Wednesday, September 7, 2022

2.4GHZ uplink to 10Ghz downlink Satellite

 2.4Ghz to 10Ghz Satellite transponder

I am thinking of building a  2.4Ghz up link to 10Ghz Down link  Satellite Transponder 




10Ghz Up-link and 2.4Ghz down link or the 2.4Ggz up link and 10Ghz down

Up-link 2.4 to 10Ghz can reasonably easy be done with SDR (pluto using first harmonic on output for 10Ghz)

I wanted to do it with SDR and was looking for reasonably priced Full duplex TX/RX SDR and was looking at the Pluto Plus SDR

see details here for using Python to controller the Pluto

https://pysdr.org/content/pluto.html

Looking at the Band Plan at 2.4Ghz



 

It seems we have about it seems we can use the band from about 2320Mhz up to 2400Mhz

 10Ghz Band Plan



 and on the 10Ghz Band 10Ghz up to 10.500Ghz

So 2.4Ghz uplink and 10Ghz downlink could easily be done with pluto plus and raspberry pi 3 using Gnuradio using the first harmonic on 5Ghz

 

10Ghz Micro strip Band pass filter

installing qusc-rflayout

cd

git clone https://github.com/thomaslepoix/Qucs-RFlayout.git
cd Qucs-RFlayout/
ls
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ../
make
sudo make install

see if it works by running it

qucsrflayout

 Create the netlist using the following command (input file output file)

sudo qucs -n -i "/usr/share/qucs/examples/microstrip.sch" -o "/usr/share/qucs/examples/microstrip.net"


Ground station equipment same as QO-100

Creating pcb

Using the Qusc-RFlayout utility to create the pcb from design 

select your sch file and click read

Then select the output folder at the bottom and select write to create the kicad pcb file


Open the kicad_pcb file in kicad


Here is the curve simulated on Qucs



Band pass section



Installing qucs from this url https://github.com/thomaslepoix/Qucs-RFlayout



1) Qty 10 of the Mini Circuits SXBP-150+  filter
2) Qty 2 of the Mini Circuits ZX60-06183LN+ amp

Here is the circuit diagram of my 10 Ghz RF amp design


Simulating the rf Stub  (3.9mm 90deg)


1/4 wave stub at 10ghz





 

Ref :using micro strip calculator Qucs




Monday, April 11, 2022

Installing GPU drivers on my Ubuntu 20 Lenovo Thinkpad laptop (nvidia-driver)

 Installing GPU drivers on my Ubuntu Lenovo Thinkpad laptop (nvidia-driver)



I had to run the following commands

ubuntu-drivers devices

WARNING:root:_pkg_get_support nvidia-driver-510: package has invalid Support PBheader, cannot determine support level
WARNING:root:_pkg_get_support nvidia-driver-390: package has invalid Support Legacyheader, cannot determine support level
WARNING:root:_pkg_get_support nvidia-driver-510-server: package has invalid Support PBheader, cannot determine support level
== /sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.0/0000:01:00.0 ==
modalias : pci:v000010DEd00001BBBsv000017AAsd0000225Fbc03sc00i00
vendor   : NVIDIA Corporation
model    : GP104GLM [Quadro P3200 Mobile]
driver   : nvidia-driver-418-server - distro non-free
driver   : nvidia-driver-450-server - distro non-free
driver   : nvidia-driver-510 - distro non-free
driver   : nvidia-driver-390 - distro non-free
driver   : nvidia-driver-470 - distro non-free recommended
driver   : nvidia-driver-470-server - distro non-free
driver   : nvidia-driver-510-server - distro non-free
driver   : xserver-xorg-video-nouveau - distro free builtin

list display units

sudo lshw -numeric -C display

  *-display                 
       description: VGA compatible controller
       product: GP104GLM [Quadro P3200 Mobile] [10DE:1BBB]
       vendor: NVIDIA Corporation [10DE]
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:01:00.0
       version: a1
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi pciexpress vga_controller bus_master cap_list rom
       configuration: driver=nouveau latency=0
       resources: irq:152 memory:c0000000-c0ffffff memory:60000000-6fffffff memory:70000000-71ffffff ioport:3000(size=128) memory:c1080000-c10fffff
  *-display
       description: VGA compatible controller
       product: UHD Graphics 630 (Mobile) [8086:3E9B]
       vendor: Intel Corporation [8086]
       physical id: 2
       bus info: pci@0000:00:02.0
       version: 00
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pciexpress msi pm vga_controller bus_master cap_list rom
       configuration: driver=i915 latency=0
       resources: irq:151 memory:bf000000-bfffffff memory:80000000-8fffffff ioport:4000(size=64) memory:c0000-dffff

 

Then run

sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall

WARNING:root:_pkg_get_support nvidia-driver-510: package has invalid Support PBheader, cannot determine support level
WARNING:root:_pkg_get_support nvidia-driver-510-server: package has invalid Support PBheader, cannot determine support level
WARNING:root:_pkg_get_support nvidia-driver-390: package has invalid Support Legacyheader, cannot determine support level
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
The following additional packages will be installed:
  libnvidia-cfg1-470 libnvidia-common-470 libnvidia-compute-470 libnvidia-compute-470:i386 libnvidia-decode-470 libnvidia-decode-470:i386
  libnvidia-encode-470 libnvidia-encode-470:i386 libnvidia-extra-470 libnvidia-fbc1-470 libnvidia-fbc1-470:i386 libnvidia-gl-470
  libnvidia-gl-470:i386 libnvidia-ifr1-470 libnvidia-ifr1-470:i386 linux-modules-nvidia-470-5.4.0-107-generic
  linux-objects-nvidia-470-5.4.0-107-generic linux-signatures-nvidia-5.4.0-107-generic nvidia-compute-utils-470 nvidia-kernel-common-470
  nvidia-kernel-source-470 nvidia-prime nvidia-settings nvidia-utils-470 screen-resolution-extra xserver-xorg-video-nvidia-470
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  libnvidia-cfg1-470 libnvidia-common-470 libnvidia-compute-470 libnvidia-compute-470:i386 libnvidia-decode-470 libnvidia-decode-470:i386
  libnvidia-encode-470 libnvidia-encode-470:i386 libnvidia-extra-470 libnvidia-fbc1-470 libnvidia-fbc1-470:i386 libnvidia-gl-470
  libnvidia-gl-470:i386 libnvidia-ifr1-470 libnvidia-ifr1-470:i386 linux-modules-nvidia-470-5.4.0-107-generic
  linux-modules-nvidia-470-generic linux-objects-nvidia-470-5.4.0-107-generic linux-signatures-nvidia-5.4.0-107-generic
  nvidia-compute-utils-470 nvidia-driver-470 nvidia-kernel-common-470 nvidia-kernel-source-470 nvidia-prime nvidia-settings
  nvidia-utils-470 screen-resolution-extra xserver-xorg-video-nvidia-470
0 upgraded, 28 newly installed, 0 to remove and 20 not upgraded.
Need to get 296 MB of archives.
After this operation, 842 MB of additional disk space will be used.
Get:1 http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates/restricted amd64 libnvidia-cfg1-470 amd64 470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1 [79.7 kB]
Get:2 http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates/restricted amd64 libnvidia-common-470 all 470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1 [10.6 kB]
Get:3 http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates/restricted i386 libnvidia-compute-470 i386 470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1 [25.7 MB]
Get:4 http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates/restricted amd64 libnvidia-compute-470 amd64 470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1 [31.6 MB]
Get:5 http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates/restricted amd64 libnvidia-decode-470 amd64 470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1 [1,376 kB]
Get:6 http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates/restricted i386 libnvidia-decode-470 i386 470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1 [1,346 kB]   
Get:7 http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates/restricted i386 libnvidia-encode-470 i386 470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1 [45.0 kB]    
Get:8 http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates/restricted amd64 libnvidia-encode-470 amd64 470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1 [42.2 kB]  
Get:9 http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates/restricted amd64 libnvidia-extra-470 amd64 470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1 [43.9 kB]   
Get:10 http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates/restricted amd64 libnvidia-fbc1-470 amd64 470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1 [47.0 kB]   
Get:11 http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates/restricted i386 libnvidia-fbc1-470 i386 470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1 [50.3 kB]     
Get:12 http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates/restricted amd64 libnvidia-gl-470 amd64 470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1 [144 MB]      
Get:13 http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates/restricted i386 libnvidia-gl-470 i386 470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1 [21.2 MB]       
Get:14 http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates/restricted i386 libnvidia-ifr1-470 i386 470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1 [70.3 kB]     
Get:15 http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates/restricted amd64 libnvidia-ifr1-470 amd64 470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1 [69.0 kB]   
Get:16 http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates/restricted amd64 linux-signatures-nvidia-5.4.0-107-generic amd64 5.4.0-107.121 [30.1 kB]
Get:17 http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates/restricted amd64 linux-objects-nvidia-470-5.4.0-107-generic amd64 5.4.0-107.121 [24.8 MB]
Get:18 http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates/restricted amd64 nvidia-kernel-common-470 amd64 470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1 [16.5 MB]
Get:19 http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates/restricted amd64 linux-modules-nvidia-470-5.4.0-107-generic amd64 5.4.0-107.121 [7,140 B]
Get:20 http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates/restricted amd64 linux-modules-nvidia-470-generic amd64 5.4.0-107.121 [5,484 B]   
Get:21 http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates/restricted amd64 nvidia-compute-utils-470 amd64 470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1 [106 kB]
Get:22 http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates/restricted amd64 nvidia-kernel-source-470 amd64 470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1 [25.2 MB]
Get:23 http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates/restricted amd64 nvidia-utils-470 amd64 470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1 [372 kB]      
Get:24 http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates/restricted amd64 xserver-xorg-video-nvidia-470 amd64 470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1 [1,568 kB]
Get:25 http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates/restricted amd64 nvidia-driver-470 amd64 470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1 [446 kB]     
Get:26 http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates/main amd64 nvidia-prime all 0.8.16~0.20.04.2 [9,960 B]                            
Get:27 http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal/main amd64 screen-resolution-extra all 0.18build1 [4,456 B]                               
Get:28 http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates/main amd64 nvidia-settings amd64 470.57.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.3 [886 kB]              
Fetched 296 MB in 6min 51s (720 kB/s)                                                                                                      
Preconfiguring packages ...
Selecting previously unselected package libnvidia-cfg1-470:amd64.
(Reading database ... 348635 files and directories currently installed.)
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Unpacking libnvidia-cfg1-470:amd64 (470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1) ...
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Unpacking linux-objects-nvidia-470-5.4.0-107-generic (5.4.0-107.121) ...
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Selecting previously unselected package linux-modules-nvidia-470-5.4.0-107-generic.
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Unpacking linux-modules-nvidia-470-5.4.0-107-generic (5.4.0-107.121) ...
Selecting previously unselected package linux-modules-nvidia-470-generic.
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Unpacking linux-modules-nvidia-470-generic (5.4.0-107.121) ...
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Unpacking nvidia-compute-utils-470 (470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1) ...
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Unpacking nvidia-utils-470 (470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1) ...
Selecting previously unselected package xserver-xorg-video-nvidia-470.
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Unpacking xserver-xorg-video-nvidia-470 (470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1) ...
Selecting previously unselected package nvidia-driver-470.
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Unpacking nvidia-driver-470 (470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1) ...
Selecting previously unselected package nvidia-prime.
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Unpacking nvidia-prime (0.8.16~0.20.04.2) ...
Selecting previously unselected package screen-resolution-extra.
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Unpacking screen-resolution-extra (0.18build1) ...
Selecting previously unselected package nvidia-settings.
Preparing to unpack .../27-nvidia-settings_470.57.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.3_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking nvidia-settings (470.57.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.3) ...
Setting up nvidia-kernel-source-470 (470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1) ...
Setting up linux-signatures-nvidia-5.4.0-107-generic (5.4.0-107.121) ...
Setting up nvidia-prime (0.8.16~0.20.04.2) ...
Setting up libnvidia-compute-470:amd64 (470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1) ...
Setting up libnvidia-compute-470:i386 (470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1) ...
Setting up libnvidia-extra-470:amd64 (470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1) ...
Setting up nvidia-utils-470 (470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1) ...
Setting up libnvidia-fbc1-470:amd64 (470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1) ...
Setting up libnvidia-fbc1-470:i386 (470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1) ...
Setting up nvidia-compute-utils-470 (470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1) ...
Warning: The home dir /nonexistent you specified can't be accessed: No such file or directory
Adding system user `nvidia-persistenced' (UID 140) ...
Adding new group `nvidia-persistenced' (GID 146) ...
Adding new user `nvidia-persistenced' (UID 140) with group `nvidia-persistenced' ...
Not creating home directory `/nonexistent'.
Setting up linux-objects-nvidia-470-5.4.0-107-generic (5.4.0-107.121) ...
Setting up libnvidia-cfg1-470:amd64 (470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1) ...
Setting up libnvidia-common-470 (470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1) ...
Setting up screen-resolution-extra (0.18build1) ...
Setting up nvidia-kernel-common-470 (470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1) ...
update-initramfs: deferring update (trigger activated)
Created symlink /etc/systemd/system/systemd-hibernate.service.requires/nvidia-hibernate.service → /lib/systemd/system/nvidia-hibernate.service.
Created symlink /etc/systemd/system/systemd-suspend.service.requires/nvidia-resume.service → /lib/systemd/system/nvidia-resume.service.
Created symlink /etc/systemd/system/systemd-hibernate.service.requires/nvidia-resume.service → /lib/systemd/system/nvidia-resume.service.
Created symlink /etc/systemd/system/systemd-suspend.service.requires/nvidia-suspend.service → /lib/systemd/system/nvidia-suspend.service.
Setting up libnvidia-gl-470:amd64 (470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1) ...
Setting up libnvidia-gl-470:i386 (470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1) ...
Setting up nvidia-settings (470.57.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.3) ...
Setting up linux-modules-nvidia-470-5.4.0-107-generic (5.4.0-107.121) ...
linux-image-nvidia-5.4.0-107-generic: constructing .ko files
nvidia-drm.ko: OK
nvidia-modeset.ko: OK
nvidia-peermem.ko: OK
nvidia-uvm.ko: OK
nvidia.ko: OK
Setting up libnvidia-decode-470:amd64 (470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1) ...
Setting up libnvidia-decode-470:i386 (470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1) ...
Setting up xserver-xorg-video-nvidia-470 (470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1) ...
Setting up libnvidia-ifr1-470:amd64 (470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1) ...
Setting up libnvidia-ifr1-470:i386 (470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1) ...
Setting up linux-modules-nvidia-470-generic (5.4.0-107.121) ...
Setting up libnvidia-encode-470:amd64 (470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1) ...
Setting up libnvidia-encode-470:i386 (470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1) ...
Setting up nvidia-driver-470 (470.103.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.1) ...
Processing triggers for mime-support (3.64ubuntu1) ...
Processing triggers for gnome-menus (3.36.0-1ubuntu1) ...
Processing triggers for libc-bin (2.31-0ubuntu9.7) ...
Processing triggers for man-db (2.9.1-1) ...
Processing triggers for desktop-file-utils (0.24-1ubuntu3) ...
Processing triggers for initramfs-tools (0.136ubuntu6.7) ...
update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-5.4.0-107-generic
Processing triggers for linux-image-5.4.0-107-generic (5.4.0-107.121) ...
/etc/kernel/postinst.d/dkms:
 * dkms: running auto installation service for kernel 5.4.0-107-generic
   ...done.
/etc/kernel/postinst.d/initramfs-tools:
update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-5.4.0-107-generic
/etc/kernel/postinst.d/zz-update-grub:
Sourcing file `/etc/default/grub'
Sourcing file `/etc/default/grub.d/init-select.cfg'
Generating grub configuration file ...
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-5.4.0-107-generic
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-5.4.0-107-generic
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-5.4.0-105-generic
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-5.4.0-105-generic
Found Raspbian GNU/Linux 10 (buster) on /dev/mmcblk0p2
Adding boot menu entry for UEFI Firmware Settings
done

We now need to reboot

sudo shutdown -r 0

 

We can now run the nvidia settings menu

sudo nvidia-settings



Friday, April 1, 2022

Installing Debian Linux on H96max rk3318 TV Box

Installing Debian Linux on H96MAX rk3318 TV box. 

(RK3318 device) 4gB ram

 

There is a shortage of  Raspberry PI 4's at the moment due to some production problems and I was looking for alternative for the Raspberry P4
I found the H96MAX TV box that is about 20% slower that a Pi 4
Comparison speed wise
 
it is about 30% slower than Pi 4 according to the test below. Price about $40 R600.00
 
 Test done at http://mrbluecoat.blogspot.com/2020/10/install-linux-on-x96-max-x96-max.html

Performance compared to Raspberry Pi 4:

Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (2GB LPDDR4 RAM) 32-bit:

  • CPU Performance: Duration = 8.80 seconds (lower is faster)
  • CPU Temp: Idle = 38'c | Full load = 48'c
  • RootFS: Write = 18 MiB/s | Read = 41 MiB/s
  • RAM: Write = 339 MiB/s | Read = 606 MiB/s

Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (2GB LPDDR4 RAM) 64-bit:

  • CPU Performance: Duration = 7.27 seconds (lower is faster)
  • CPU Temp: Idle = 45'c | Full load = 52'c
  • RootFS: Write = 18 MiB/s | Read = 22 MiB/s
  • RAM: Write = 448 MiB/s | Read = 1163 MiB/s

X96 Max (4GB DDR4 RAM):

  • CPU Performance: Duration = 10.39 seconds (lower is faster)
  • CPU Temp: Idle = 36'c | Full load = 44'c
  • RootFS: Write = 35 MiB/s | Read = 43 MiB/s
  • RAM: Write = 555 MiB/s | Read = 978 MiB/s

X96 Max+ (4GB DDR3 RAM):

  • CPU Performance: Duration = 10.78 seconds (lower is faster)
  • CPU Temp: Idle = 36'c | Full load = 50'c
  • RootFS: Write = 53 MiB/s | Read = 154 MiB/s
  • RAM: Write = 507 MiB/s | Read = 868 MiB/s

Following the instruction to load debian linux on tvbox

Following the instructions here 

We need to create an SD card with Debian for the H96max to boot from and here is the procedure.
First download the image from Armbian here is the link.
 


 Multitool menu installing image from image directory  to internal flash 


Using the ubuntu write click and select multitool.img.xz and select Open with disk image writer

 

Then select the SD card as destination

  • If the SD cart writing is complete you know need to copy the debian image in the images directory on the sd card.
  • This copying of the image might take a while.
  • The unmount the card and remove it from your laptop and place it in the TVBOX

Use a tooth pic press the button in the 3.5mm earphone plug and the plug in the power keep it in until the Mutitool menu has started

 

 
 

Quick installation instructions to boot from SD Card:
  • If you are already running Armbian from eMMC, skip to the next step. Instead if you are running the original firmware you need to first erase the internal; to do so download the Multitool, burn it on an SD Card, plug the SD Card and power the TV Box. Use "Backup flash" if you want to do a backup of the existing firmware, then choose "Erase flash" menu option.
  • Build or download your preferred Armbian image;
  • Uncompress and burn the Armbian image on the SD Card;
  • Plug the SD Card in the TV Box and power it on;
  • Wait for 10 seconds, then the led should start blinking and HDMI will turn on. The first time the boot process will take a couple of minutes or more because the filesystem is going to be resized, so be patient and wait for the login prompt;
  • On first boot you will be asked for entering a password for root user of your choice and the name and password for a regular user
  • Run rk3318-config to configure the board specific options
  • Run armbian-config to configure timezone, locales and other personal options, or also to transfer the SD Card installation to internal ;
  • Run apt-mark hold linux-image-*-rockchip64 linux-dtb-*-rockchip64 to avoid the upgrade of kernel with the armbian official one, since it still does not contain rk3318
  • Congratulations, Armbian is running from SD Card! 

 

 

more ref

https://www.h96tvbox.com/module/xipblog/single?page_type=post&id=145&rewrite=how-to-install-stock-firmware-on-h96-max-plus-smart-tv-box

Friday, September 17, 2021

PC software for the RF-Power 8000 Power meter

PC software for the RF-Power 8000 Power meter


 This meter is available from Giga Technology

  • You can download  from passion-radio LINK 
  • Instruction manual for the unit passion-radio LINK

 

Install the driver

The RF8000 communicates over a USB-to-serial port, that your PC might not immediately find the right driver for. 
In that case, you'll find a "serial" device marked with a "?" in the device manager.
The driver is provided with the software package (see above). 
As I don't like drivers that come with a setup routine, I recommend to use the "rightclick/update driver" function of the device manager.
Just point it to the "drivers_usb_CH340" folder and windows will find and install the driver.
At that point you should see another serial port in the device manager
 

 

Register MSCOMM32.OCX

Depending on other installations on your PC, starting the RF8000 software with the uninventive name of "english.exe" might result in an error message. In that case, MSCOMM32.OCX needs to be registered on your system.
To register the OCX, open an "elevated shell" (right click the start button and choose "Windows Powershell (Administrator)")
There type (with the path pointing to your rg_8000 directory):
 .\regsvr32.exe C:\Users\admin\Desktop\RFPower8000\rf_8000\MSCOMM32.OCX
 
 

 

Configure the software

The program "english.exe" needs to be configured for both the COM-Port and the Baud Rage. It defaults to COM1 and 4800. While with some luck, your COM-Port might be "1", the baud rate ist not correct. Also: in "Model selection" choose "RF-Power8000"
Here are the correct settings:
  • Model selection RF-Power8000 (F3)
  • Port number: set that to what your device manager shows as Com Port. In my case COM6
  • Baud Rate: 9600
After that, I have to press the center button to start the meter.
 
 
 

 
 
 
To set the frequency and the attenuation value hit the "spanner and screwdriver" button.
An RC enthusiast has written his own software for the RF-Power8000

Here is an screen shot of his application
 

 
 This meter is available from Giga Technology

Monday, August 23, 2021

Friday, June 4, 2021

LORA APRS Tracker using T-Beam ESP32 with GPS

 Setting up a  LoRa APRS Tracker or Igate on 433Mhz.

I need to build a Tracker for LORA on 433Mhz and I hate two options to consider.

Using the same TTGO-T-Beam ESP32 with GPS and Lora 433Mhz module that will be the same as my Lora Igate board.

Setting up a Lora APRS tracker using the ESP32 Lora32 TTGO-T T-Beam 433/470Mhz Module.

 Here is picture of how the Lora signal looks like


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I was looking for a low power battery backup APRS Lora system to track Balloons and cars.

I then got the TTGO-T T-Beam witch has ESP32 with WIFI and Bluetooth.
It also has a GPS Ublock and a Lora32 TTGO 433/470Mhz and USB port.

This module is available from Giga Technology here

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I found a project on Github https://github.com/lora-aprs/LoRa_APRS_Tracker
It seems to be strate foreword replacing the default firmware in the SP32

So lets get Started

Lets download the project from github here

On your pc run the following

git clone https://github.com/antonjan/LoRa_APRS_Tracker

cd LoRa_APRS_Tracker/

 
I Recommend installing Visual Studio Code with PlatformIO plugin.


PlatformIO can be downloaded directly from the PlatformIO website. There you just have to press the green button with “Install PlatformIO now”. Then just install it. If you have already installed Visual Studio Code, the PlatformIO Module can also be installed via the Plugin Manager. Now the source code can be opened in Visual Studio Code.

Start your Code editor
 
 
 
First we have to make some adjustments to the  data/is-code.json file
We now need to edit the is-code.json settings as follows
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The callsign must be changed (line 3) 
The SSID and password must be filled in of you WIFI.
Latitude and Longitude must always be filled in.  
If you don't have your coordinates in your head, simply open Google Maps, right-click on the desired location and click on ‘What's there?’  
These settings have to be changed if you want to use an iGate: the active in wifi and aprs must be set from false to true.
These settings have to be changed to get a Digi: the active in digi must be set from false to true.
It is not recommended to run an iGate and a Digi at the same time. This will be checked in a later version and only the settings of the iGate will run (presumably the Digi Mode will be active when no WiFi connection can be established - let's see). May board dont have the display but I dont think you have to change any of the setting.

Choosing the right board in Platformio plug in Code

Now the right board has to be selected, because each board is wired a little differently (the GPIOs are used differently) or has additional components. This can be changed in the status bar, which is currently still in Default.  
 Here is example of platformio.ini file. Select TTGO_T_Beam_V1_0 as in picture below
 

Lora APRS IGATE using T-beam ESP32 with GPS

Setting up a  LoRa APRS iGate on 433Mhz.

I need to build a Igate for LORA on 433Mhz and I hate two options to consider.

Options

Option 1 RTL-SDR dongle with LORA software as an gateway.

Option 2 using the same TTGO-T-Beam ESP32 with GPS and Lora 433Mhz module that will be the same as my Lora tracker board.

In this Description I will be using the Option 2, I will attempt the RTL-SDR rout later.

Setting up a Lora APRS tracker using the ESP32 Lora32 TTGO-T T-Beam 433/470Mhz Module

Example of Lora signal

I was looking for a low power battery backup APRS Lora system to track Balloons and cars.

I then got the TTGO-T T-Beam witch has ESP32 with WIFI and Bluetooth.
It also has a GPS Ublock and a Lora32 TTGO 433/470Mhz and USB port.

This module is available from Giga Technology here

I found a project on Github https://github.com/lora-aprs/LoRa_APRS_iGate
It seems to be strate foreword replacing the default firmware in the SP32

So lets get Started

Lets download the project from github here

On your pc run the following

git clone https://github.com/antonjan/LoRa_APRS_iGate

cd LoRa_APRS_iGate/

I Recommend installing Code editor with PlatformIO plugin.

PlatformIO can be downloaded directly from the PlatformIO website. There you just have to press the green button with “Install PlatformIO now”. Then just install it. If you have already installed Visual Studio Code, the PlatformIO Module can also be installed via the Plugin Manager. Now the source code can be opened in Visual Studio Code.

Start your Code editor

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Then select Extensions and search for Platformio and install it. 






 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Select platformio plugin
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The instillation can take a while We now need to select the LoRa_APRS_iGate folder where you have cloned the github project above. There will be a directory LoRa_APRS_iGate
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
We can now edit the
 
 
Here is a copy of my platformio.ini

[platformio]
default_envs = lora_board

[env]
platform = espressif32 @ 3.0.0
framework = arduino
lib_ldf_mode = deep+
monitor_speed = 115200
lib_deps =
bblanchon/ArduinoJson @ 6.17.0
lewisxhe/AXP202X_Library @ 1.1.2
peterus/APRS-Decoder-Lib @ 0.0.6
peterus/APRS-IS-Lib @ 0.0.8
peterus/esp-logger @ 0.0.1
peterus/ESP-FTP-Server-Lib @ 0.9.5
check_tool = cppcheck
check_flags =
cppcheck: --suppress=*:*.pio\* --inline-suppr -DCPPCHECK --force lib -ilib/TimeLib -ilib/LoRa -ilib/NTPClient
check_skip_packages = yes
#monitor_flags = --raw
# activate for OTA Update, use the CALLSIGN from is-cfg.json as upload_port:
#upload_protocol = espota
#upload_port = <CALLSIGN>.local

[env:lora_board]
board = esp32doit-devkit-v1
#board = ttgo-t-beam-v1
build_flags = -Werror -Wall -DNO_GLOBAL_INSTANCES
upload_port = /dev/ttyUSB*
[env:lora_board_debug]
board = esp32doit-devkit-v1
build_flags = -Werror -Wall -DNO_GLOBAL_INSTANCES
build_type = debug
monitor_filters = esp32_exception_decoder


  
The following things can be done quickly in the status bar: Compile the firmware Flashing the firmware Cleaning up the temporary and compiled data Serial monitor  
 

Compilation and upload steps

git clone https://github.com/antonjan/LoRa_APRS_iGate Install The development environment VS Code from here https://code.visualstudio.com/download Start Code and click on the botom Gear icon to install Platformio.

 Then select the tracker.json and edit with the following information. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Edit the tracker.json file in the data directory to look like this changing your callsign and save the file. [CTRL-s]
 
{
	"callsign":"NOCALL-7",
	"debug": false,
	"beacon":
	{
		"message":"LoRa Tracker",
		"timeout": 1,
		"symbol": "[",
		"overlay": "/"
	},
	"smart_beacon":
	{
		"active":true,
		"turn_min":25,
		"slow_rate":300,
		"slow_speed":10,
		"fast_rate":60,
		"fast_speed":100,
		"min_tx_dist":100,
		"min_bcn":5
	},
	"lora":
	{
		"frequency_rx":433775000,
		"frequency_tx":433775000,
		"power":20,
		"spreading_factor":12,
		"signal_bandwidth":125000,
		"coding_rate4":5
	}
} 
 

We now need to compile the program. This can be done by Clicking on the icon belo red 1 on the botom toolbaar.


 
 Now connect your LORA-APRS board to usb port of you computer. We now need to upload the compeld ferware.bi fie to the Board Click on the icon below red 2 to upload the file to your board. You should see details in the log terminal if all was sucess
 

Blog posts and Youtube videos from other Hams

feel free to add yours or create a ticket if you want to be added.

Supported boards

You can use one of the Lora32 boards without changings:

  • Heltec WiFi LoRa 32 V1 (433MHz SX1278)
  • Heltec WiFi LoRa 32 V2 (433MHz SX1278)
  • TTGO LoRa32 V1 (433MHz SX1278)
  • TTGO LoRa32 V2 (433MHz SX1278)
  • TTGO LoRa32 V2.1 (433MHz SX1278)
  • TTGO T-Beam V0.7 (433MHz SX1278)
  • TTGO T-Beam V1 (433MHz SX1278)
  • Tracker D from OE1ACM and OE1CGC
  • and sure many more...

Here are some amazon-de links for some example boards:

This boards cost around 20 Euros, they are very cheap and perfect for an LoRa iGate. Keep in minde: you need a 433MHz version!