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Hello user-1166, thank you for the complement. No, it's was designed for SSB based on my understanding of how SSB works. Because of the stability of the Si5351 VFO/BFO it can receive AM if tuned precisely, but there are no provisions for transmitting on AM or other non-SSB modes. 73 - Rick - N3FJZ

@@Circuit6040 Thanks for your reply. I wish you all the best. 73

Yes indeed, it's very rewarding to build your own crystal filter. The MAX-SSB front panel software makes it easy to experiment with various I.F. frequencies (i.e. crystal filter center frequency) be being able to change the I.F. frequency on-the-fly directly from the Settings menu without the need to change it in the source code. Not only that, you can change the I.F. frequency real-time while listening to the results which allows you to fine-tune the I.F. to match the crystal filter's frequency exactly. 73 Rick N3FJZ.

Yes indeed! As a matter of fact, in Wes' whitepaper on this amplifier, the title is "...Adding AGC to a Termination Insensitive Amplifier..." (w7zoi.net/tia+agc.pdf). I want to explore adding true AGC to my MAX-SSB in the future but haven't yet had quality time to do this properly, but having the variable gain amp in the RX path as part of the base design was a good start for when I'm ready (for now I'll use it as a manual RF gain control). I use the variable gain amp in the TX path as a way to make the output power variable. I like to "tune-up" my 80 meter loop/transmatch using about 500 mW then slowly bring up the power to 20 watts once the tuning to an SWR of 1:1 is complete. 73 - Rick - N3FJZ

@@Circuit6040 I think if you are going to add AGC its worth taking your time and doing it rite..... and RF control is the way forward and creating the balance of stages... beautiful work mate I love your stages and your design makes trying them out sooo easy and real time... I will give the link to Wes's paper a good looking at, thank you!

@@paulsradiohacks You're welcome. Here's another one of Wes' papers on AGC (www.ka7exm.net/hycas/hycas_200712_qst.pdf). If I do go forward with adding AGC to my rig, this would probably be the one I would consider. 73 - Rick - N3FJZ

Thank you!

StreakyP, great idea! I have an old run of abandon C/Ku band dual 75 ohm coax going from the house to where the old 10 foot TVRO dish was one located. This would be a great experiment to try in the future. Thanks for the suggestion 73 Rick N3FJZ

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W1RMD, Thank you for the kind comment. I spend about a week building each module a few 10's of minutes here and there, but if I were to count the total time non-stop (like a 9-5 job) I would estimate between 3-6 hours per board actually soldering et cetera, but collecting the parts, and the preliminary work (finding RF circuits by other homebrewers on the internet to copy, designing the layout, drawing schematics, testing prototypes) does of course take much longer. This is definitely not a project if you wanted to build something quickly. This is a project to enjoy the learning and building process, sort of like those CZcams videos you see where someone builds a sailboat from scratch starting with a stack of lumber, or mountain climbing, just to see if one can do it. 73 Rick N3FJZ

@@Circuit6040 I've been a ham for 30+ years, and have just recently started to understand electronics. I've never attempted anything that used ic's or toroids before, other than those kits that only teach you how to solder. Good analogy with the boat. I've heard some say that restoring radios is like restoring old cars. I have noticed on these dyi projects they end up a LOT more complicated than originally planned. You're right, if you are building to learn and enjoy the circuits you'll be okay. If you are building just to get an end result, you will have a life of frustration. Just go a buy what you want and save the trouble. Thanks to channels like yours, it is possible to understand what you're building and learn in the process. Excellent sounding radio! Thanks again and 73!-W1RMD.

R2AUK, Wow yes, you are so right, CW is indeed a language. Thank you for pointing this out.

kmnl926, yes indeed, using KiCad and other design tools (and having PCB's produced, or etching my own) is definitely on my future to-do list; however, right now I have set a goal for myself to build as much of my rig by hand using Manhattan construction as possible. I guess it's like a cook challenging themselves to bake a cake from scratch vs. using a cake mix. I made some obvious exceptions of course with the display, Arduino and GPS to keep the development effort reasonable.

antaf56, No, the (hardware) 1 PPS pulse (that gates the frequency counter and generates the interrupt to the Arduino) is only generated when there is a solid fix on the satellite(s); however, te NMEA sentence serial data is output even without a fix. When the Arduino is first powered on, it sends commands to the GPS module. I got the idea from videos created by iforce2d czcams.com/video/q4ZA6KtYGRg/video.html and czcams.com/video/ylxwOg2pXrc/video.html

stevec5000, yes, the dual gate MOSFET is indeed a solid performer for RF amps; however, I wanted something that was a little more available (in a through-hole package) and a little less expensive. Also, I trust the designs of Wes w7zoi: w7zoi.net/tia+agc.pdf

stevec5000, It's the traditional Manhattan construction technique (see: dixiepixieproject.blogspot.com/2009/11/manhattan-pads-and-the-origin-of-term.html ) Pads are punched out of double sided copper PCB board with a 0.125 sheet metal punch. Since each pad is double sided, I solder each Manhattan pad to the tin plated steel sheet; HOWEVER, this can sometimes be a real chore and is very tedious to get right. If you use too little heat the pad will sometimes solder fast to the sheet where you don't want it the moment it touches the sheet, if you use too much heat (to give you some time to precisely place the pad) you risk causing the copper to de-laminate from the Manhattan pad. I only continue to use this method because I have developed a decent muscle memory and dexterity to get it right most of the time. If I had to do it over again, I would simply use single sided PCB for the Manhattan pads and supper glue them down on the substrate. As a matter of fact, I'm thinking about trying the PCB method in the future just to see if I like it better.

@@Circuit6040 Olá, já pensou em usar uma pcb dupla face onde a face de baixo é usada para gnd e a face de cima como trilha de sinal e alimentação? Tenho uma placa de um transceptor de avião que é feito dessa forma, mas a trilha de gnd fica pelo lado dos componentes, eu estou tentando imaginar qual seria a diferença, você sabe? 73

@@Circuit6040 Eu já fiz montagem com esses pads dupla face, são bem complicados de soldar na gnd, muito calor quebra, deve ser bem melhor colar.

@@canaldopicco Yes, I agree, using glue would be much better. Years ago I used the glue method and ran out of glue one day and I tried the soldering method and it worked and I been doing it like this ever since. It works good for me but I would not recommend it to someone who is already using the glue method. (Translated by Google) Sim, concordo, usar cola seria muito melhor. Anos atrás eu usei o método de cola e fiquei sem cola um dia e eu tentei o método de solda e funcionou e eu tenho feito assim desde então. Ele funciona bem para mim, mas eu não recomendaria para alguém que já está usando o método de cola.

​@@canaldopicco I'm not sure what the difference would be, I would think it would have very little affect unless the circuit was VHF, UHF or microwave, it that case using a circuit board at all would require a very critical layout and transmission line rules for the circuit traces would be much more strict. I am avoiding using PCB's for my hobby work because I used PCB's many years ago (for non-RF work) and wanted to do something that had a good track record of RF circuits, and I did not want to get off track by having to learn a new software package to master the PCB design. Maybe some time in the future I will try PCB's for RF work, but for now I sticking with Manhattan construction because I know it works well. 73 Rick N3fjz (Translated by Google) Eu não tenho certeza de qual seria a diferença, eu pensaria que teria muito pouco efeito a menos que o circuito fosse VHF, UHF ou micro-ondas, nesse caso usar uma placa de circuito em tudo exigiria um layout muito crítico e as regras de linha de transmissão para os traçados do circuito seriam muito mais rigorosas. Estou evitando usar PCB's para o meu trabalho de hobby porque eu usei PCB's muitos anos atrás (para trabalho não-RF) e queria fazer algo que tivesse um bom histórico de circuitos de RF, e eu não queria sair da pista por ter que aprender um novo pacote de software para dominar o design de PCB. Talvez algum tempo no futuro eu vou tentar PCB's para o trabalho de RF, mas por enquanto eu continuo com a construção de Manhattan porque eu sei que funciona bem. 73 Rick N3fjz

stevec5000, each flash of these red indicators indicates that the NMEA sentence from the GPS module was successfully decoded. The NMEA sentence is where the MAX-SSB front panel gets the time. There are two indicators in this video, but each do the same thing, I was just testing two ways of flashing the indicators, in the final release there is just one indicator. Having a red indicator on the LCD screen saved me from having to have yet another LED in hardware. 73 Rick N3FJZ

Antonio, That's fantastic! Please keep me updated on your progress if you want to. Keep homebrewing! 73 Rick N3FJZ.

​@@Circuit6040 Dear Rick, I just finished the PCB design of the Max Front Panel and I'm double checking it now, I will send it to manufacuturing in a couple of days. I think in 10-15 days I will be able to test it. Once I am sure it works properly, I can send you the gerber files, if you want! You made a great design and I believe this can give a further value to your effort. The board dimensions are 120x80 mm and the PCB is on only 2 layers and has everything on it with a 3.2'' display, I used smd and thru hole components. I respected wire by wire your design. The Schematic and PCB development has been made with Easyeda. I'll keep you informed on the progress. Thanks again, 73 Antonio (IW0FCI)

@@antaf56 Wow, 120mm x 80mm in 2 layers, I'm impressed, that's about the size of a typical smart phone. I can't wait to see it in action. Keep up the good work. 73 - Rick - N3FJZ.

@@Circuit6040 Hi Rick, I sent you some 3D snap-shots of the PCB design by e-mail. 73 Antonio IW0FCI

@@antaf56 Yes, I received the images. Wow, beautiful work! You have certainly put in a lot of love and effort in its design and words cannot describe the joy I feel in seeing it. Thank you for taking the time to give my schematic and software an actual PCB to live in :-) I an very excited and looking forward to seeing it in action.

Thank you @plusorminusandtime, Beginning a long time ago (1962) I remember that I always wanted to build my own radio. Along the way there were many false starts, errors, mistakes and smoke, but I think I have finally achieved my goal with the help of examples from books, podcasts, the internet and CZcams. I'm indeed "standing on the shoulders of giants"

dead bugs

Thank you R2AUK, I will definitely keep this in mind. Yes, I remember seeing Alan Wolke (W2AEW) testing the TIA amp and how too high of an input signal causes it to overload czcams.com/video/7TtKE39TWpI/video.html 73 - Rick N3FJZ

Yes. I just updated my website with additional information on its construction. www.remmepark.com/circuit6040/Link_coupled_transmatch/Link_coupled_transmatch.html

Thank you! I just updated my website with additional details on how I built my transmatch. www.remmepark.com/circuit6040/Link_coupled_transmatch/Link_coupled_transmatch.html

Thank you!

Thank you! I'm simply standing on the shoulders of giants :-)

Thank you!

Perhaps communicate with a UFO ;)

I find myself asking that same question sometimes :-) I guess the simple answer is "because it could be done". For voice SSB, a few 10's of Hz ether way is hardly detectable, and I don't plan to do any digital work with the rig that would require that kind of precession, so I guess it goes back to my days working in an instrumentation standards lab in the '80's where precision was everything and took a lot of effort and equipment to achieve what a few dollars can do today. It's just fun and so satisfying to be able to do it now at home :-) . 73 - Rick - N3FJZ

No, that was earlier, They were the ones that sent me the plans to build this thing :-)

Hi YE3CIF, just to let you and other know that the AGC feature will probably come somewhat later since I have not actually incorporated AGC in any of my earlier rigs. Because AGC will be be a new experience for me, I will want to do a lot of research and experimenting before I would feel comfortable publishing details of a working circuit. 73 Rick N3FJZ.

@@Circuit6040 OK, I'll wait for it. your video is very interesting for me

You're welcome, and thank you for the comment. I am truly blessed to live in a time where the internet has made it possible for me to see the work of others in real-time. This is how I learned to do this and I'm just trying to give back in some small way to perhaps help inspire others.

@@Circuit6040 cool

Found the issue. Was using an old schematic of the front panel with different push button mapping. Also found an wiring error on the scrolling encoder.

@@arcanestudio Sorry to be late in getting back to you on this. Sad to hear you had trouble. Yes I did make changes to the push button mapping early on in the project. My apologies for the confusion this caused. 73 - Rick - N3FJZ

Thank you Dean.

Awesome! Thank you!

Thank you!

Thanks for the tip on the ILI9488 display Andy. It will definitely be on my to-do list for the next upgrade. I'm still working on putting the final touches on the newest revision of the code, but it is essentially 99% the same code as was used on the ZX-SSB front panel here: www.remmepark.com/circuit6040/ZX-SSB-II-Front-Panel/ZX-SSB-II-Front-Panel.html using the schematic here: www.remmepark.com/circuit6040/ZX-SSB-II/zx_ssb_ii.html The ZX-SSB project is deprecated and not recommended for new builds but it should work fine (see the special instructions for loading some custom libraries and font files) The changes to the new project include reassignment of GPIO pins, the use of thermistors to measure the PA final transistor temperatures (instead of diodes) and a bunch of other very minor changes that I can't remember :-) Please forgive my unruly code (15 thousand lines), When I think of a new feature I just start typing and just can't stop, but I try to put in a lot of comments to help remind myself what I was thinking when I coded a particular feature. 73 for now Rick N3FJZ BTW - I also have a bad habit of not removing code for features I take out or change, I just comment out the old and leave it in place 🙂

Hello kalkurap, Thank you for the complement on my Front Panel design. Did you actually build a copy? If so, I'm so thrilled, thank you. Yes, the band change feature is one I have on my wish list for this project, but not sure when I'll have it ready. I am currently creating a new HF transceiver project and will be updating the front panel schematic and code shortly, your comment will definitely cause me to move the band change feature to the top of my to-do list. I also want to add some memory features and an A-B VFO feature perhaps. Keep your eye on my channel, I should be posting something about this new project within the next few weeks. This new project is not too different from the original ZX-SSB-II, just some refinements to the schematics and a project name change to emphasize the modular aspect of a collection of standardized modules, and the addition of an additional new less complicated front panel that uses the Arduino NANO. 73 - Rick - N3FJZ

@@Circuit6040, I had built a 80m dual conversion SSB receiver last year and was looking at adding more band pass filters on the front end to convert it into a multi band receiver. I had an Arduino nano driving the Si5153 with 16X2 LCD display controlling the receiver. Coding is not something I am good at, hence I started looking for a project that has support for a larger display as well as relay outputs to control band pass filters. That is how I ended up on your page and almost instantly liked this project. It took only a weekend for me to build this and put it in a case, thanks to all the handwork you have put into the software. I really like the use of direct buttons to control the most frequently used features, menu system and the overall UI design. Looking forward to the band change feature and yes, A-B VFO would be great as well.