Build your own USB tuner- will work with Minitioune

[g8gtz]

Shaun,

Not sure if it's important but I did not change any settings in Tutioune and used the following URL in VLC udp://@:1234, clicked the UDP button in TT and it worked.....

Noel

[G1LPS Terry]

Hi Shaun
The UDP Noel suggests works over your home network.
To stream within the same pc no network
udp://@127.0.0.1:1234

enable it in the ini file also.

Found this out today when out portable with the USB tuner (thanks Rob)
couldnt get VCL to work until set like this.
USB TUNER worked excellent over the 115km path on 146.5mhz


Regards Terry

[G4EWJ]

The prototype pcb is working.

This is the output from the test program. I was getting the occasional error earlier, but I found that the input to the 5v regulator was intermittent because I hadn't soldered both the top and bottom of the leg of the input capacitor of the regulator. I'm surprised it was working at all. I haven't seen any errors since I resoldered it.

I've put 47pF on the I2C pins, but it doesn't seem to have affected the overshoot much.

Brian


FT2232H I2C is open
FT2232H FIFO open for TS
For I2C,we will use device N° DAYUITYJA named: USB <-> NIM tuner A
For TS,we will use device N° DAYUITYJB named: USB <-> NIM tuner B
FT2232H FIFO closed for TS
==========================================================================
------ IP and UDP detection ------
IP n° 1 = 192.168.76.1
IP n° 2 = 192.168.209.1
IP n° 3 = 192.168.77.229
UDP address : 127.0.0.1 port : 1234 using IP interface : 127.0.0.1
==========================================================================
****************** I2C controler INIT *******************
I2C controler INIT OK
OK MPSSE is empty
Init MPSSE I2C done!
***********************************************************
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
mode Repeater OFF
essai de lecture du N° de série du Démodulateur
valeur lue = 32
Démodulateur reconnu
essai d' écriture de la valeur $5A=90 dans le registre XYZ du Démodulateur
écriture de la valeur $5A à l'adresse XYZ semble OK
essai de 1000 lectures du registre XYZ du Démodulateur
temps mis : 733msec
on a eu : 0 erreurs de lecture sur 1000
test de 512 écritures/lectures dans le Démodulateur
on a eu : 0 erreurs d'écriture et 0 erreurs de lecture sur 512
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Demodulator setup for DVBS
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ecriture de la série des valeurs par défaut dans le Démodulateur ==> OK
temps mis : 640msec
écriture de la valeur $5A à l'adresse XYZ semble OK
nouvel essai de 1000 lectures du registre XYZ du Démodulateur après son init
temps mis : 1060msec
on a eu : 0 erreurs de lecture sur 1000
nouveau test de 512 écritures/lectures dans le Démodulateur après son init
on a eu : 0 erreurs d'écriture et 0 erreurs de lecture sur 512
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Init ZeroTuner Eardatek
----------------------------------------------------------------------
initialisation du ZeroTuner ==> OK
lecture des valeurs du ZeroTuner Eardatek
Lecture OK
FT2232H I2C is closed

[g0mjw]

Good news. Regulators like to see their capacitors. They keep them company and provide a convenient low interest banking service for their electrons.

Mike

[g8vpg]

Thanks to everyone who has made suggestions to get my Minituioner working. It is now working! G8XZD suggested probing the D0-D7 lines with a 'scope and the results were inconsistent. The cause was dirty contacts in the brand new 26 pin sockets (green type from RS) that I used for the FT2232. Cleaned with Servisol and a pin and it now works!
73 Shaun.

[F6DZP]

Hello,

I have post the result of my observation about power supply :
http://www.vivadatv.org/viewtopic.php?f ... 1172#p1172

I have also measured exactly the consumption of a Minitiouner with Eardatek. ( about 2W )
and see that the great difference is not by changing the SR, but by checked or not the low SR mode.
You can try receiving SR4000 with lowSR mode and SR4000 with Standard SR mode.

Jean-Pierre F6DZP

[G4EWJ]

>>Regulators like to see their capacitors.

Yes indeed, although most low drop out regulators are very highly strung and need output capacitors with a certain minimum and maximum ESR (equivalent series resistance) or they throw a tantrum. This means that you can't put 100nF ceramics, which have very low ESR, anywhere on the power rails, which is rather a limitation for RF circuitry.

'Ceramic stable' regulators don't have this problem, but are less common.

Brian

[G4EWJ]

NIMPCB2a.jpg (393.17 KiB) Viewed 6371 times

I'm using power supply method 3, with a switcher and then 3 linear regulators. After further testing, the little MP1584 switcher seems fine above 3v and below 1A. I replaced the pot on the 1584 with a fixed resistor, seeing that it can jump and also wrap round from 1v to 12v!

The switcher is running at 87% efficiency and hardly gets warm. The 12v current draw for Low SR is 300mA. The other 80mA on the meter is going straight to the LNB. The 2596 switcher isn't being used at the moment.

The 3.3v regulator is back to back with the 5v one on the other side of the pcb. It's fine for low SR, but gets a bit warm when the Low SR box isn't ticked. There's not much copper around there for the heat to flow into, so I'll probably move and separate them.

The 5v and 3.3v regulators are low dropout 'ceramic stable' MCP1826. The very low dropout of the MCP1826-5 means that the switcher only has to provide 5.5v, which minimises the waste heat. The maximum input voltage for the MCP1826 is 6.0v, so you have to be careful.

The 1v regulator (on the left) is an SC4215A. This can deliver 2A if required and has a maximum drop out of 400mv at 1A. Originally I had the 2596 switcher supplying it with 1.5v, but it's happy running off the 3.3v regulator at the 350mA required. I might put pads in for a couple of 1N5401 diodes to spread the heat out if it ever needs to provide more.

The measurements were made using the configuration below at just below SR6000 with Low SR ticked. That should be the highest we'll ever need for amateur use.

It's surprising that with 100,000 initial bit errors per second and constellations that are hardly discernible, the output after correction is error free and the picture is perfect.

Brian

capture2b.jpg (278.25 KiB) Viewed 6371 times

[g8gtz]

The BATC shop is open again but we do not have any NIM (or digilite) USB modules in stock - if we have an idea of demand we will order some more.

Noel - G8GTZ

[G8XZD-TV]

Im interested in one. Ian.