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Post by 2600 on Dec 12, 2017 23:26:56 GMT -5
A digital frequency display for the Tram D201 radios would be nice, but there's a problem. The only displays that fit the VFO dial window are LCD. Black dot-matrix numbers on a green backlighted background. Customers don't like LCDs. Neither do I. Tried it. It worked, but I didn't like it. But every LED frequency display I can find, since the 1980s-era PDC256 is just too big to fit inside a window that's 2 and 1/8 inches wide. The solution, of course is to roll your own. Never design and build what you can just buy. Especially if it comes from China for less money than you could ever hope to build one yourself. The SanJian Studio model PLJ-6LED frequency display has all the features you need, but one. IT'S JUST TOO BLOODY BIG! Solved this problem in the Siltronix VFO by removing the aluminum front panel and substituting one made from smoked plex. Can't do that with the D201. Decided to meet the solution in the middle. The 6-digit counter/display with the too-large digits is just too cheap to resist, and it works just fine. I had pc boards made that accept two 3-digit displays that fit the D201 window and then removed the large digits from the Ebay counter. My board now "piggybacks" on the counter where the original digits mounted. Naturally the VFO tuning capacitor must come out to remove the white plastic dial. Just be sure to get the end-stop screw properly aligned with the capacitor shaft when it goes back in. A new smoked-plex window replaces the original. The right-most dial lamp socket gets removed (on the left in this pic) and the brown wire spliced to power the one behind this side of the meter. The input cable supplied has two insulated wires, one black and one red. Oddly enough the black wire is the signal input, and the red one is ground. The 40-channel D201A will require a shielded input lead 22 inches long, spliced as close to the display's input plug as possible. The shield does not get grounded to the top socket of the radio's crystal board, but gets grounded for RF only using a .001uf disc cap. The center lead has a 470-ohm 1/4-Watt resistor at the tapoff point, to prevent loading down the crystal board's output signal. A mask made from black construction paper will block the glare from the radio's meter lamps, and black out the area around the digits. The power hookup is no big deal, so long as the radio's 14-Volt supply has another 150 mA of capacity, more or less. This radio has our upgraded BA-plus board in it, with a much-larger heat sink on the 14-Volt regulator. A 47-ohm 1-Watt resistor in line with the power tapoff makes life easier for the 5-Volt regulator on the PLJ6 counter board. Here's the final installation, ready to use. Looks pretty legit from the outside, too. No way to tell if this will ever make its way up to the status of "product". Yet. It's a bit labor intensive. Only made twelve of them, so they probably won't last long. But I'd love to come up with the money to build a "production" batch of fifty, and sell them as D-I-Y kits to install yourself. You never know, it could happen. 73
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Post by husker on Dec 13, 2017 1:02:41 GMT -5
I would take one in a minute!
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Post by mark4 on Dec 13, 2017 12:15:41 GMT -5
Looks great. I just finished my Tram virtually NOS cionversion to a Tram D201A. With NOS receiver board installed. Now the meter is not beat up by the primitive circuit in the old 201 model.
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Post by outbacktech on Mar 2, 2018 18:25:18 GMT -5
Hey 2600,
Do you have any of the piggy back boards available??
Regards Frank 0594.
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Post by 2600 on Mar 3, 2018 22:59:18 GMT -5
Don't have any of them that are not already soldered to a display board. There were only 12 in the prototype batch.
I have more of them coming. Didn't consider it might sell by itself, without the San Jian board installed.
Probably ought to consider selling it that way, but not before the next batch arrives.
Thanks for asking and 73
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Post by outbacktech on Mar 4, 2018 2:57:43 GMT -5
Don't have any of them that are not already soldered to a display board. There were only 12 in the prototype batch. I have more of them coming. Didn't consider it might sell by itself, without the San Jian board installed. Probably ought to consider selling it that way, but not before the next batch arrives. Thanks for asking and 73 Well there’s a few of us in Australia that would love some even if it is the complete item if you are prepared to sell me a couple Thanks Frank
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Post by outbacktech on Mar 4, 2018 3:57:16 GMT -5
Anot2600, another question for you the .56” display modules that you’re using are they common cathode or anode???
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Post by 2600 on Mar 4, 2018 16:02:04 GMT -5
Common Anode, three multiplexed digits per module.
73
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Post by grimace on May 7, 2018 19:27:11 GMT -5
you said they us a common anode have you tried to hook up 3 counter to one display if you can that would be good to put it in a small box for the browning rx
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Post by 2600 on May 8, 2018 11:12:50 GMT -5
The Browning receiver would require a very different setup than the single-offset display like the PLJ6-LED offers.
A digital display for a Browning receiver would require two separate frequency inputs. One for the tuning-dial oscilator (VFO) and one for the band crystal. The Cobra 2000 frequency display works this way, with one input from the PLL and one from the radio's carrier crystal. A chip inside does the arithmetic to calculate and display the channel frequency.
But there is one more element needed to calculate and display the actual receiver frequency in a Browning receiver. You have to subtract 455 kHz from the two frequencies you measured each with its own separate input.
Haven't seen anyone tackle this setup yet.
Yet.
73
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Post by No Streak on May 29, 2018 9:59:03 GMT -5
A digital frequency display for the Tram D201 radios would be nice, but there's a problem. The only displays that fit the VFO dial window are LCD. Black dot-matrix numbers on a green backlighted background. Customers don't like LCDs. Neither do I. Tried it. It worked, but I didn't like it. But every LED frequency display I can find, since the 1980s-era PDC256 is just too big to fit inside a window that's 2 and 1/8 inches wide. The solution, of course is to roll your own. Never design and build what you can just buy. Especially if it comes from China for less money than you could ever hope to build one yourself. The SanJian Studio model PLJ-6LED frequency display has all the features you need, but one. IT'S JUST TOO BLOODY BIG! Solved this problem in the Siltronix VFO by removing the aluminum front panel and substituting one made from smoked plex. Can't do that with the D201. Decided to meet the solution in the middle. The 6-digit counter/display with the too-large digits is just too cheap to resist, and it works just fine. I had pc boards made that accept two 3-digit displays that fit the D201 window and then removed the large digits from the Ebay counter. My board now "piggybacks" on the counter where the original digits mounted. Naturally the VFO tuning capacitor must come out to remove the white plastic dial. Just be sure to get the end-stop screw properly aligned with the capacitor shaft when it goes back in. A new smoked-plex window replaces the original. The right-most dial lamp socket gets removed (on the left in this pic) and the brown wire spliced to power the one behind this side of the meter. The input cable supplied has two insulated wires, one black and one red. Oddly enough the black wire is the signal input, and the red one is ground. The 40-channel D201A will require a shielded input lead 22 inches long, spliced as close to the display's input plug as possible. The shield does not get grounded to the top socket of the radio's crystal board, but gets grounded for RF only using a .001uf disc cap. The center lead has a 470-ohm 1/4-Watt resistor at the tapoff point, to prevent loading down the crystal board's output signal. A mask made from black construction paper will block the glare from the radio's meter lamps, and black out the area around the digits. The power hookup is no big deal, so long as the radio's 14-Volt supply has another 150 mA of capacity, more or less. This radio has our upgraded BA-plus board in it, with a much-larger heat sink on the 14-Volt regulator. A 47-ohm 1-Watt resistor in line with the power tapoff makes life easier for the 5-Volt regulator on the PLJ6 counter board. Here's the final installation, ready to use. Looks pretty legit from the outside, too. No way to tell if this will ever make its way up to the status of "product". Yet. It's a bit labor intensive. Only made twelve of them, so they probably won't last long. But I'd love to come up with the money to build a "production" batch of fifty, and sell them as D-I-Y kits to install yourself. You never know, it could happen. 73 That’s sweet only if Tram would have done that in 1978.
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Post by grimace on Jun 1, 2018 21:38:30 GMT -5
in 1978 you wouldn't have room for the freq counter
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Post by seahawk on Jul 18, 2018 11:49:43 GMT -5
Hello all, this is my first post. I have ordered a project box and a frequency counter for my hand wired tram. I want to put it in a box as I do not want to really alter the radio. My question is what type of shielded cable do I use? I know I can use mini 8u coax cable but it is still big. Can someone lead me in the right direction on this? Also would it hurt to put a jack into the back I could just plug into so I do t have to hard wire it inside the radio? Thanks in advance.
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Post by 2600 on Jul 18, 2018 21:43:34 GMT -5
Frequency counters come in two basic types.
First one shows zero when there is no input. Feed some RF into it and you'll see the frequency of what you feed into it.
To use one of these on a D201, you'll need to tap into the circuit that feeds the antenna socket, but using a resistor to cut down the drive level to what's safe for the counter's input. Feeding the radio's full transmit power into it would probably damage the input circuit. A brand name and model number would help to pin down the specifics to do this.
Most counters of this type will have a BNC socket on the front panel for the input frequency. It will read only in AM transmit, and only with the mike gain turned way down. Your modulation audio nearly always disrupts the steady reading, and shows your frequency only with a dead carrier.
The second type will show an "offset" number when you power it up with no input. The counter in the picture above that's reading "6.256.5" is a counter of this type. Rather than counting up from zero like the universal "bench" type counter, it has this "offset" number programmed into it. When it is connected to the 21 MHz output of the radio's crystal-selector board, you'll have a full-time readout in transmit and receive, both.
But calling it just a "counter" is like a "car".
Diesel or gas? Convertible or hardtop? Four-wheel or two-wheel drive? Front or rear-wheel? Two door, four door, hatchback?
Cars are not all created equal.
Counters aren't either.
Fill us in on what you have, the brand name and model number and we can offer some specific advice how to get it hooked up.
I'm going to guess that your counter doesn't have two of the 5/8-inch diameter coax sockets on its rear panel, like the antenna socket on the radio. Those are an easy hookup. Only takes a coax jumper to put it in line with the radio and antenna.
73
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Post by bobsleepy on Jan 28, 2019 22:12:36 GMT -5
A digital frequency display for the Tram D201 radios would be nice, but there's a problem. The only displays that fit the VFO dial window are LCD. Black dot-matrix numbers on a green backlighted background. Customers don't like LCDs. Neither do I. Tried it. It worked, but I didn't like it. But every LED frequency display I can find, since the 1980s-era PDC256 is just too big to fit inside a window that's 2 and 1/8 inches wide. The solution, of course is to roll your own. Never design and build what you can just buy. Especially if it comes from China for less money than you could ever hope to build one yourself. The SanJian Studio model PLJ-6LED frequency display has all the features you need, but one. IT'S JUST TOO BLOODY BIG! Solved this problem in the Siltronix VFO by removing the aluminum front panel and substituting one made from smoked plex. Can't do that with the D201. Decided to meet the solution in the middle. The 6-digit counter/display with the too-large digits is just too cheap to resist, and it works just fine. I had pc boards made that accept two 3-digit displays that fit the D201 window and then removed the large digits from the Ebay counter. My board now "piggybacks" on the counter where the original digits mounted. Naturally the VFO tuning capacitor must come out to remove the white plastic dial. Just be sure to get the end-stop screw properly aligned with the capacitor shaft when it goes back in. A new smoked-plex window replaces the original. The right-most dial lamp socket gets removed (on the left in this pic) and the brown wire spliced to power the one behind this side of the meter. The input cable supplied has two insulated wires, one black and one red. Oddly enough the black wire is the signal input, and the red one is ground. The 40-channel D201A will require a shielded input lead 22 inches long, spliced as close to the display's input plug as possible. The shield does not get grounded to the top socket of the radio's crystal board, but gets grounded for RF only using a .001uf disc cap. The center lead has a 470-ohm 1/4-Watt resistor at the tapoff point, to prevent loading down the crystal board's output signal. A mask made from black construction paper will block the glare from the radio's meter lamps, and black out the area around the digits. The power hookup is no big deal, so long as the radio's 14-Volt supply has another 150 mA of capacity, more or less. This radio has our upgraded BA-plus board in it, with a much-larger heat sink on the 14-Volt regulator. A 47-ohm 1-Watt resistor in line with the power tapoff makes life easier for the 5-Volt regulator on the PLJ6 counter board. Here's the final installation, ready to use. Looks pretty legit from the outside, too. No way to tell if this will ever make its way up to the status of "product". Yet. It's a bit labor intensive. Only made twelve of them, so they probably won't last long. But I'd love to come up with the money to build a "production" batch of fifty, and sell them as D-I-Y kits to install yourself. You never know, it could happen. 73 I would sure love one of these if they are avaible please text or call me 352-293-1524
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Post by grimace on Feb 2, 2019 13:27:42 GMT -5
the hole on the back marked gd tx rx if that is what I think it is can you add a switch and use it on the mark3 rx for high and low bands
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Post by 2600 on Feb 2, 2019 23:08:36 GMT -5
On the other side of those three holes you'll see the printed legend "USART". As in Universal Synchronous/Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter.
Means the board has a serial port. Haven't hooked up anything to it, but it refers to serial-data transmit and receive. Doesn't have anything to do with changing the displayed frequency when you key a mike.
73
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Post by grimace on Feb 3, 2019 0:36:05 GMT -5
ok thanks
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