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Today I had a chance to have a play with an LDG AT-7000 Tuner. Iniitally, I was sceptical.. but I must say – I was quite impressed at the end of it all.
I made up a YouTube video of me playing with it and various antennas etc.. plus all my comments are are in the video, I have included it down below.
Here are my thoughts in summary point form..:
Pro’s
Very small
tuned very well, anything I threw at it it tuned, and with good results. Some tuners I have seen will just give up and fail – like the ICOM AT-180 for example.
cheap! I think in australia there is someone selling them in Sydney for circa $270 AUD – good price I think for what it does.
The output of the tuner is 50Ω Unbalanced – perfect.. my AH-4 required to be connected RIGHT to the base of the antenna.. or as close as possibe (you can;t sit an AH-4 under your seat!)
I can sit it inside the cab, right next to the radio.. so it is immune to issues relating to dust, water, vibration etc.
it’s fool proof – just hookup both leads and away you go.. nothing to do!
it’s quick to tune if you have used that freq/antenna combination before.
when you first hear it kick into action, it seems quite noisy – you get used to that quickly – if you go to a freq that has been used before it is VERY fast as it reads the L/C combination required from memory
For my mind I really was quite impressed and as you’ll hear on my Youtube Video.. I had hardly the best test conditions.
I didn’t get signal reports on every frequency.. I got a 5/7 – 5/9 from some other VK’s on 40 Meters but for my mind I just want a tuner to;
Not fail tune
tune just about anything I throw at it.. No tuner can make up for poor antenna choice in my mind
Keep the SWR low on the Radio so it will pump max power up the stick, or coathangar.. or whatever.
Well today I went out to O’Briens Crossing in the Wombat State Forrest to have a look how much water was flowing after the recent deluge. Since moving to the area in 2000 I’ve never seen O’Briens flowing all that much and have often seen it dry with just a few stagnant ponds of water. This weekend the Bullengarook area has had around 70mm of rain, quite a lot!
While I was out there I setup my simple, but VERY effective and trusty longwire again.. always works a treat! – take a look at it.
One thing which I’ve come across a few times of late is people who are interested to get into PICAXE’s but they have looked at them in a much to complicated kind of way, I think the one common thread is that these people, like me, have looked at the ‘PIC’ stuff in the JayCar catalog and thought to themselves ‘I might get into these PIC’s etc’.
Let’s be clear.. JAYCAR don’t carry PICAXE or anything that supports PICAXE (apart from common components of course – resistors/breadboards etc) – Yes, I think JayCar are mad!! then would sell truckloads more PICAXE than they ever sell of PIC – and yes, I tell them that every time I go into a store
To set the framework..
PIC Chips are ‘Microcontrollers’ – as opposed to Microprocessors – there is a big difference, though most people care less to appreciate it. Basically, a PIC or a PICAXE for that matter can be thought of as a tiny computer with limited functions.
you can write programs for PIC’s in many different high level languages but people will often write their PIC programs in what’s known as ASSEMBLER code – not for the faint of heart. there is also PICBASIC and C programs to write PIC code in as well – even with those it is STILL A LOT MORE COMPLEX than just going down the PICAXE path.
PICAXE chips are actually PIC chips which are purchased by a company called Revolution Education(Rev-Ed) based out of Bath(UK), about 155Km west of London, UK. Rev-Ed then install what’s a called a ‘bootloader’ onto the raw PIC chips. The Bootloader can be thought of as a ‘software foundation’ if you like. It takes the chip and transforms it into a much easier to use and program chip.
There are literally 100′s of PIC chips released by MicroChip – actually, it’s overwhelming!
the Microchip website is insanely complex to navigate.. just purely because there is SO MUCH stuff! – however, once you appreciate it, it’s a great website – but very confusing for beginners!
There are much fewer chips released by Rev-Ed as PICAXE’s – they are : [PICAXE]08M, 14M, 18M2, 20X2, 28X2, 40X2 (there are a few more but these are ones you would actually and practically buy today)
it’s fair to say that a PIC chip (ie no PICAXE bootloader) is much faster and more powerful but really, most people would NEVER need that level of power. PICAXE can do very complex and powerful applications, plus it can run very fast.
To program a PIC chip you need a special ‘hardware programmer’ as such and the process is a lot more complex(won’t go into that here)
To write a program and to ‘program’ a PICAXE chip is A LOT easier and all the bits you need are free – details below!
with PICAXE chips
the number – in PICAXE “08″M – means the number of pins. the more pins, the bigger the chip, the bigger the chip the faster if will run(clock speed) and more options you have.
the Letter at the end is the ‘generation’ – My understanding is that there was plain, then A, then M, then X, then X1, then X2 and now there is M2 – I may not be totally correct but that’s the essence of it. with different generations came things like more RAM, a few more commands/options etc.
Not all commands work on all chips – things like I2C (used for communication between chips) you only get those on upward of the 18X’s. they ALL work on the bigger chips but not ALL commands work on the smaller chips.
for a beginner the 08M is quite fine – once you start to know what you’re doing you’ll fall short with the 08M and then go for a 14M or what’s even better now days is the 18M2 – they’re only $5.95AUD! (a 08M is $3.55)
it’s NOT foolish to go for a bigger chip up front to start off with – like an 18M2 – all the simple programs and scenarios you would do with a 08M work just as easily on an 18M2 or even a 40X2 for that matter.
Can I just say this – PICAXE’s are simple.. !!!
They’re probably 2-5 times more simple than you had imagined. Writing code is dead easy, even if you haven’t written programs before & downloading your code is super simple.
A analogy might be : You can go to a PC shop and buy a ‘Computer’ per se, you can choose to run Linux as the operating system or perhaps Windows 7, or windows XP. In a some kind of a similar regard PICAXE is just about that different when comparing to a PIC chip. The way you write code, how you interact with the inputs/outputs, the way you program them etc – it’s all different.
I learnt PICAXE first.. and was amazed at the simplicity. Now, I am learning PIC (for fun really) and I am amazed at the complexity!
did I say it – PICAXE is simple..!!!
lets get on with it I hear you say..
Ok, You need just a few things..
1. A Programming Cable. There really is nothing proprietary about this. In it’s simplest form it can be just a standard DB-9 plug connecting to COM1 on your computer and three of those wires are used to program the PICAXE chip(in circuit).
A Serial Programming Cable – connecting to COM1/Com2 etc (simple, cheap, but you need to have a real COM port, which many of us don’t have these days – ie laptop users) [you can buy one], or you can just make up your own – see the PICAXE manuals(referred to below) – the dead easy option => Take a Serial Mouse with a DB-9 plug on it. Chop the mouse end off.. take the appropriate wires and connect to a 3.5MM stereo plug – simple!
A USB Programming Cable – (link to AXE027) – I like this one because I don’t need to worry about having to find a PC etc with a real COM port.
2. You need the PICAXE ‘Programming Editor’ software. In this you write/design your code, you can test it(ie run it in emulation mode) and then you can download the code to your PICAXE using that program and whatever choice you took from option 1 above (Serial or USB programming Cable)
3. The PICAXE Manuals – these are your bibles, everything you need to know will be in one of these three manuals – keep them on your desktop and very handy.
4. A Board to program your PICAXE on. To start off with I HIGHLY recommend you buy yourself a AXE092P or if you are planning on buying the USB programming cable also why not buy the combo. Moving forward, if you want to program a PICAXE all you practically need is a 10k and 22k resistor plus a power supply for your PICAXE – like 5Volts from a 7805 reg or perhaps a 3xAA battery pack (making 4.5Vdc). I normally use the 3 x AA option as it’s just so easy!
5. a simple program to load into your PICAXE to test it with! here is one which will work on a PICAXE 08M . it just flashes a LED on and off.. how simple can you get! high 2 means turn on output2 – pin6
main:
high 2
pause 1000
low 2
pause 1000
goto main
I should point out that with PICAXE this code is all you need. You then simply download it to your PICAXE using the programming editor (point 2 above) – there is no need to Assemble/Compile the code etc. the PICAXE bootloader accepts the basic code in just like it appears above. Once your code has downloaded it will commence running.
In various placesd you will see a software CD mentioned/displayed – you don’t need it! – you just need the files I have linked to above.. everything on that CD can be downloaded from the picaxe.co.uk site.
Now, how easy was that..??
if you need help or there are parts which this articles doesn’t explain well enough please drop me a line - vk3jap@vk3jap.net
if you’re in the Australian time zone and would like to tap into other people who are probably doing what you are or have done what you want to do then go jump onto the OzElecForums at http://ozelecforum.com – there is a section dedicated there to PICAXE and people who are quite happy to help out, even with total newbie questions – in fact, they’re encouraged.
Well since my first post I have learnt a lot more about the various RTC options available including the prices and logistics etc plus a good understanding of the pro’s and con’s of each option. There is a lot I want to share with you and I thought the best way to do that was record my thoughts into an MP3 file and show you a picture of the RTC lineup.
The files are a little large so appols for that but I think worth it.
Hopefully the information I share here can help others make informed decisions!
Well I just wanted to say thanks to those who visit my blog, read my entries and take the time to say hi and/or leave a comment, it really is appreciated. Over time I have taken so much from the internet, it really is an amazing tool.. whenever I’ve needed any knowledge or indeed just a snippet of code to help it has been there, PICAXE, Perl, HTML, whatever.. so this blog is my way if giving back, doing my bit as it were.
While I’m at it I would like to give Credit to a few folks who have contributed greatly to my life in that they’ve really helped in different ways with hobbies I enjoy a lot.
Steve Zoneff (GC:mos6510) for revamping my interest in Electronics after many years AND getting me into PICAXE’s. It was through his fantastic little FM TX geocache up near Canberra called SandHills FM.
Gunter Baurhenn – VK2JAP for rekindling my interest in Amateur Radio after many years of HAM remission. Hence, my callsign – VK3JAP – it was free so I took it.
Brett Dargue – James Dargue‘s [Man that kids can fly!] Dad.. When I got into RC Helicopters I had some REAL bad luck and as just about to give it all up. Then, Brett, out of the kindness of his heart REALLY helped me out – I’m forever appreciative and as such have since helped others as he helped me.
for a while I have been pondering how to take a spare channel on my RC receiver (Futaba for my Helicopter in this case) and use that spare channel to somehow send signals or binary ON/OFF messages to an onboard PICAXE which I could subsequently do something with. Like, enable NAV lights when greater than 25% throttle.. when greater than 35% then turn on Strobe light also – etc. – When less than 25% enable onboard glow plug!?
::UPDATE:: The PICAXE ‘PULSIN’ command IS the way to go for this task.. it is far superior. I only learnt of this after making this post, so will at some stage update this blog entry to completely reflect this. Feel free to email me or ask questions via the comment function here. below is the excerpt re PULSIN from the PICAXE PDF Manual (Man2, Page 135) .
The output of a Servo channel is Pulse Width Modulation as far as I know (wiki) and the PICAXE has plenty of high resolution ADC inputs which will, at a given point in time, take a voltage sample and then give that a number to represent it’s value – the higher the voltage, the higher the number – simple.
The PWM signal is too messy to try and sample with the ADC(wiki) inputs of the PICAXE direct. So all I did is put a capacitor across it, with a resistor accross the capacitor in turn. The resistor is doing it’s best to dischange the capacitor whilst the PWM signal is coming in as charge accross the capacitor – the more the PWM’s duty cycle(the more your transmitter stick is raised), the more effective charge gets into the capacitor therefore the higher the PICAXE ADC reads -comes sample time. You can then make programmatic decisions based upon the sampled level you get. I used a Cap which was much bigger than I needed(all I had lying around!).. you can experiment with the values of the Cap and resistor in the sample circuit. The challenge there is the have a value which is still responsive enough but there is no wavering to the ADC when it is sampling it – have a play, you’ll see what I mean.
Take a look at the linked Video below on Youtube, or the higher resolution on direct from my blog (better).
I’ve been having a lot of fun with RTC’s – I started with a DS1307 as they’re easy to procure etc. I found it quite inaccurate but yes that was my fault due to extra capacitance in the patchboard I was using.
it was suggested to look at the DS3232.. I did some research and liked the idea of everything being in inside the chip(crystal I’m really talking about, the DS1307 it is separate) aswell as being temperature compensated etc.
Problem was.. you can only get them in a Surface mount package which was a bit of a pain. Anyway, I purchased some direct from maxim-IC online and I also found a SM Chip to DIP converter which worked a treat.
- here is the URL for the DS3232 from MAXIM-IC ( link ) ( DATASHEET )- I purchased locally from Farnell in Sydney ( store link ) I paid $13.42 AUD per chip and shipping was free to Melbourne. (there is a slightly dearer one, which is military spec on tempaeratures.. I bought that one, but the other would practically be fine)
- here is the URL for the SOIC to 20pin DIP converter I purchased from Digi-Key ( link ) – I paid $5.95 USD per chip and $30.00 USD postage.
- here is the a great URL for a video showing you how to solder SMD if you have never done it before – (link)
I would highly recommend anyone who is looking at using RTC’s look to the DS3232, for my own personal experience is it a much better chip – all things considered.
PRO’s
+ Temperature compensated (keeps it super accurate)
+ XTAL built into chip so no external XTAL issues
+ it has an onboard temp sensor which you can read and it is very accurate.
+ it has 2 ‘ALARMS’ which can be set to raise an interrupt line etc.
+ very accurate
CON’s
- at the time I looked I could only find it in SM20 form factor
- if you haven’t soldered SM chips before then you need to do some learning.. I looked on youtube etc and found that it was not that hard – I never even killed one chip! and I didn’t have the right flux on hand but I still had good results
- not as readily available as the DS1307
I can have a DS1307 with XTAL etc shipped to my door from Microzed.com.au for $17.00 AUD ($5 for the DS1307 and $12 postage)
I can have a DS3232 and SMD to DIP converter shipped to my door for approx $57.64 AUD (.0812 FOREX) (AUD $13.42 + USD 5.95 + USD $30)
yes the DS1307 is quite a bit cheaper but I was really quite let down by it’s accuracy. I have found the DS3232 to be very accurate plus it has a very accurate onboard temperature sensor which you can easily read in to the PICAXE as well as some memory space.
I’ve been talking to a few people of late about the fun I’ve been having with these PICAXE processors. Coming into Winter in Australia they’re a great cheap little thing which you can have a ton of fun with and are limited only by your imagination.
so, in this post – what is Machine Code, what is Assembeler and what it BASIC.
Well, a computer or micro-controller reads and operates of Machine Code – just 1′s and 0′s – that’s all. Very hard for a human to read/write and make sense of.
Things are written in high level languages like C, C++< FORTRAN, PASCAL, Visual Basic, BASIC etc etc – then compiled into ASSEMBLER code and then converted ultimately to MACHINE CODE.
lets take the simple job – printing hello world on the screen.
In Basic it’s about as simple as PRINT “HELLO WORLD” – and that’s it – just one line.
that gets then converted by a compiler into Assembly code – here is a sample of what Assembly code looks like (it doesn’t print hello world!)
jumpval dd 0
signature dw whozat
state db 0
wait dw 18
hour dw 0
atime dw 0ffffh
acount dw 0
atone db 5
to print Hello World – would take many more lines of code that those few above.!
then to Machine code.. this is just 1011000101001 – just ones and zero’s
and that probably does about nothing. The Machine code to print Hello world would be MUCH longer than the BASIC.
So the whole point is.. with a PIC chip.. you have to program that in assembler, with the PICAXE , you program in BASIC – real simple stuff.
Well my background is in electronics and Radio.. but I got out of that a long time back – around the time that computers came to the fore. I never forgot Ohms law and basic electronics but lost all the advanced stuff. I remember back in the days I used to think – if it had a IC chip it was to complex to fault find, and if it had a chip it was too complex to build also!
Well there just isn’t a lot you can do with only discrete components and transistors etc – unless you have thousands of them of course.
So I heard about these things call PIC microprocessors a while back. Basically, a mini computer – in a single chip. The thing was that you need to program them in assembler (which is not easy) and you need to use a PROM burner etc every time you want to make a change, even a tiny change. Some more research… and I stumbled on the PICAXE Micro-controller. It’s basically the same chip ranges but there is an onboard BASIC interpreter built in and you program it via a 3 wire serial Cable (RX/TX/GND) programming routine. In short, it’s DEAD easy, super cheap, mega simple to program and really, quite a lot of fun. did i say fun.. it’s super cool, and super cheap.
With the PICAXE all you need is some simple supporting circuitry, like a few resistors on the programming line, a DC battery pack to power it.. and, that’s it. It has sense inputs, can drive PWM servos, has simple on/off pins out.. all the good gear. There are chips as small as 8pin which sell in Oz for $3.55AUD ea and right up to much larger 40 pin at $15.50AUD each from MicroZed – how cheap is that!.
it’s totally cool what you can do with these little things, a USB programming cable, some breadboard and a few simple components like a LED etc. The PICAXE is well supported, well documented, there are very helpful forums and no shortage of sample circuits from people who have done similar things to what you’re thinking.
below is a picture of my latest PICAXE project – it’s a PICAXE 18X and a DS-1307 RTC(real Time Clock) chip – the PICAXE talks to the RTC via a single wire for read and one for write. If I turn off the battery which powers the whole breadboard then the RTC switches over to battery backup automagically – clever, all in the one DS-1307 IC. And it’s quite accurate.
You’d be amazed how many nifty little things you know of or use employ little processors like these.. and, the things you can do with them are limited only by your imagination.
you got to get one, simple cheap fun. For a family man, it’s an easy on, easy off hobby.. cheap so wifey gives you no grief and you can sit at the kitchen bench while she’s doing the Ironing.. quality family time! (if a little sexist )
Here is a Sample program.. does it get any simpler.. go order yourself one of these starter kits and have some fun!!! - AXE003MU
I’ve gotten into the habbit of carrying with me a longwire. It’s really quite simple. I went to middy’s and purchased a full roll (100mtrs) of reasonably heavy but not too heavy wire, stranded of course. On the end of that I added about 40 Mtrs of light line, just the stuff you can buy from the hardware shop for a few bucks. On the end of that I tied a shifting spanner – medium size.
The photo’s taken below show me using it. I just stop, find a good looking tree which I can fling the shifter up and over. Pull it down until the wire is at the tree. Secure of the shifter somewhere, usually just a few wraps around the trunks of the tree does fine. then I loosen on my HF stainless whip and wrap the bare wire around the base, only once. Then.. I just drive back to pull up to tension – too easy.
And, I have found that it works and absolute treat every time. As soon as I whack up the long wire it’s like I have giant ears and a 400 watt linear in the boot – in comparison to what I am used to that is.
I have an icom AH-4 tuner in the bull-bar which tunes it up, an awesome tuner also!
