admin, Autore presso TSP S.r.l.

August 31, 2024

FT-891 SDR: IU7RAM testimonial

By admin in RF Tag ft-891, panadapter, sdr

Below are the notes relating to the installation of the IFace interface inside the Yaesu FT-891 by IU7RAM Piero. In general, this work is done to be able to extract an IF signal from the radio reception chain so that it can be used to make an SDR panadapter and add an external SDR receiver. The application scheme is shown in the following image.

The signal to be sent to the external SDR receiver is taken immediately after the first receiving mixer and the frequency to which it will be tuned will be 69.450 MHz.

The RF signal at the mixer output is taken at the point shown in the following image.

The task of the IFace buffer card is to provide the power needed to correctly drive the external SDR receiver circuits: in practice, an impedance adaptation occurs between the mixer circuitry and that of the receiver. In general, the intensities of the signals of interest are small fractions of mW. During transmission, however, the powers are in the order of tens of W or even more, and this can be a problem for the external receiver, especially if it is working in isofrequency with the radio. Therefore, it is generally good to use the PTT signal to disable the buffer, a unique feature of the IFace, but this is not the case as the reception and transmission signals have different paths.

The following image shows where to take the IF signal.

Below are some pictures of the installation done by IU7RAM.

The following three images are from a first quick test during which it was verified that both the radio and the interface were working correctly.

As for the IF signal, it is worth noting that the use of a coaxial cable to connect the IFace input to the mixer output is not recommended. Its use involves the addition of a parasitic capacitance in parallel to the circuits downstream of the mixer with consequent degradation of the signal. Instead, it is good practice to use a small conductor, possibly very short, to reduce the aforementioned parasitic capacitance to a minimum.

This image shows how to connect the IF signal to the IFace. A thin conductor (0.14 mm) coated in green plastic material is used. As already highlighted (repetita iuvant), it is not recommended to use a coaxial cable because it introduces a non-negligible capacity in parallel to the components of the mixer circuit and would modify its performance. The coaxial cable can instead be safely used as an output from the IFace.

A small hole was drilled in the back of the radio to attach the SMA-f connector.
Once the work is completed, the result is shown in this short video.

https://youtube.com/shorts/zCcF1BtFEOA?feature=share

Thank you very much IU7RAM Piero!

To purchase an IFace you can use the following buttons.

ATTENTION: Although the installation of IFace 2 is not difficult, it is done at your own risk. TSP S.r.l. is not responsible for any damage, unwanted side effects, or anything else.

July 9, 2023

Brake/clutch control with overvoltage

By admin in Industrial automation

This electronic board, now in its third generation, controls the power supply of two electromagnetically operated brake/clutch units.
Compared to the previous version, it maintains its functionality but has improved in power management and in terms of board layout. The container has also been changed, now equipped with a transparent front window from which the status LEDs can be seen.
It is capable of continuously powering devices with a maximum absorption of 2 A @ 24 Vdc and, for a quicker response of the mechanical system, it provides a programmable timed boost, via the RS232 serial port, from 1 to 255 ms and up to 48 Vdc.

A 16-bit microcontroller governs all functions. In this way, it is possible to implement control functions that are difficult to obtain with simple analog circuits or circuits based on logic networks.

The two channels dedicated to driving the brake and clutch are managed independently, i.e. the times of the boosts can also be set for different durations. They can also be used to drive only two clutches or two brakes, one for each channel, it is not binding to connect both electromechanical parts to both channels.

Switching takes place by piloting a suitable digital input: if in the LOW state, for example, the brake is activated, if in the HIGH state, the clutch (the outputs can still be swapped).

A further input is used as an ENABLE signal: connected, for example, to the machine emergency management line, it allows disabling all the outputs, i.e. the power supply to each channel is cut off.

In addition to the two pairs of outputs for controlling the brake/clutch units, there are two other PNP outputs (max 50 mA @ 24 Vdc) used to indicate the so-called READY signal, one per channel.

The system can also operate at 12 Vdc.

Power supply:

one input for the voltage of 12/24 Vdc ± 10% for the control logic and brake / clutch in steady state;
one input for the voltage of 24 ÷ 48 Vdc for the overvoltage of the brake / clutch unit.

4 PNP inputs:

2 x enable signal from the machine controller;
2 x digital input to change the state of the output (e.g. LOW = brake, HIGH = clutch).

6 PNP outputs:

2 x 24 VDC / 2 A brake power supply (up to 48 VDC) with programmable duration;
2 x 24 VDC / 2 A clutch power supply + supercharging (up to 48 VDC) with programmable duration;
2 x READY signal.

RS232 serial port: (115200,8,N,1) this is mainly used to change the setup of the board, i.e. the timing of the overvoltages.

Maximum switching frequency: this is mainly overvoltage time dependant.

Minimum command impulse duration: < 1 ms (typically 200 us).

Dimensions: the electronic board is housed in a DIN bar container with dimensions of 101 x 120mm x 22.5 mm.

It is possible to customize the firmware, if required.

For more information, please use the following form.

February 8, 2023

TS-440S SDR: a testimonial by IK2TIF

By admin in RF Tag panadapter, sdr, ts-440s

Below are the notes relating to the installation of the IFace interface inside the Kenwood TS-440S by IK2TIF Fabio. In general this work is done in order to be able to extract an IF signal from the radio reception chain so that it can be used to make an SDR panadapter and add an external SDR receiver. The application scheme is shown in the following image.

The signal to be sent to the external SDR receiver is picked up immediately after the first receiving mixer and the frequency it will be tuned to will be 45.05 MHz.

The RF signal at the mixer output is taken between the transformer T3 and the anode of the diode D26.

The task of the IFace buffer card is to supply the necessary power in order to correctly drive the circuits of the external SDR receiver: in general, the intensities of the signals of interest are small fractions of mW. During transmission, on the other hand, there are powers of the order of tens of W or even more, and this can be a problem for the external receiver, especially if it is working in isofrequency with the radio. Therefore it is good to use the PTT signal to disable the buffer, a unique feature of the IFace. It is therefore necessary to identify the point inside the radio where to take this signal. Nothing could be easier, the TXB signal is present on the J1 connector and this is active high only during transmission.

Having to supply power, the IFace must also be suitably powered. From connector J6 it is possible to obtain the necessary potential difference from pins 14J and GND.

Below are some images useful for identifying the points on the RF UNIT where to intervene to take the various signals: IF, PTT and power supply. As for the IF signal, it should be noted that even IK2TIF has not used a coaxial cable to connect the IFace input to the mixer output. In this way it is possible to minimize, also thanks to a very short connection, the parasitic capacitance which is placed in parallel with the mixer output. If this were not negligible, there would be a strong attenuation of the IF signal and a general degradation of the receiver’s performance.

This image shows how to connect the IF signal to the IFace. A thin conductor (0.14 mm) covered in plastic material is used. As already highlighted, it is not recommended to use a coaxial cable because it introduces a non-negligible capacitance in parallel with the components of the mixer circuit and would modify their performance. The coaxial cable can instead be safely used as an output from the IFace.

The power cable of the card is shown in red and the following two images are related to the installation in the TS-440S.

The PTT signal enters the IFace via a thin yellow wire placed in parallel directly in the connector.

The IFace board can be fixed to an RF circuit cover plate: be careful not to short-circuit some contacts located on the underside of the board (you can use double-sided tape).

Infini you connect the external SDR receiver and start the software. The following images show the TS-440S and the SDR software screen.

In the image above it is very clear the number of stations that can be received and displayed in the waterfall of the SDR radio. The excellent installation carried out by IK2TIF is evident from the absence of unwanted signals and artifacts in the spectrum.

To purchase an IFace you can use the following buttons.

ATTENTION: Although the installation of IFace 2 is not difficult, it is done at your own risk. TSP S.r.l. is not responsible for any damage, unwanted side effects, or anything else.

June 5, 2022

Panadapter SDR for the RCI-2970N2

By admin in RF Tag ft-747gx, hamradio, panadapter

These are the instructions to install the IFace interface inside of the Ranger RCI-2970N2 in order to add an SDR panadapter to the radio. The installation is very easy.

After removing the cover, locate the main electronic board: the signal we are interested in are on this board. The SDR receiver will be tuned on 10.695 MHz.

Refer to the following image of the wiring diagram to identify the points where you can weld the cables for the IF and the power supply. The PTT+ is not required, the signal paths for the RX and the TX are mostly separated.

Refer to the following images to identify the points on the PCB where to solder the various connection cables between radio and IFace.

In order to buy an IFace please use the following buttons.

ATTENTION: Though installing the IFace is not difficult, you do this at your own risk. TSP S.r.l. is not responsible for any damage, unwanted side-effects or whatever.

For more information do not hesitate to write us.
Have fun!

May 31, 2022

Panadapter SDR for the FT-747GX

By admin in RF Tag ft-747gx, hamradio, panadapter

These are the instructions to install the IFace interface inside of the YAESU FT-747GX in order to add an SDR panadapter to the radio. The installation is very easy.

After removing the cover, locate the electronic board called “MAIN UNIT”: the signal we are interested in are on this board. The SDR receiver will be tuned on 47.055 MHz.

Refer to the following images to identify the points on the PCB where to solder the various connection cables between radio and IFace.

In order to buy an IFace please use the following buttons.

ATTENTION: Though installing the IFace is not difficult, you do this at your own risk. TSP S.r.l. is not responsible for any damage, unwanted side-effects or whatever.

For more information do not hesitate to write us.
Have fun!

May 28, 2022

Panadapter SDR for the FT-920

By admin in RF Tag ft-920, hamradio, panadapter

These are the instructions to install the IFace interface inside of the YAESU FT-920 in order to add an SDR panadapter to the radio. The installation is very easy.

After removing the cover, locate the electronic board called “MAIN UNIT”: the signal we are interested in are on this board. The SDR receiver will be tuned on 68.985 MHz.

Refer to the following image to identify the points on the PCB where to weld the various connecting wires.

In order to buy an IFace please use the following buttons.

ATTENTION: Though installing the IFace is not difficult, you do this at your own risk. TSP S.r.l. is not responsible for any damage, unwanted side-effects or whatever.

For more information do not hesitate to write us.
Have fun!

May 9, 2022

Installing IFace inside the TS-2000 – 23 cm band

By admin in RF Tag uhf, vhf, hamradio, hdsdr, interface, kenwood, panadapter, rtl-sdr, sdr console, sdr, ts-2000

In a previous article we presented how to install the IFace card inside the Kenwood TS-2000 in order to obtain the IF signal of all bands so that it can be sent to an external SDR. Now let’s see how to get the IF signal for the 23 cm band. Installation is very easy.

The TS-2000, like other radios, has a fairly complex configuration and uses different intermediate frequencies depending on the band on which you are operating. In any case, the one described here is the sequence of operations to be performed to obtain a bandwidth sufficient to provide a panoramic receiver around the IF frequency relative to the 23 cm band (1.2 GHz).

The point where to take the IF signal can be identified more precisely through the wiring diagram as shown in the following images. The electronic board of interest is the one called TX-RX3 and the signal can be taken from the CN8 connector.

The point where to take the IF signal on the TX-RX3 UNIT is indicated in the following image.

For the sake of completeness, a detail of the point where to take the power supply for the IFace card is also indicated.

PTT: This is not required for the TS-2000 as the reception circuit is muted during transmission.

You can purchase IFace 2 using one of the buttons below.

ATTENTION: Though installing the IFace is not difficult, you do this at your own risk. TSP S.r.l. is not responsible for any damage, unwanted side-effects or whatever.

For more information do not hesitate to write us.
Have fun!

April 15, 2022

Panadapter SDR for the Alinco DX-70TH/EH

By admin in RF Tag dx-70, hamradio, panadapter

These are the instructions to install the IFace interface inside of the Alinco DX-70TH/EH in order to add an SDR panadapter to the radio. The installation is very easy.

After removing the cover, locate the electronic board called “MAIN UNIT”: the signal we are interested in are on this board. The SDR receiver will be tuned on 71.75 MHz.

Refer to the following images to identify in the wiring diagram the points where to weld the cables for the IF and the power supply (the PTT signal is not required because the RX and TX signal paths are separated).

Refer to the following image to identify the points on the PCB where to weld the various connecting cables.

In order to buy an IFace please use the following buttons.

ATTENTION: Though installing the IFace is not difficult, you do this at your own risk. TSP S.r.l. is not responsible for any damage, unwanted side-effects or whatever.

For more information do not hesitate to write us.
Have fun!

March 7, 2022

Installing IFace inside the IC-7300

By admin in RF Tag ic-7300, panadapter, sdr

Let’s see how to install the IFace board inside the ICom IC-7300 in order to obtain an RF signal to be sent to an external SDR. In this way we will be able to have a second SDR receiver (and panadapter) that works in parallel to our radio and uses the same antenna. Obviously it will be active in reception only and on the same band in which the radio is operating as we will exploit the band filters of our RTX to improve the performance of our external receiver. Installation is very easy.

The IC-7300 has a direct sampling SDR architecture and therefore there are no mixers like in superheterodyne receivers. In this way we will go to sample the RF signal to be sent to our external SDR receiver upstream of the A / D converter of our Icom. By doing so we will have that the external receiver will work on the same band as the 7300, so during the transmission we will have to try to attenuate the transmitted signal as much as possible so as not to have a rather annoying RF return (it is possible, however, that a small part arrives equally to be received by the external SDR). For this purpose we will use the PTT+ input of the IFace board to disable the buffer.

The signals to be sent to the IFace are shown in the following image: 8V power supply, PTT+ and RF signal.

The points on the PCB where to take the signals are shown below.

L’utilizzo del segnale relativo all’ingresso PTT+ per la scheda IFace è consigliato per ottenere un migliore isolamento del ricevitore esterno durante la trasmissione.

You can by IFace 2 simply making click on the buttons below.

ATTENTION: Though installing the IFace is not difficult, you do this at your own risk. TSP S.r.l. is not responsible for any damage, unwanted side-effects or whatever.

For more information do not hesitate to write us.
Have fun!

February 25, 2022

Installing IFace inside the TS-2000 – all bands

By admin in RF Tag panadapter, sdr, ts-2000

In two previous articles we have seen how to install the IFace card inside the Kenwood TS-2000 to obtain the IF signal of the HF and 50 MHz bands and of the VHF and UHF bands to be sent to an external SDR. Now let’s see how to get another single IF signal for all bands, including 23cm (1.2 GHz). Installation is very easy.

The result you can obtain is well shown in the following video.

The TS-2000, like other radios, has a fairly complex configuration and uses different intermediate frequencies depending on the band on which you are operating. There is the possibility of taking an IF signal at a single frequency (10,695 MHz) valid for all bands. This involves a reduction in the width of the displayable spectrum as the IF signal will have passed through some IF band filters. In any case, the one described here is the sequence of operations to be performed to obtain a bandwidth sufficient to create a panoramic receiver around the IF frequency relating to all the bands on which the radio can operate.

However, the displayable spectrum depends on the sampling frequency of the SDR receiver, not on IFace.

The point where to take the IF signal can be identified more precisely through the wiring diagram as shown in the following images. The electronic card of interest is the one called TX-RX UNIT and the signal can be taken among R111, C166 and C167.

Now we have to look for where to take the power supply: power can be taken from the CN 29 connector, signal 14S or 8A.

The points on the PCB where to take the signals are shown below.

PTT: for the TS-2000 it is not required because the reception circuit is automatically muted during transmission.

You can by IFace 2 simply making click on the buttons below.

ATTENTION: Though installing the IFace is not difficult, you do this at your own risk. TSP S.r.l. is not responsible for any damage, unwanted side-effects or whatever.

For more information do not hesitate to write us.
Have fun!

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