Manuel,
I have 'testet' my (TR)_U_SDX on several SDR-Radios across EU, ... !
(Hack-Green [G] and Twente [PA] are the best, for my 'test'! I'm located 5km/3miles, east of LX!
JN39FQ)
When I monitored my signal in SSB, on different bands, (80/40/20m) i can see a small steady signal, when no 'Modulation' is made, and 'normaly' no power should be created!
It is a sub-300Hz tone, that I discovered! When speaking into the microfon, the 'tone' is gone!
But pushing the PTT-button, and not 'modulating', I can hear and see that 'tone' exactly under the 300Hz-mark!
(When switching to a slightly other frequency, on the WEB-SDR-radio, I can hear that 'tone', also!)
I 'switched' from LSB to USB and vis-versa, problem still persists!
My radio seems to be O. K. without any 'splatter' and distortion!
Fiddled a bit with the parameters, and it gets better! Only the 'Sub-300Hz-Ton' still exists!
:-(
Did you 'see' or 'hear' such a 'problem' with any of your radios ?
Happy christmas, happy hollyday, or what ever you prefere, ... to you and all the YL's/HAM's here on the channel!
73/72 de Markus ; db9pz
This is not normal. I suggest a firmware Update and a reset. If that doesn´t fix things, investigate for anything neaby, that creates that tone. Try to isolate the rig from the rest of your shack (run with batteries...)
What does the call sign and 16 below it mean when you turn on the rig? And it hangs.
That´s usually only present in the first econd after you performed a "factory reset". I´d check if your rotary encoder button "hangs up" or if you have a short on the contacts of the rotary encoder button.
Awesome job on the quick fix! Unfortunately I do not have a Arduino, or any other way to make a ISP Programmer.
Thank you!
Thanks Manuel! Quick solutions are GOOD! :) 73 - KF6IF
Oh. Boy, thank you Manuel. As I bought my affected unit already loaded, how do I reload this firmware? I really have no idea on this one. Best, de VA2LDN
dl2man.de/3a-trusdx-bootloader/ This the is the bootloader procedure.
@@dl2man thanks, I dont have a arduino... do you have a procedure for a pc?
@@denislacroix654 Hi, of course, you need a PC, but you also need an Arduino UNO or USBasp as "Translator Interface" between PC and (tr)uSDX. It cannot be programmed with PC alone.
I bought a usbasp interface- I will follow what Josh has done on his site. Do I have to do the complete steps, just like if I had built a new radio?
Hi. I tried to re install the bootloader and firmware because of the terrible SSB audio and splatter. Everything failed, and the radio is dark now. I tried to re-install with from the beginning with Arduino studio as well as with Xload. No success. Any Idea or should I paste the box to the waste?
Best regards
Alex
The problem now is: We don´t know if it´s just a software issue, or if you damaged some hardware during your attempts. All I can suggest is: Try to find someone nearby, who has successfully installed bootloader and firmware on his (tr)uSDX and let him try it.
@@dl2man Update: Sometimes you have the Covid and a flue together;) I had a hardware failure at the programming board as well as on two USB cables. Anyway, after I fixed it, I could upload the Bootloader and the new firmware. The first time it doesn't change anything. I did it again and after that the rig has a much better signal in SSB. May you have to try it a couple of times. Another thing was strange. By uploading the bootloader, the software detected a ATMEGA328PB. After the bootloader upload was successfully, the tools detected an ATMEGA328P (by uploading the firmware).
Anyway, not it works
I don't have a commercial sdr with a waterfall display. What is my best way to tell if I am splattering? Is it to transmit and then watch on a web sdr? So far, when I have done this my signal makes a very faint, if any, visible trace. I did not follow exactly how the old tech guy did it...
Don´t fix what ain´t broke..... The reason I figured out, that my affected rig could be affected, was, that I was told that it sounded as if I had RF on my Audio. Then I changed the (tr)uSDX and I was told it is now better. SO if nobody tells you, you sound bad, no need to fix anything. 73 Manuel; DL2MAN
Search for websdr... Choose a frequncy on your rig, set it in the websdr, start a test qso, look at the signal in the waterfall...
I'd re-install the bootloader and refresh the firmware again. Sorry to tell you that it seems no improvement.
The sequence is (if you have a PB Version): Burn Bootloader and set fuses as 328PB (Version of AtMega), Once Bootloader is installed, AtMega is Adressed as 328P (Version of AtMega !) -> Install Firmware as 328P, and what I forgot to mention: RESET SETTINGS by pressing rotary encoder while powering it up, then try again. If it doesn´t work for you, please share a video of your rigs behavior. 73 Manuel; DL2MAN
@@dl2man The same situation after reset. ruclips.net/video/lhsjlhz_caI/видео.html
Is Manuel really saying that re-flashing the firmware is EASY, or am I misunderstanding him? I watched the Ham Radio Crash Course video on programming the (tr)USDX and it was incredibly complex, involving special equipment and was a literal word-salad of technical jargon. I must be misunderstanding something? 73
You need some kind of ISP Programmer (eG Arduino Uno, or USBasp), then AVRDUdess, the same software-tool, you needed when uploading firmware via USB and the file, which is on my homepage together with the instructions. Come on, we´re hams ! It´s not rocket science..... If in doubt: Ask someone in your local club for help with programming. And yes, I said that and I would say it again ;)
where to buy Aliexpress?
dl2man.de/where-to-buy-trusdx/
I wish people would stop acting like this little rig is an Icom appliance rig. I have no interest in people on RUclips showing me that their radio doesn't work. I patiently watch their videos about their broken radios, then I say, "And?" What I want to see is videos by hams showing me how they found a problem with their radio, then fixed the problem and made their radio work. The first people apparently misunderstand the nature of the amateur radio hobby. They act like they found a fly in their soup at a fancy restaurant. But ham radio isn't a hobby for Karen's. I know Manuel allowed the design to be commercially assembled for the benefit of those who can't solder. But unfortunately, that creates the inaccurate impression that they are a commercial transceiver all set to plug in and talk around the world like a commercial appliance radio. Manuel, your patience in putting up with the expectations of people who buy one of the presoldered kits and act like they bought a $10000 Icom directly from you is impressive. By now I would have stopped commercial assembly and told people to go build their own and make it work, or don't. They can go buy an Icom and send in the warranty card.
The (tr)uSDX is a brilliantly ingenious, ridiculously inexpensive hobby project, designed by ham hobbyists, WHO AREN'T SELLING THEM TO ANYONE.
As hams, RF electronics is our hobby. We experiment. We build things. We modify things. We test things. We fix things. We make them work. Then we make them work better. We are licensed to experiment. We are licensed to do whatever we want to with our radio gear. And we are responsible for what we do. That's what ham radio is all about, and more new hams really need to figure that out. We're hams, not CBers. I'm amazed at the number of people who still don't understand what the hobby actually is about. Ham radio is NOT about a high-power CB radio. This situation is like a golfer who complains that he bought the clubs and the balls and he hit the ball but it didn't go into the hole. The hobby isn't about the radio. It's about the person and their learning about and their understanding of RF communications. The complainers expect all the skill to come from the box, not from the operator. What they don't understand is that you can't buy your way into becoming a ham. Passing a simple test doesn't make you a ham. It gives you a license to LEARN to be a ham. Buying a box with knobs and blinky lights doesn't make you a ham. It just gives you a toy to play with. You become a ham by learning about RF, about atmospheric and ground reflections, about inductance and capacitance, and how to make RF do what you want it to do. Ham radio isn't a hobby for Karen's. It's a hobby for learners.
AMEN brother ! Where should I sign ? 73 Manuel; DL2MAN
YES, indeed ! Thank you Manuel to be so dedicated to explain your approach. We know this cost a lot of time and effort. But this is invaluable for all of us that are seeking to get better at experimenting and trying new things by ourselves. 73, Fred HB3XBA
So we'll stated. Hear Hear, thank you so much.
Thanks god, that the (TR)_U_SDX is NOT an ICOM-radio!
Now I'm feeling better.
If it where an Icom, I would understand a lot of the 'dents' and 'dings' it has, ... !
- Sorry, I couldn't resist! -
I had only two 'Icom' radios in more than 33 years, and was not 'a happy camper' with this two radios, ... !
I say that, in front, that the IC-7300 is 'every bodie's darling', ... !
I have seen the 'overload' on that radio, and not having the promised 100W pep. output, also the low modulation in SSB, and other 'small problems' that occured, ... ! An other radio (Japanese, but not an Icom) works better for me.
But I will not say what radio it is, but it is not a 'Kenwood', ... !
- Keep smiling - Times are hard enough! -
Merry X-mas, happy Hanuka, happy hollydays, what ever you like and prefare, to all of you, all around the world.
73 de Markus ; db9pz
That's not how computers work. Something was amiss on those samples. It would be useful to figure out what, so that it could be avoided in the future. Has anyone been able to confirm all calibration settings were defaulted on these "bad" samples? I don't doubt the issue is related to the software loaded on them, as clear by reflashing resolving the issue as demonstrated in this video, but if anyone is suspecting flipped bits or similar, that is just grasping at straws. The NOR flash in these Atmega chips has a 20yr@85C and 100yr@25C retention rate and if one did have a memory cell failure, it would still be present after flashing (e.g., if flashed with "verify" the verify would fail). While reflashing is a good initial work-around, the real question is how some of Sunny's units are getting programmed differently. The mystery continues...
It´s actually pretty easy to mess up ISP Programming of AtMega.... This happened a lot to me. I agree, it shouldn´t happen. But it does.....
How do I know if my rig has bootloader?
Simple: No Bootloader, no Original Firmware. dl2man.de/3a-trusdx-bootloader/
Fixed rig shows 20db lower signal peak compared to splattering rig (watch the S meter). Turn up the gain on 705 to match peak signal from both rigs. This is not an honest comparison. Also show power meter reading of both tests. Better yet, run 2 tone test through fixed rig and show the spectrum display on the 705.
In Fact, I used the same settings in all 3 cases. Yes, the fixed rig has a different Signal strength, but so does the non affected rig. That was not beacause of different setting, but because of different interpretation of the Icom. Comparison was 100% fair. I would and could not cheat myself. And while I totally agree, that I could have done more professional tests, I am not a radio workshop and only tried to document what was going on for myself and Guido. Since it was no longer visible after installing Bootloader, troubleshooting was over.
@@dl2man At 5:05 s-meter reads s9+15 or -58 dBm. At 7:16 s-meter reads s8 or -76 dBm, difference of 18 dB. Same thing on spectrogram. First test shows peak at -20 dB on the vertical scale and last test at -40 dB. You are shifting your signal down on the spectrogram which only visually hides far end IMD products. Looking closer, the sideband rolloff slope of both examples is nearly identical. At 5:09 your fundamental peak at +1kHz is -20 dB on the spectrogram. At +2kHz IMD products are at -40 dB or only 20 dB down. At 7:16 we see the same rolloff slope of -20 dB IMD products at +2kHz. This would cause objectionable splatter interference to operators on your upper adjacent frequency. This rig should not be driving any kind of linear amplifier and should be used as is with no more than 5w output which limits the damage to other users on the band.
@@antronx7 Thanks for your input. Greatly appreciated !
Great work Manuel and nice find! Thank you so much for your continued diligent work on this great project! 👍📻⚡Tom - WA7FLY