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Release Firmware CEC Version 0.33 (Issue found and fixed) for Antenna Analyzer(EU1KY)

Release Firmware CEC Version 0.33 (Issue found and fixed) for Antenna Analyzer(EU1KY)

Stabilized version V0.35 has been released, and stabilized version is posted separately.
Please download the latest stable version from the link below.
http://www.hamskey.com/2019/03/eu1ky-antenna-analyzer-cec-stabilized.html
The stable version will continue to be updated on the Link above.
----------------------

Version 03 has been added with some improvements and some simple features.
A brief introduction is given below.
Beginning with version 3, data conversion utilities are provided for antenna simulation or Matlab use.


- Reasons for changing from Version 0.30 to Version 0.33 -> Version 0.34 (Stabilized version)
As the memory usage increases, it seems that interference occurs in the communication with sd-ram. I've used as much memory as possible to reduce interference.

I have made some modifications to avoid memory interference and it seems to be working normally now. I have tested H / W Calibration and OSL Calibration several times and all have been saved normally.
If you upload Version 0.30, please update to Version 0.34

I will study the memory structure of the compiler (embitz) for a few days and perform minor updates if there are any improvements.

The CEC Firmware V0.33 download Link is at the bottom of this article.

1.Introduction - http://www.hamskey.com/2019/02/faa-450-antenna-analyzer-eu1ky.html
5.Principle of Antenna Analyzer
6.Antenna Analyzer Firmware Improvement - http://www.hamskey.com/2019/02/release-firmware-cec-version-01-for.html
7.Release Firmware CEC Version 0.21 for Antenna Analyzer (EU1KY) - http://www.hamskey.com/2019/03/release-firmware-cec-version-021-for.html
8.Release Firmware CEC Version 0.30 for Antenna Analyzer (EU1KY) - this article
9.Release of stabilized version 0.34
1. Added or improved in V0.34
  Please see the link below for revisions and improvements until Version 0.21

1.1 Memory usage is reduced for more stable use. Optimized for some codes.
  Before memory optimization
After memory optimization

1.2 The measurement range has been expanded on the Frequency Sweep screen.
The measurement range has been extended from 100Mhz to 1Ghz.
This is the DH1AKF sent me the source and I am only applying a small modification.

It is useful for measuring multi-band antennas.

You can see the contents explained so far in the video below.

S21-Gain must be used below 100Mhz only. The recommended measuring range is below 70Mhz.


1.3 Added a function to store measurement results on the Frequency Sweep screen.
M1, M2, M3 Three spaces are available. It is stored on the uSD card so you can compare your antenna condition at any time.
This is different from Screen Snapshot. This saves the measured raw data, so you can see all the data as you move the cursor.

You can choose sotre measurement results to uSD Card or Load measurement result from uSD Card


You can read the data by pressing the M1, M2, M3 buttons on the right in the Load state as shown below.
Buttons Color : Blue is stored measurement result on uSD Card


In Store mode as below, press the M1, M2, M3 button to save the measurement data currently being viewed.
Button Color is Red : stored measurement result on uSD Card, If you press the button, the data will be overwritten.

This feature is quite useful if you use an antenna analysis simulator or Matlab. 
You can convert the data stored in M1, M2, and M3 to data for your program using ConvertRXP.exe (Included with Version 0.33)

1.4 When you run Screen Snapshot, the measurement result data is saved with the same name as the picture file.
This file can also be converted from ConvertRXP.exe to the simulator data you use.

You can see the contents explained so far in the video below.




1.5 It provides a program to convert raw data measured by antenna analyzer.

You will be able to use various antenna related simulators.
You can also show your measured data on vnaj, which is famous for VNA in amateur radio.

Stored measured raw data in uSD Card


Stored measured raw data with screen snapshot in uSD Card


Convert measured raw data to other format


Convert measured raw data to other format


Load converted data from antenna analyzer by web site



Load converted data from antenna analyzer by vna/j


change view mode to smith chart in vna/j


Load converted data from antenna analyzer by octave (matlab)


You can see a simple usage in the video below. 

A link to download the convert program and version 0.33 firmware is located at the bottom of this document.


1.6 Fixed a problem where the frequency is changed abnormally when calling the frequency panel. 
This was a problem with most programs that use frequency panels such as Single Frequency, Frequency Sweep, Multi SWR, Tune SWR, S21-Gain, Find Frequency, and Quarts Data.

1.7 In the main screen, we changed the name of the Cable Length button to TDR Mode.

1.8 Fixed the problem that the sound disappears when the button is clicked on the Tune SWR screen. 

1.9 Fixed an issue that caused Voltage to display incorrectly for a while when returning to the main screen from another screen.


1.10 I added an antenna function to the Multi SWR Screen.
If you do not want to use this feature, you can use it now, without clicking any buttons.
(it just little changed ui)

If you want to change the measurement frequency for each antenna, you can change the antenna number by using the 'Antenna Prior Button' and 'Antenna Next button'

Up to five antennas can be used. 

You can see a simple usage in the video below. 

1.11 I changed the name of the firmware. 
This is the idea of Wolfgang (DH1AKF), which gave me a nice firmware name.

New Name is 'AA EU1KY v3 mod DH1AKF & KD8CEC ver x.xx'

1.12 There were other minor improvements.


2. Download Links
AA EU1KY v3 mod DH1AKF & KD8CEC ver 0.34
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1cGs0N2HzgaEncsxmyQ4MORpyM2o4yDZ0

Stabilized version V0.35 has been released, and stabilized version is posted separately.
Please download the latest stable version from the link below.
http://www.hamskey.com/2019/03/eu1ky-antenna-analyzer-cec-stabilized.html

Convert RXP (Application for Windows, I have not tested on linux, but if you install mono it is expected to be available in apple or linux too)

I did the testing on the most famous Online virus check site before uploading.

Below is a brief test video after uploading the released firmware ver 0.33



3. conclusion
I have done some experiments to make this antenna analyzer a little more useful. 
Because I do not measure the antenna every day. I used it only as an antenna analyzer so I could not be sure to use it once a month.

This is a very nice framework.
So I hope to be able to put useful functions besides antenna analyzer and to use it in every times.

One of the tests we have seen is below.

This is a test of functionality not found in other antenna analyzers. Some antenna analyzers have built-in WSPR beacons. Of course I am going to include that functionality as well. (Version 0.4).
However, the STM32F746 board has a sound chip that is not found in other antenna analyzers. This will be quite useful.
The following is an experiment that generated the FT8 signal using a sound chip.

I will add the ability to generate WSPR, FT8, JT65 signals in Version 0.4. The WSPR button on the screen is fake. I just added a button in advance for Version 0.4 when working with GUIs.

Thank you for reading.
Ian KD8CEC

Comments

  1. Hi Ian,
    QSL Calibration/Save and exit does no work.

    73, Janos HA8NJ

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the bug report.
      I have confirmed this problem now.
      I will fix the problem and leave a comment again

      Ian KD8CEC

      Delete
    2. jnagy
      Thank you so much for your response.
      I have been able to solve the problem after I have reduced memory usage
      Please download and test again.
      I recommend that you reformat uSD cards as much as possible.

      Ian KD8CEC

      Delete
  2. Good evening, Jan.
    Thanks for the new version. Everything is working . But as I understand the L / C measurement, you still have not been able to correct. I additionally checked after the required calibration, but the measurement measured is very far from the truth. We change the frequency measured, and the result of measurements varies greatly. And so everything is beautiful. Thank.
    Justas LY2BOK

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jutas
      At 0.30, there was no improvement in the L / C meter yet. he L / C meter code of V0.3 is the same as V0.21.
      I created and distributed a utility to analyze measurement RAW data. I want to make the OSL calibration available for analysis using that program. Probably we will check your L / C meter Probe Calibration at that time.
      Ian KD8CEC

      Delete
    2. Justas, To measure small inductances and capacitances, very short measuring terminals are needed. 1 mm deviation of the length of the wire will give 1 nH error.
      The probe must be calibrated very accurately. After some training I was able to correctly measure inductance in 15 nH

      Delete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Ian, I noticed that when measuring "Frequency Sweep" in "AUTO( fast )" the screen is very flickering.
    Also the "DSP" screen is very flickering.
    While all that found
    www.qrz.lt/ly2bok/Laikinas/1.mp4
    Justas LY2BOK

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Justas
      Thank you for your feed back.
      Perhaps I should reduce memory usage a little more.
      If flickering improves, I will probably make a minor update to V0.34 or V0.35.
      Once again thank you for your test.

      Ian KD8CEC

      Delete
  6. Hi, Ian! Thanks for your work!
    Minor bugreport: https://youtu.be/0CQq0tMwB_8
    1) the main screen flickers when working with external programs
    2) in frequency sweep mode screen flickers when I move the cursor

    Good for me in 0.33: the OSL cal is now saved without errors.

    73! RT6M

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. RT6M

      Wow! I did not test until the connection of the external program.
      So far, I have experienced flickers when memory usage is high.
      Let's reduce memory usage a little more.

      Because of the people who test, I am very convenient to work with. Thank you
      I will update Minor when I am improved.

      Ian KD8CEC

      Delete
  7. March 24, 2019 at 10:50 AM

    ...."Justas, To measure small inductances and capacitances, very short measuring terminals are needed. 1 mm deviation of the length of the wire will give 1 nH error.
    The probe must be calibrated very accurately. After some training I was able to correctly measure inductance in 15 nH "

    (Capacitors of 300pF or less, Inductor of 50uH or less)
    Such chapels of measurements as the author writes. I tried to calibrate without a cable and with a 2-3 cm cable. Does not help. Moreover, there is a calibration to compensate for the length of the cable. not the first year to measure ... Hee .... Something is still not good there.
    www.qrz.lt/ly2bok/Laikinas/1.jpg
    www.qrz.lt/ly2bok/Laikinas/Zond.jpg
    On three AA devices, the same. It does not happen ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. https://youtu.be/qJ9f_a7RWmY
      on this video i try to measure inductance with random cable (not accurately calibrated). i think it's not bad result.
      15nH and 68nH 2%

      Delete
  8. Yes, as long as this feature does not work. We will wait for amendments.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Ian. More than anything, I was waiting for S21 Gain feature you have added and glad that your finally released the Firmware.
    But alas!! even after tapping the CLK02 from Si5351 and calibrating the VNA's new S21 option, I am not getting any proper graph (I updated to latest FW 0.33, still the problem exists).

    1. After Calibration, when I connect the VNA and S21 port to the output-Input of my LPF (and later direct the VNA- S21 port direct like for Calibration), I get plot like this :

    https://photos.app.goo.gl/yHPELNbs4Fo9ezX5A

    2. When I leave both the Port open (not connected) I get the below plot :

    https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ptz3SuxnFmHU5fQz7

    3. When I connect the S21 port to my Scope while "Scanning" is in progress (that is , the CLK signal from Si5351 is coming out to port ):

    https://photos.app.goo.gl/cQaZYuZp5rFozZiG6

    Any hint what may be wrong ? I hope the Tap from CLK02 Pin of Si5351 directly goes to the SMA connector to S2 port and no Resister Divider/ Capacitor is in the line.

    Thanks,
    Ujjwal
    VU3ECN

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. Has this been a problem since Version 0.21?

      If you are experiencing this problem in Version 0.30, it's probably due to memory interference.

      I have solved all memory interference issues and now I want to release Version 0.34.
      Please testing for version 0.34
      Ian KD8CEC

      Delete
    3. Thanks for the quick reply Ian. After the H/W Mods, the First F/W I tried was v0.21. where this issue was seen. I then upgraded to v0.33 where this continued to reproduce. I will try it again after upgrading to FW 0.34 and report back. Another thing I have noticed that in the Panoramic Scan / Frequency Sweep, plot between two Low SWR "Valleys" m the sometimes get too shoot up beyond the SWR value in the Scale range, which looks like an anomaly to me as same Antenna measured with DH1AKF Firmware had the entire plot well within the Range of the Axis. I will post Frequency Sweep of Same antenna with DH1AKF and your latest FW for comparison.
      73's
      Ujjwal , VU3ECN

      Delete
    4. Hi Ian,
      My problem persists even after upgrading to FW v0,34.
      Could you please give me the URL for the hardware Mod one needs to do for S21 Gain measurements ?
      Do I need to run all the Calibration moving to your FW ? I ran only OSL and S21 calibrations, not HW.

      Delete
  10. Hi, Ian
    New bugreport:
    https://youtu.be/rXQ55PE5qRM
    Setup freq. in S21 mode don't work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your test
      This also seems to be memory interference of Version 0.30.

      I'm going to release version 0.34, which is version 0.3x stable now. I'll ask you to test it.

      Ian KD8CEC

      Delete
  11. Good afternoon, Jan.
    They tried the 0.34 version. Unfortunately, the L / C measurement is still not working
    Request: It is necessary in the screen "Managе Snapshots", the list of paintings should be sorted by date. Now everything is mixed up there.
    1. When temporarily recording graphs in M1, M2, and M3, it is not visible in what memory is recorded. In the beginning it was good. In what memory you write, then the outline of the square (M) changes color. Maybe I do not understand something ...
    2. When measuring quartz, the graph shows the short time. So conceived?
    3. When measuring "Tunе SWR" sometimes the sound is not turned off. It helps only power off. This I noticed in v. 0.33.
    So far, all that noticed.
    Respectfully Justas LY2BOK

    ReplyDelete
  12. We find why the L / C measurement did not work correctly. It turns out that the OSL calibration should be done on "0 ohm", "50 ohm" "open". I noticed this on your video file. Your program doesn’t see what is installed in SETUP. And at our OSL calibration was carried out on the 5 ohm, 50 ohm and 500 ohm.
    As soon as the first version calibrated the OSL, everything fell into place. Now it measures as it should. Trifle - but nice.
    Justas LY2BOK

    ReplyDelete
  13. Finally, version 0.34 is now releasing. This is what I have been waiting for. Thank you for the update. Landscape Repair

    ReplyDelete

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