I received another run of 100 PCB’s for the DG5 emulator, project info here.  Please read before ordering – this isn’t a kit – you will need additional components.

INTERNATIONAL BUYERS PLEASE NOTE!  Please e-mail me at mycall@mycall.com (mycall is the website you’re on!) before placing an order.  On January 21, 2018, USPS stopped allowing USPS First Class Mail to contain goods, only documents.  Rates for goods are MUCH higher, unfortunately.  

ALSO NOTE (2/8/2020): The Arduino Duemilanove is difficult to find, and the 3 RCA connectors used in this design are no longer available. If you have a Duemilanove, and can solder jumpers to panel mount RCA connectors, you should have no problems.

Steve
KV6O

UPDATE 10/17/19 – new boards have arrived, hopefully I can get the ordering process up and running this weekend.

I have ordered another 100 boards, which should be here in a few weeks. There still seems to be interest, so I’ll keep supplying the boards! I’ll post an update when they are ready to ship.

The last 100 boards took about 2 years to sell, not sure if there is enough interest for another run. If you’re interested in a DG5 emulator board as described here, please leave me note below!

I don’t know what the USPS is thinking, but I can no longer ship international for the $2.50 I have been charging.  The USPS rate for a document is about $2.50 (for 1 ounce), but for goods it varies – I tried to ship to Australia and it was over $13!  Bottom line, if you want me to ship internationally, please send me an e-mail first with you address – I’ll have to see if Paypal can do the calculations, but in the mean time please ask first at my call @ my call.com (same as the website you’re on!)

I received another run of 100 PCB’s for the DG5 emulator, project info here.  Please read before ordering – this isn’t a kit – you will need additional components.

Same price, $8.00 + $2.50 shipping for as many boards as you like. In most circumstances, I can ship internationally for this price as well. Rather than having to find the link to order on the project page (which has gotten rather large!) you can use the link below:

Steve
KV6O

UPDATE 7/6/17 – The last 2 boards shipped today, so I am officially out of stock for now, but more are on their way.

I placed another order for 100 PCB’s with the same PCB house that made the last batch, should be here in a week or two.  In the meantime, I am selling the remaining few boards I have to folks who have written me wanting a board.  I *think* that means ~180 boards shipped so far, I’ll have to look at my previous orders.  I hope folks are having fun with the project!

FYI – I only have 9 PCB’s left – I’ll probably let these sell out before I order another batch as I want to make sure that there is still interest.  

It’s been a while since I have updated the code, and I have been working on some improvements on and off over the past year as I have had time.  This is for the LCD version, which I think just about everyone is running.  I have made an LED and Nixie tube version as well, but haven’t updated the code for these versions just yet – let me know if you need it. Done, new pages have been set up for both and new code for all 3 version is on Github

Some of the improvements:

• New/improved frequency counter routine.  The program now uses the “FreqCount” library that is available in the IDE environment.  You will probably need to download this, which can be done selecting “Sketch/Include Library/Manage Libraries..” in the Arduino IDE.
  Search on “FreqCount” and you should find Paul Stoffregen’s library. Install the latest version.
• Correction Factor added.  If needed, you can correct the display.  This will not “fix” a poor frequency reference/source like the ceramic resonators found on UNO’s.
• Better code documentation.  I hope it’s easier to read and understand if you want to get in there and make your own modifications.
• Added smoothing, anti-jitter code to help stabilize the display. (smooths over 10 readings, this is adjustable)
• Tested with latest Arduino IDE (1.8.2)

4/8/17 – Code has been moved to Github, LCD, LED, and Nixie versions published.

4/8/17 – Version 2.0.2 uploaded to Github. Stability Enhancement added. Tests the HFO and BFO to see if they have moved more than 500Hz and 100Hz, respectively.  If not, keeps the last reading. This should help eliminate some wander/wiggle but keeping the two “fixed” frequencies stable.  Also lowered the averageing to 4 samples (from 10), makes display a little more responsive

Update – boards have shipped as of today, 4/8/16. I should have them early next week and will probably build one to make sure they are good – I am using a different vendor for this run. I’ll let everyone who has posted inquiring about availability when I am ready to ship.

Due to the continued interest, I have ordered up another set of boards. I think as I finish up the LED and Nixie versions there might be more interest as well. The LED code is here, I haven’t released the Nixie code just yet but I will when I have the project complete. All three versions use the same PCB board – just different connections on the board.

More to come, but another run of boards is in the works!

Steve
KV6O

I seem to be going backwards with my display technology for this emulator. First it was an LCD display, then LED’s, now Nixies! I completed wiring up a set of TaylorEdge SmartNixies (http://www.tayloredge.com/storefront/SmartNixie/index.html) using the IN-12b Nixie tube. They make using Nixies with a micro-controller easy. Each module has a PIC controller that is I2C addressable, so wiring is much easier than wiring up all the cathodes and anodes of 6 tubes – just +5V, +170V (for the tubes), GND, and SDA/SCL data lines. 5 wires daisy chained together.

I need to find an enclosure to get this mounted in, and given the size I’ll need I am thinking about a wooden enclosure with a speaker as well, unless I find some old test equipment shell I can mount this in – like an old Heathkit Frequency counter or similar.

So, to review, LCD is nice, LED’s are correct (the original DG5 used LED’s), and Nixies are the best!