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Hobby PCB HARDROCK-50 Operating Instructions Manual

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HARDROCK-50
50
Operating Instructions
Instructions
Jim Veatch
WA2EUJ
3 April 2015

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Summary of Contents for Hobby PCB HARDROCK-50

  • Page 1 HARDROCK-50 Operating Instructions Instructions Jim Veatch WA2EUJ 3 April 2015...

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ............................. 1 BASIC OPERATION ..........................2 Connecting the Hardrock-50 Amplifier ....................... 2 QRP Transceiver Setup: Basic .......................... 3 QRP Transceiver Setup: With PTT ........................3 QRP Transceiver Setup: With PTT and Band Data ................... 3 SDR Transceiver Setup: Band Data from Computer ..................4 Using the HR50 as a Driver for a QRO Amplifier .....................

  • Page 3: Introduction

    3.0 you can use the instructions in the firmware update section of this manual to install the latest firmware. The Hardrock-50 (HR50) is a 5W input 50W output linear amplifier designed for use on 160 to 6 meter Amateur Radio bands.

  • Page 4: Basic Operation

    2. BASIC OPERATION Connecting the Hardrock-50 Amplifier Before you can begin using the HR50, you’ll have to connect it to other equipment in your station. Here are the basic items you’ll need: 13.8V nominal, regulated DC power supply capable of supplying up to 12 amps of current.

  • Page 5: Qrp Transceiver Setup: Basic

    QRP Transceiver Setup: Basic The HR50 amplifier is connected in between the transceiver and the antenna. The band is selected manually and the amp keys when RF is detected at the input to the amp (COR mode). For SSB transmissions, be sure to set the COR Hang Tine for at least 500-1000 msec for smoother T/R action.

  • Page 6: Sdr Transceiver Setup: Band Data From Computer

    SDR Transceiver Setup: Band Data from Computer SDR software running on a computer can provide band/frequency information to the HR50 amplifier via a USB port. Specific information about the software and SDR’s currently supported is found in the transceiver interface section of this manual.

  • Page 7: Operating The Hardrock-50 Amplifier

    Operating the Hardrock-50 Amplifier Tuning on the HR50 When you first turn on the HR50 the display remains blank for 3 seconds. During this time the HR50 is attempting to connect with the bootloader. Starting with S/N 1400, the bootloader no longer waits 3 seconds for a connection and the splash screen appears right away.

  • Page 8: The Tx Screen

    OFF – The HR50 will not switch to TX under any circumstances. Any signals applied to the amp pass through • without any amplification or filtering. PTT – The HR50 will switch to TX mode in response to grounding the PTT line on the rear panel RCA jack or pin •...

  • Page 9: Safety

    Safety The HR50 will provide years of reliable service but there are a few areas where it helps to know the amplifier’s limits. RF Input Power Most of the input power ends up in four, 1.5W 50 ohm resistors so the HR50 can tolerate 6W input indefinitely and maybe 10 –...

  • Page 10: Menu Settings

    3. MENU SETTINGS The Hardrock-50 amplifier has a menu system for setting some of the operating parameters. This section covers the operation of that menu system. Basic Menu Navigation To access the menu the amp must be an RX mode. The menu system is unavailable during TX. Press and hold the ‘MODE’...

  • Page 11: Menu Items

    Menu Items All menu items are stored in non-volatile memory and restored when the power is turned on. Selecting ‘Exit’ return the HR50 to the RX mode. The amp will not key while the menu is displayed. The ACC Baud Rate is the communication speed of the serial port on pins 2, 3 and 5 of the ACC jack. It is used to communicate with transceivers like the KX3 and others that use TTL level serial ports.
  • Page 12 The ‘Temp. Display’ setting is used to select whether the temperature displayed in the RX mode will use the Fahrenheit or Celsius scales. The ‘Adj Watt Meter’ setting is used to calibrate the internal wattmeter for increased accuracy. The HR50 automatically adjusts the wattmeter for frequency variations so a single calibration value adjusts all bands.

  • Page 13: Automatic Antenna Tuner

    4. AUTOMATIC ANTENNA TUNER The Automatic Antenna Tuner (ATU) option for the Hardrock-50 amplifier matches the 50 ohm output of the amplifier to a wide range of load impedances. ATU Specifications ITEM SPECIFICATION Frequency Range 160, 80, 40, 30, 20, 17, 15, 12, 10, 6 meter Amateur Radio Bands Input Power 50W maximum, >1W drive required for tuning...
  • Page 14 In ‘Active’ mode the ATU monitors band and frequency changes and applies stored tuning solutions in response to changes in band or frequency. The ATU does not measure the frequency of the TX signal, it uses data received from the transceiver or the band selection of the HR50 to determine which tuning solution to use.

  • Page 15: Atu Operation

    ATU Operation Tuning Press the ‘MODE’ button while the HR50 is transmitting and the ATU will drop the power amp off line and search for a tuning solution that provides the best match, apply the tuning solution and re-engage the power amplifier. The ATU can find solutions over a range of input power and waits up to 0.5 seconds for forward power to exceed 0.5W so tuning is possible with a constant signal from the exciter or a string of CW characters or even audio on SSB (but there must be some audio, just keying the mic won’t work).

  • Page 16: Qrp Mode

    1. If a new band is selected either via the front panel switches or an external command, the last tuning solution used on that band will be applied. If no tuning solution has ever been found for this band the ATU is bypassed but remains ‘Active’.

  • Page 17: Transceiver Interfacing

    5. TRANSCEIVER INTERFACING This section covers interfacing the HR50 amplifier with specific transceivers. In most cases this involves connecting the PTT line from the transceiver to the amplifier and establishing a communications path for frequency data. HR50 amplifiers with serial numbers less than 1200 require modification to the rear panel PCB to support serial communications on the ACC jack.

  • Page 18: Yaesu Ft-817

    Yaesu FT-817 The Yaesu FT-817 is a very popular QRP transceiver and interfaces with the HR50 amplifier for PTT keying and automatic band selection. The FT-817 provides an analog voltage output the level of which indicates the transceivers band setting. The HR50 can read this voltage level and set the amplifier’s band accordingly.

  • Page 19: Flexradio Flex-1500

    The Flex-1500 QRP SDR and be connected to the HR50 amplifier for PTT and automatic band selection. PTT requires a cable that connects the Hardrock-50 ACC port to the Flex-1500's Flexwire I/O. Automatic band selection uses a USB connection between the computer running PowerSDR software controlling the Flex-1500 and the HR50. To configure PowerSDR to send frequency information to the HR50, follow these setps: 1.

  • Page 20: Ae9Rb Peaberry Sdr

    Frequency information from software running the Peaberry SDR can be routed to the HR50 for automatic band selection. For PowerSDR setup see the instructions in the Flex-1500 section of this manual. For HDSDR setup use the Omni-Rig interface with the Hardrock-50.INI files that is available here: https://sites.google.com/site/hr50atu/home/files The PTT signal from J3 on the Peaberry SDR can be connected directly to the PTT jack on the HR50 with suitable adapters or a cable can be made that connects the PTT signal on Peaberry SDR J3 to the ACC jack on the HR50.

  • Page 21: Serial Commands

    6. SERIAL COMMANDS The following commands are recognized by the HR50 amplifier: FA – VFO A Frequency HRAT – Set ATU to bypass or active HRBN – Set HR50’s operating band HRBR – Set the ACC port baud rate HRKX – Set ACC port to inverted data for the KX3 HRMD –...
  • Page 22 If the ATU is installed, setting ‘ATU not present’ has no effect. If the ATU is not installed settings ‘ATU Bypassed’ and ‘ATU Active’ have no effect. HRBN (HR50 frequency Band; SET/GET) SET/RSP format: HRBNxx; where xx represents desired band, leading 0 not required: 0 = 6M 6 = 30M 1 = 10M...
  • Page 23 HRRX; (HR50 send RX status message; GET) RSP format: RX,<mode>,<band>,<temp>,<voltage>; Example HRRX; returns RX,QRP,12M,27C,13.2V; Mode: OFF, PTT, COR or QRP Band: 160, 80M, 60M, 40M, 30M, 20M, 17M, 15M, 12M, 10M or 6M Temp: temperature reading in F or C Voltage: DC input voltage HRTM;...

  • Page 24: Firmware Update

    The driver is also available on the ATU files page: https://sites.google.com/site/hr50atu/home/files USB will only connect when the HARDROCK-50 is powered ON. The bootloader software can be downloaded from MikroElektronika from the ATU files page as well, Download mikroBootloader2.3.zip at the bottom of the page.

  • Page 25: Updating The Hardrock-50 Firmware

    Make certain that PIC18 is selected in the ‘Select MCU’ box in the upper left portion of the bootloader. After you change the settings, power your amp OFF and press and hold the ‘+’ button on the Hardrock-50 and turn it ON again, keep holding the ‘+’...

  • Page 26: Updating The Atu Firmware

    Note the Green lights and the word "Connected" in the History Window. Now you can move to Step 3 and browse for the HR50 FIRMWARE VX.X.HEX file you downloaded from ATU files page. Last, click "Begin uploading" to upload the new version of the firmware to your HR50. After successful upload, you will need to cycle power on the amp and should notice the version change on the splash screen.
  • Page 27 Change the Port to whatever COM port your HR50 registered as. Leave the rest of the settings alone and click OK. If you don’t know which port your HR50 is on, start the bootloader with the HR50 powered off, note which ports are available. Shut down the bootloader, power up the HR50, restart the bootloader and the new port in the list will be the HR50’s port.
  • Page 28 At this point the HR50/ATU is waiting for the bootloader to connect and wait forever until the bootloader connects or the power is cycled. Now press the ‘Connect’ button on the bootloader. If everything goes right, you will see the following screen: Note the Green lights and the word "Connected"...

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