Carol is spot on. When I was building the unit, I was mainly working on 40m with CW.
At the end of last year, I pulled it out as I was working on another project, and recognised that the it did not cover the entire HF band (not even close).
I actually spotted the issue then and I have corrected mine, and I started a complete revision of the instructions (including some poor grammar), but other things have got in the way and I have not had a second to get back to it.
The whole project is riddled with errors. The concept is sound and covered by many other projects well, but this project and its instructions are not worth the $30+ I have seen it going on some chinese sites.
However, like always, a failed or poor project is not a failure if you learn a lot from it, and I will have to say I learnt a lot about tuners and what they actually do (or don’t)
I appreciate you raising it however, as I will (at least until I complete the revision) will add a note to the main download page
I appreciate the feedback and I will have a look at the latest FLRIG with G90 in the next week or so, as I do wish to keep these articles updated.
But to provide a preliminary answer, the difference between one and two stop bits may matter very little, especially now with many of the standard UART functions now performed in software. Basically the FTDI interface is just the interface from the USB to the Serial interface, with software performing the serial function. What this means is that the tight timing that we had in earlier years, is less critical now and at 19200 baud (which is regarded as slow) it continues to be less critical. The difference between 1 stop bit and 2 stop bit, was that the 2 stop bits gave it extra processing time, and with computer speeds nowadays and 19200bd, it is less critical. However I will add one caveat, is that one major change from my UART days and implementing it on Z80 based systems (Circa 1980’s), was that I was not dealing with RF, and I have now seen the effect RF can have on serial cables.
As for the two bottom tick boxes, it is highly likely on a USB interface they are not even implemented (remember a lot of the “options” are a carry over from the UART days). However please take this with a grain of salt, as i need to look at that closer.
I appreciate you raising this, as like everyone else, we are all continuing to learn, and I will update the article as soon as I get a moment.
Seems like a common issue. Even my own cable the chip had been flow soldered with the chip skewed….and I suspect the same quality (poor soldering) happens on a lot more. I will take a guess and say that Xiegu is probably getting those cables made elsewhere (but I could be wrong). Like you have said and I think more and more people are keeping Spare FTDI cables, or at least FTDI modules to quickly build a cable up.
Sorry no light bulb moment in terms of an answer…..I have not had that sort of issue at all. The only thing that was close was RF being induced into the circuit, where half way through the TX session, it would drop off and stio transmitting. However, I would also realise tat FLRig had stopped responding correctly.
My fix was clip on ferrite cores on the USB/CIV lead – both ends and also on the audio lead going to (in my case) the CE19.
Whilst I am taking a guess, the fact that the higher wattage was causing you issues, leads to a conclusion you might have RF feeding back in.
I would also take a look at your grounding in terms of Power Supply / G90. I use a braid bringing all my equipment to a clear common ground (which includes my external ATU). external ATU is not used for FT8. However my internal ATU is used at all times for FT8
Thanks for the drive past. The work you did on the coil design and the quick run through on your youtube video was perfect enough. At the present time, I don’t have the skills on CAD design, so the work you did was perfect, ready for printing, and needless to say, it has become my primary vertical antenna at home, and I need to build another for SOTA work (just waiting for the poles to come back in stock)
As for the write up, it’s always good to have someone to take it through a fresh run and prepare the documentation.
Again kudos for your work and your willingness to share with others.
Carl,
Glad it was of use to you.
Just keep an eye on an update to the article shortly. On my last use a few weeks ago (I noticed the coverage action appears to be “off” slightly).
I am going to revisit (with a clear head) and check that nothing has been reversed.
Regards
Bob (VK1ERF)
Bruce, thank you for comments and indeed providing others with your G90 CAT Commands.
Your timing was quite good, as I was about to start working on an article for the website on the CAT Commands. I know that there is some work done by others, but wish to bring it all together.
As a start, would you mind if I place your work into a page on the website with appropriate credits of course.
Plasmastorm73,
No problems, apologies on the delay in the initial reply. Due to some recent changes to the website, my comment notification ended up in my Junk mail (now resolved).
Regards
Bob
Plasmastorm73,
The Y-Audio Cable that you built, the two ends go into your soundcard (input and output) on your computer, or in my case, I decided to get a slightly better sound interface by buying the SoundBlaster USB device.
The other end of that cable, plugs into the CE19 AF CON port. The CE19 X5105 Port connects to the Xeigu G90, the cable only plugs into one place on the G90 and the CE19.
I am assuming that this is the cables you are referring to.
Regards Bob.
Rob,
Carol is spot on. When I was building the unit, I was mainly working on 40m with CW.
At the end of last year, I pulled it out as I was working on another project, and recognised that the it did not cover the entire HF band (not even close).
I actually spotted the issue then and I have corrected mine, and I started a complete revision of the instructions (including some poor grammar), but other things have got in the way and I have not had a second to get back to it.
The whole project is riddled with errors. The concept is sound and covered by many other projects well, but this project and its instructions are not worth the $30+ I have seen it going on some chinese sites.
However, like always, a failed or poor project is not a failure if you learn a lot from it, and I will have to say I learnt a lot about tuners and what they actually do (or don’t)
I appreciate you raising it however, as I will (at least until I complete the revision) will add a note to the main download page
Regards
Bob
Simon,
I appreciate your comments, thank you.
I appreciate the feedback and I will have a look at the latest FLRIG with G90 in the next week or so, as I do wish to keep these articles updated.
But to provide a preliminary answer, the difference between one and two stop bits may matter very little, especially now with many of the standard UART functions now performed in software. Basically the FTDI interface is just the interface from the USB to the Serial interface, with software performing the serial function. What this means is that the tight timing that we had in earlier years, is less critical now and at 19200 baud (which is regarded as slow) it continues to be less critical. The difference between 1 stop bit and 2 stop bit, was that the 2 stop bits gave it extra processing time, and with computer speeds nowadays and 19200bd, it is less critical. However I will add one caveat, is that one major change from my UART days and implementing it on Z80 based systems (Circa 1980’s), was that I was not dealing with RF, and I have now seen the effect RF can have on serial cables.
As for the two bottom tick boxes, it is highly likely on a USB interface they are not even implemented (remember a lot of the “options” are a carry over from the UART days). However please take this with a grain of salt, as i need to look at that closer.
I appreciate you raising this, as like everyone else, we are all continuing to learn, and I will update the article as soon as I get a moment.
Regards
Bob
Jerry,
Great to hear…thanks for the feedback.
Seems like a common issue. Even my own cable the chip had been flow soldered with the chip skewed….and I suspect the same quality (poor soldering) happens on a lot more. I will take a guess and say that Xiegu is probably getting those cables made elsewhere (but I could be wrong). Like you have said and I think more and more people are keeping Spare FTDI cables, or at least FTDI modules to quickly build a cable up.
Bob
Allen,
Thanks for your comments. Hoping the articles make it a little easier for anyone following a similar trail.
Regards
Bob
Martin, thanks for the comments..appreciated.
Sorry no light bulb moment in terms of an answer…..I have not had that sort of issue at all. The only thing that was close was RF being induced into the circuit, where half way through the TX session, it would drop off and stio transmitting. However, I would also realise tat FLRig had stopped responding correctly.
My fix was clip on ferrite cores on the USB/CIV lead – both ends and also on the audio lead going to (in my case) the CE19.
Whilst I am taking a guess, the fact that the higher wattage was causing you issues, leads to a conclusion you might have RF feeding back in.
I would also take a look at your grounding in terms of Power Supply / G90. I use a braid bringing all my equipment to a clear common ground (which includes my external ATU). external ATU is not used for FT8. However my internal ATU is used at all times for FT8
Regards
Bob
Tommy,
Thanks for the drive past. The work you did on the coil design and the quick run through on your youtube video was perfect enough. At the present time, I don’t have the skills on CAD design, so the work you did was perfect, ready for printing, and needless to say, it has become my primary vertical antenna at home, and I need to build another for SOTA work (just waiting for the poles to come back in stock)
As for the write up, it’s always good to have someone to take it through a fresh run and prepare the documentation.
Again kudos for your work and your willingness to share with others.
Regards
Bob (VK1ERF)
Carl,
Glad it was of use to you.
Just keep an eye on an update to the article shortly. On my last use a few weeks ago (I noticed the coverage action appears to be “off” slightly).
I am going to revisit (with a clear head) and check that nothing has been reversed.
Regards
Bob (VK1ERF)
Bruce, thank you for comments and indeed providing others with your G90 CAT Commands.
Your timing was quite good, as I was about to start working on an article for the website on the CAT Commands. I know that there is some work done by others, but wish to bring it all together.
As a start, would you mind if I place your work into a page on the website with appropriate credits of course.
Regards
Bob
Plasmastorm73,
No problems, apologies on the delay in the initial reply. Due to some recent changes to the website, my comment notification ended up in my Junk mail (now resolved).
Regards
Bob
Plasmastorm73,
The Y-Audio Cable that you built, the two ends go into your soundcard (input and output) on your computer, or in my case, I decided to get a slightly better sound interface by buying the SoundBlaster USB device.
The other end of that cable, plugs into the CE19 AF CON port. The CE19 X5105 Port connects to the Xeigu G90, the cable only plugs into one place on the G90 and the CE19.
I am assuming that this is the cables you are referring to.
Regards Bob.