uBITX Settings Editor - Release Candidate 1

This is the Release Candidate for the uBITX Settings Editor. The purpose of this release is to provide an open source, portable and improved GUI replacement for the original uBITX Manager developed by Dr. Lee.

This software works with all versions of the KD8CEC software, including 1.1, 1.2 and of course with 2.0.

Aside from fixing several bugs, the big change between RC1 and Beta1 is the inclusion of a "Calibration Wizard". This "wizard' walks you thru the calibration of your uBITX if you need to calibrate it. The original advice remains do not re-calibrate your uBITX unless there is something wrong! And always backup your Master Calibration, USB (SSB) BFO and CW BFO numbers before you change them.

Unfortunately, this calibration wizard feature is only operative with those radios running KD8CEC V2. I will shortly release HEX files that will work on uBITX or 16x2 LCD using the original Raduinos provided by HF Signals. You are invited to give this new release a try and let me know how it works for you!

The good news is that you have a choice of platforms (see the files in the Asset section) including Windows, MacOS and Linux (several flavors). The source code is also included in a zip file below in the case you want to build it yourself.

Both the Windows and MacOS have been signed and reviewed by Microsoft and Apple. This should reduce false positives when you install the application. But be aware that by default, many virus/malware detection programs rely on a downloads "reputation". Typically, it takes up to 300 installs before these detection programs will stop flagging them and potentially quarantining them.

The User Manual has been updated for RC1 and I will shortly add some YouTube videos that will help you get started!

Key Release Notes:

1. The application can take up to 30 seconds to start because of its size and need to initialize its Python engine. This can be especially unnerving on MacOS where you will see a "bouncing icon" that will then disappear like the application crashed. Be patient, it will appear shortly.
2. On some versions of Linux, it takes time for the uBITX to be recognized after it is plugged into your computer's USB port. The strange thing is that the Com port will appear after refresh almost instantly, but if you then click the "READ" button, the Setting Editor will terminate because the Com port is not ready. Again, give it a few extra seconds of time before clicking the "READ" button and all will be well.
3. Linux users will need to have their login accounts be added to the "dialout" group as well as some other tweaks to access a serial port. Please see the section in the User Manual that describes the necessary steps.
4. Linux users might also see a "console" window appear when they start the application. If something goes wrong, look at the console window for system errors and send them to me!
5. There are "tooltips" for almost everything. If you are unsure of a function, hover the mouse pointer over it and an explanation should pop up!
6. The save filed format (".btx") used by the Settings Editor is 100% compatible with the original file format used by the uBITX Memory Manager. You can read and generate the ".btx" files by either program without losing data. However, for Raduinos with EEPROMS > 1024 bytes, the Settings Editor actually stores information in the 1024-2047 slots. There is no guarantee that the uBITX Memory Manager will accurately write this information to any save file it generates.
7. Github automatically generates zip's and tgz archives for the source to the Settings Editor. However, these archives include extra cruft that is not relevant to anybody that wants to build the application from source. I pruned the source down to just the Settings Editor directly in the asset named "uBITX_Settings_Editor-RC1_source_code.zip.

73
Mark
AJ6CU

uBITX Setting Editor V2 Beta-1

This is the first beta release of the new uBITX Settings Editor. The purpose of this release is to provide an open source, portable and improved GUI replacement for the original uBITX Manager developed by Dr. Lee.

Full Changelog: https://github.com/AJ6CU/uBITX-EEPROM-Manager/commits/V2-beta-1
03-11-2023: Added Debian Bullseye 64 bit package
03/08/2023: Replaced Mac install with a signed version. Should be an easier install.
03/06/2023: Completed first draft of user manual
03/06/2023: Replace windows .exe with a zip. Hopefully reduce Browser warning messages
03/05/2023: Replaced Mac version with a zip file because otherwise it is not seen as an executable by MacOS
03/04/2023: Added draft of user manual
03/04/2023: Initial Beta1 release.

• Full functionality implemented. Limited testing.
• WSPR registers still need to be verified for frequency shifting. but generally agrees with original uBITX Manager
• Linux users (especially intel) will need to build from source. Basics:

python3 -m venv yourdirectoryname
cd yourdirectoryname
mkdir uBITX_Settings_Manager
cd mkdir uBITX_Settings_Manager
download and unpack tar ball in uBITX_Settings_Manager
cd uBITX-EEPROM-Manager
cd uBITX_Settings_Editor

sudo apt-get -y install python3-pip
sudo apt-get install python3-tk

pip3 install lxml
pip3 install pyserial
pip3 install bitarray
pip3 install pygubu
pip3 install tk
python3 uBITX_Setting_Editor.py