BITX40 Hacks, Mods, and Upgrades

​The BITX40 is a $60 Arduino controlled 7 watt QRP SSB 40 meter transceiver designed and built by Ashar Farhan VU2ESE.  They are available as a “kit” from http://www.hfsigs.com/ .  The assembly only involves soldering wires for things like speakers, power, and microphones and also finding a suitable case.  We originally spoke about the BITX40 back in Episode 26 (http://hamradio360.com/index.php/2017/06/20/ham-radio-360-workbench-26-the-bitx40-transceiver-an-introduction/)
Mark “Smitty” Smith KR6ZY is back with us again to share with us the modifications and upgrades he’s made to the original BITX40 over the summer.

In this episode, we discuss adding upper sideband capabilities, adding an IF shift, and even multibanding the radio!  Smitty shares lots of great resources and ideas in this episode of the Workbench.

Smitty KR6ZY can be found online on twitter @smittyhalibut (https://twitter.com/smittyhalibut) and on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/SmittyHalibut

Banner photo courtesy of (and used with permission from) Randy K7AGE - https://www.youtube.com/user/K7AGE

Cale K4CDN is taking a much deserved break for the rest of the year!  -http://hamradio360.com/index.php/2017/09/19/ham-radio-360-lessons-from-irma-and-my-vacation/

Workbench Autodesk Eagle board layout tutorial with KF7IJZ, KJ6VU, W6KWF, and KR6ZY - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYoorqf2llE

OSHPark Printed Circuit Board Manufacturer - https://oshpark.com/

ESP01 / ESP8266

• http://www.instructables.com/id/Getting-Started-With-the-ESP8266-ESP-01/
• https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13678
• ESP Libraries Source https://github.com/esp8266/Arduino
• Arduino IDE - https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software
• ESP8266 in Arduino - https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/esp8266-thing-hookup-guide/installing-the-esp8266-arduino-addon
• Teensy - https://www.pjrc.com/teensy/
• ARRL HF Data Rates - http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-files-symbol-rate-petition-with-fcc
• Hardware random number generator - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardware_random_number_generator

RTL-SDR v3 with Direct Sampling - https://www.rtl-sdr.com/rtl-sdr-blog-v-3-dongles-user-guide/

QRP Labs Filter Kits

• https://www.qrp-labs.com
• LPFs: https://www.qrp-labs.com/lpfkit.html
• BPFs: https://www.qrp-labs.com/bpfkit.html
• HF BPF 10-band Set - http://shop.qrp-labs.com/BPFSET

D-STAR QSO Party - https://www.icom.co.jp/world/dqp/

Silicon Dust HDHomeRun OTA TV to IP Box - https://www.silicondust.com/

Smitty’s BITX40 Intro Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ESph5JCOpw

BITX40 Mods

• Groups.io - https://groups.io/g/BITX20
• BitX Hacks - http://bitxhacks.blogspot.com/
• Raduino Software - https://groups.io/g/BITX20/wiki/Raduino-Topics
• Allard’s Software - https://groups.io/g/BITX20/wiki/Allard%27s-Raduino-Code
• Software upgrades https://github.com/amunters/bitx40/
• Make it do CW http://bitxhacks.blogspot.com/2017/03/nd6t-bitx-cw-update.htmlhttp://bitxhacks.blogspot.com/2017/02/putting-bitx-raduino-on-cw.html
• USB and LSB (for digital) - https://groups.io/g/BITX20/wiki/USB-LSB-operation
• Front panel and case - https://www.banggood.com/Electronic-Plastic-Shell-Cartridge-Handle-Project-Case-Desk-Instrument-200x175x70mm-p-1035473.html?rmmds=myorder
• Optical/Rotary Encoder Tuning - https://groups.io/g/BITX20/topic/mouse_encoder/5553536?p=,,,20,0,0,0::Relevance,,mouse,20,2,0,5553536
• Dr. Jack Purdum W8TEE VFO TFT - https://groups.io/g/BITX20/topic/5116056
• AGC Board - http://kv4qb.blogspot.com/2016/11/bitx-40p-building-part-1.html

SteppIR Urban Beam - http://www.steppir.com/UrbanBeam