OK, the tally is $28 to Digikey, $10 to some eBay dude for 5 diodes, $24 to DXSoul for the DDS, Arduino and LCD, $15 to Rocket City, and $13 to HR360.

Total so far is $90. Starting to get a little spendy. I suppose I could have shaved $10 or so off if I was willing to wait until mid-March for parts from China. Nervous about that DXSoul order.

Did the power budget. Looks like about 500mA at 5V, give or take. I'll probably modify the design to use a USB power source after initial build and test, as a 9V battery won't run it for very long.

Diodes included with every board.

Well...fiddlesticks I guess I'll have to resell the excess on eBay to the next generation of analyzer builders after you run out. Or maybe put them in the safe for another decade until they are worth a fortune

OK, total cost now effectively at $80

Checked the store and it showed 7 boards available so I just ordered one :-)

Only six left... get them before they are gone!

It's alive!

Got it assembled and it seems to be doing something other than smoking. Just need my BNC adaptor to see if this thing works.

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Fit nicely in in the Rocket City 3D case. Might open up the hole for the power cord on the back as mine is a skootch bigger than the hole and falls out without much pulling.  

If you do go with the Rocket City 3D case you won't need 4 of the standoffs or the 4 smaller screws that is in the DigiKey BOM.

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Also,  my little Radio  Shack 25W iron with pencil tip was able to handle this project with  the exception of the BNC connector.   I ended up down at China Freight, err, Harbor Freight, and picked up a 180W solder gun for $13. That got 'er done in pretty short order.  Could also come in handy for coax connectors at some point as well.

Can't wait to see everything.  I hope I didn't goof the board order though.  I ordered two before I saw the note about only ordering one.  My father was standing over my shoulder while I was ordering and said hey add one for me.

you good, no prob

Thanks for putting that together.  I actually ordered x2 of all the parts so my father could assemble one.  He's been going all in on the hobbies since he retired last July.  He may actually have them done by the time he and my nephew take there general exams.

Looks like it is working:

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Okay, got mine build, uploaded the firmware but something glitched.
All I get is random characters on the display.
Now it wont communicate with the IDE software.
Windows does not recognize the device.

Is there some way to totally reset the memory on the arduino?
Holding the reset when powering up shows blocks on the display for about 8 seconds, then it goes to the random characters.

Look at your Arduino IDE board selection. Make absolutely sure you've chosen the 5V version. The program defaults to the 3.3V version.

Several folks got into the same trouble.

Go HERE and scroll down to "How to Revive a Bricked Pro Micro"

Should be an easy fix. When you hit the "Upload' command keep tapping the Reset button until it goes to write the code.

Don't ask how I know... 

Wow, Thanks so much MyOtherGlock.
I thought this thing was bricked for sure.
Followed your instructions and its working.
Thanks again,

Right on, Dirtracer!

Glad you're up and running.

BTW, look into the modified code that KJ6WEX posted. You might like it.

Happy to help.

Posted where?

Getting ready to build mine next week. I have all the parts except the DDS and 'duino now, but I decided to treat myself to a new stereo assembly microscope, which should be here Tuesday. This will be the perfect project to try it out

BTW, how are people powering their projects? I've got a nice 5V brick with a 2.1mm coaxial power connector on it. I was thinking of leaving off the regulator and just using that.

Sorry, should've dropped the link...

Github files for HR360 Analyzer Project HERE

KJ6WEX modified firmware discussion HERE

As for power - I believe the MuRata voltage regulator needs +2V over regulated value, so 7V - 14V input.

Or you can run it via the USB, which bypasses the VR.

The 5V PS should work, but having the VR allows other options. Portable battery pack, etc.

So if I just plug into the microduino USB it will back-feed the rest of the board?

P.S. thanks for the links!

Yup!

I've got a Anker Powercore USB battery pack / phone charger thingamajig that I just plugged into it. Works like a champ.

This little thing is too cool.

Excellent! Thanks!

I just looked at the Arduino Pro Micro schematic. It uses a 500mA re-settable fuse on the board. That seems like it's pushing it a little. How much current is the analyzer pulling? It might be necessary to remove/bypass the fuse...

damn. out of stock. Again.

Well done!



I'm just about done assembling my board. I'm looking forward to loading the arduino software/firmware? As this will be my first micrcontroller.

Finally sat down and started on my project. I finished the soldering on the main board today. I'm really loving my new soldering iron and assembly microscope

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The XYL came into the lab while I was doing the solder assembly and said, "That's like knitting for electronics geeks."

Tomorrow I'll power it up and do the DC power checks prior to assembling the expensive parts.

Finished it up. There are a few things about this design that are a little shaky:

1. The LCD display assembly had to be squeezed through the mounting holes. It might be the tolerances on the Chinese LCD assembly or it might be the layout of the main PWB.

2. Another LCD assembly fit problem was C4, which is placed too close to the standoff. I had, of course, installed this cap as it should be, flush to the PWB. It was a near thing to bend it out of the way. If I had known this was going to be a problem then I would have left a little lead showing above the board so the capacitor could be pushed out of the way more easily.

3. The fixed resistors chosen for the LCD display contrast work fine when the unit is powered by the 2.1mm coaxial power connector. However, when powering the unit from the USB connector contrast was such that it the display was nearly unreadable. With R14 and R15 now inaccessible beneath the soldered-on LCD display assembly it's difficult to rework the board. Nevertheless, this turned out to be an easy fix. A little research shows that most of these LCD modules want the contrast pin to simply be grounded. I was able to put a jumper across pins 1 and 2 of the vacant R18 location to do this, and after that the display was perfect regardless of how the unit was powered.

4. The instructions forget to tell you to install the op-amp in the socket. Not a big deal, but surprising since the instructions are generally quite good. I don't know why they bothered to socket this. I should have put it right on the board.

5. The headers for the Arduino have overly long pins--subtract 5 style points

6. The very first time I attached a USB cable to the Arduino the entire USB connector on the Arduino board cracked its solder joints and fell off. I was able to reinstall it properly. Luckily it was such poor solder attachment that none of the board traces were damaged.

7. The standard firmware located here doesn't compile, it throws an error So I loaded the KJ6WEX firmware instead and it loaded up and ran fine.

So I've got it up and running, but I have no idea how to use it or if it actually fully functions. I suppose I should read the operating manual. Is there an operating manual and, if there is, could someone please point me to it?

I measured the current draw from a 9V battery, which varied with frequency over a 1-30MHz scan, peaking at 150mA, which is lower than I thought it would be. So powering it from a 9V battery would be quite reasonable for say 3 hours of run time. Maybe the Rocket City dudes would be willing to make a case that held a 9V battery and a power switch? Since you don't let it run continuously a single 9V battery would probably last you all day while outside trimming antennas.

Photo taken before R18 jumper installed:
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OP, could you please give me a shout when they make another run of these?

Thanks.

haven't assembled mine so I'm no help.

think there may be useage directions and software hacks Here

other stuff can be found at the top of this page

I'll update when we get moar in stock

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DigiKey order came today!  Just waiting on the Arduino Pro and DDS module from DX Soul.  I ordered a couple new 1602 displays from them also - this one is from a dead DLI web power switch I ripped apart.

Almost time to start melting lead!

I have an eMachines Atom based netbook I got free from a client that's going to work perfectly with this project.

ETA:  Turned that bag of parts into this after work yesterday.  ALso got the case in from Rocket City 3D this morning so i had to mock it up.  Still waiting on the Arduino and DDS from China.  I put power to it after spraying the flux off and drying the board.  LCD lit up and no magic smoke escaped.  Measured the switching power supply module output and it is within specs.  Tonight I'll verify Vcc at the arduino and DDS supply pins.  The DigiKey BOM didn't have the two 12 pin strips of 0.1 connect so I have to get some from Amazon today.  I decided to use the old 1602 LCD module I had on hand since it was blue instead of green and would look better with the orange case.  Great case by the way!

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UPDATE:  Got the Arduino and DDS board in today.  I thought I has royally crapped the Arduino.  Left the IDE on the default and uploaded the sketch.  Display had Chinese looking characters on it.  Took a few tries to get the bootloader to come up and allow another try at the upload.  Finally I saw "Antenna Analyzer" scroll across the display and knew I was in business.

Too late tonight to test it out but I do see a difference when leaving the connector open and connecting my Alpha antenna match to it through 25' of coax.  I compiled the VB source and it seems to be able to control the analyzer.  Things act quirky on it but that's a project for another day.  Not sure what the big frequency display is in the top right.  It doesn't seem to do anything.  Oh well, more investigation for another day.

ETA 3/16 :  Analyzer has been working great the past week.  I started off with my Alpha portable vertical antenna and figured out that if I wrap the ground wire around the tripod between the match and the ground stake that the SWR curve really flattens off.  I also figured out that if I put the CP wires immediately below the match unit, then the spacer, then the ground wire the SWR curve is better than 2:1 from 3.9 to 30.  Big differences in SWR curve from only small differences in how it is assembled.   Last night I took the radio and antenna home to run from the balcony.  I forgot the analyzer but applied changes I had been working on at the office to run it without the CP wires and string the NVIS wire as a CP in a Z pattern suspended under the vertical element.  I hit Venezuela on 40 right off the bat when before it was unusable due to SWR and crazy QRM.  Still have no way to ground the antenna but at least it is usable.  Here are some pre-tuning and post-tuning screenshots.  Very happy I decided to built this guy.  Now if they would make some more boards, my ham buddy here at the office wants to build one too.

Before and after:

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No directions on how to use it appear at those links, as far as I can tell.

Does anyone have a circuit diagram and a parts list for this?  I'd appreciate a copy.  Thanks.

I think everything you are looking for is here : http://www.360workbench.com

Except for operating instructions...

Thanks.  I've got the diodes, dds, lcd and arduino coming already.  I was able to parse the digikey list down to $12.  I think I might just throw it together on perfboard if the boards aren't in stock when it all gets here.

The last thing I needed to do on this project was validate the software interface. So far no joy.

I'm using the KJ6WEX firmware as the standard firmware throws errors when I try to load it.

I downloaded the PC software and installed it and the FTDI drivers. Rebooted. The analyzer shows up as COM5 in the device manager, Windows makes the right noises when plugging it in, no problem.

When I connect the software to COM5 nothing happens. Any hints on how to make this go would be most appreciated, thanks!

I see you're on the forum, you should find your help there-sorry I'm no help

Not much traffic there. I'm afraid that help will not be forthcoming from any source

Don't know if his software interfaces with the app. When you open IDE do you see output to serial monitor?

Stock firmware-try to compile twice- don't know why it failed the first time but worked on the second for me.

Sounds like your LCD module is different than specified. I've tried several and have had zero issues you have described- no cap in the way, no contrast issues regardless how it is powered. No pin spacing problems.  Mine looks different than yours.

Sorry about the poor soldering of your Arduino.
What happens when you connect it to an HF antenna?

ETA-no FTDI needed-USB is built in to the Atmega on this board. If you had to install FTDI drivers, that is suspicious about your Arduino.

I will try the IDE test first. If that fails then I will try recompiling the standard code a few times.

The problem is that no module was specified per se, only that an example module was listed. If an actual manufacturers part number has been specified I would have sourced that.

Oh, no worries there. When you build everything from cheap Chinese crap parts to keep the cost down you have to expect this sort of thing.

I don't have a resonant antenna to connect it to, yet. I built it so that I can build a resonant antenna!

This I don't understand. No FTDI drivers were required to program the board, sure. But the software app comes with the FTDI drivers and is looking for a serial port. Without the FTDI driver no serial port is going to be found. Or do I have this wrong somehow?

On a Pro Micro 5V there are no FTDI devices. Not sure why the driver is included. Programming com port should be same as serial as the Arduino boot loader is a serial programming interface on the chip

Resonant or not plug it in to an antenna and push buttons!  I tested mine with a vhf/uhf 1/4 wave mag mount (best sir was 19:1 ai 21 MHz!)-won't hurt nothing

Again. Not sure his firmware has the serial output needed to interface with the desktop software. Serial mon will tell you if it is outputting data.

AA software doesnt want to install on my antique XP shack machine.

:(

These AA boards aren't from that guy in SC that likes fire trucks and KX3's huh ?

To answer, a history lesson.

There once was a podcast called Fo Time. Maye it got renamed or something.
Maybe.

I hate that guy

LOL

Power? 12vdc from an old book drive wall wart that happened to have the right size connector with the right polarity.

most use a USB

I have some in stock right now

Got mine ordered, along with all the other parts and pieces.  Looking forward to putting this together.

Is there a link to these / the kit etc for an ARFCOM noob?

360workbench.com

PSA:  The store shows 55 boards in stock this morning.

It was down to one last night a few days after buddy here at work ordered one.  I told him to hurry because they were always out of stock, now there are PLENTY!

I didn't have all the diodes in hand and to prevent over-selling I didn't list the entire 100 we had to sell.  There are only 55 left for web sales at this time, I may order more later, but that depends...