This repository contains all my projects with the RigExpert's 'Zero II' programmable antenna analyzer.
Paul Quappe
17e35606cc
Added and rearranged links in the 'References' section.
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11 months ago | |
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| arduino_nano | 11 months ago | |
| LICENSE | 11 months ago | |
| README.md | 11 months ago | |
| board_back.jpg | 11 months ago | |
| board_front.jpg | 11 months ago | |
| board_overview.jpg | 11 months ago | |
| flash01.png | 11 months ago | |
| flash02.png | 11 months ago | |
| flash03.png | 11 months ago | |
| flash04.png | 11 months ago |
README.md
Zero-II
This repository contains all (my) projects with the RigExpert's 'Zero-II' programmable antenna analyzer.
Table of contents:
Projects
Only one for now:
The Zero II board
- Specifications:>>
- operating frequency range: from 100 kHz to 1 GHz
- size: 55*35 mm.
- user interfaces: HID, UART, I2C, SPI
- USB connector (for firmware updates, power supply, connection to gadgets via OTG)
- current consumption: about 120mA in measurement mode
- antenna connector: SMA
- weight: 10 grams
The size is 55x35 mm.
The frontside.
The backside.
Setup
The setup of the board can be quite tricky thanks to the rather incomplete documentation.
The video of Ed March and the reviews on the www.dxengineering.com website
(especially that of "JAMES") helped me a lot.
Here is what I did (as of 2024-01-30):
First I soldered male DuPont connectors to the pads. James recommends to solder wires to each pad.
Yellow DuPont connectors^Before hooking up the ZEROII you must peal the protective plastic cover off the tiny power switch and move the white switch to the USB position - see the pictures here and here.
Download the Flash utility from RigExperts website. There is no dedicated Flash utility for Zero-II. It seems as if the same utility were used for all their boards. Download here for windows or mac. As of the time of writing the file is called rigexpert-flash-tool-v1.6.4.exe or rigexpert-flash-tool-ver_1.6.4.dmg. Please keep in mind that this software might be outdated in a few weeks from writing this article. So better have a look at RigExpert's support page in the "Downloads" tab yourself.
Download the newest firmware from RigExperts website. As of the time of writing this the filename is fw_zeroii_ver_1_0_38400.bin. Please keep in mind that this firmware might be superceeded by a new one in a few weeks from writing this article. So better have a look at RigExpert's support page in the "Downloads" tab yourself.
Connect the Zero-II to the computer with a high quality USB cable.
Start the Flash utility program.
Flash utility^Click “Next” and the Zero-II will be recognized.
Click "Next"^Click “Update from local file”. In the window find the firmware .bin file and click on it.
Click "Next" to continue ...^The file will be uploaded and you will get a confirmation that the firmware update is complete.
Update complete -> click "Finish"^Unplug the USB cable.
Dont forget to move the white power switch to "EXT" position when you power the board with an external source.
Gotchas
People on the internet who have worked with the Zero-II seem to be impressed by the hardware but do
complain about the documentation and the source code that is provided by RigExpert.
In order to keep you from loosing time with fiddling around I try to collect the problems you might run into here on this page.
Most of my information comes from:
- Ed March's (WB9RAA) videos on youtube here, here and here
- the reviews on the www.dxengineering.com
- Gerner's github page
- my own experiences
Here are the most common problems you could run into:
- The board is shipped with the wrong firmware. Flash it with the right firmware before you use it. See here for instructions.
- The serial port speed is 38400 baud.
- The power slide must be in the right position.
- External power supply is 5 Volt minimum ( probably up to 48V? ).
- The original code supplied by RigExpert is buggy:
- It uses double instead of float which keeps it from working with the ESP32 microprocessor.
- It seems to have timing issues.
- It polls the onboard STM32 microprocessor too often and thus slows it down.
- It uses software serial ports in the examples even when there are dedicated hardware serial ports (why?).
- When I used their example code it seemed to have timing issues. After the third measurement it got stuck and delivered only the last values over and over again.
- Ed March (WB9RAA) has improved the original library and addressed a lot of the above issues. You can download it here.
- The pads across the usb port do not have the standard spacing. That is why some people had to bend the DuPont headers.
- Note that the ZERO II may not connect if you are using a large TFT screen. Disconnect and try again.
- Your code must initialize the ZERO II before the TFT screen.
References
- https://rigexpert.com/files/libraries/RigExpertZeroII_UART/RigExpertZeroII_UART.zip
- https://rigexpert.com/files/manuals/zeroII/ZEROII_user_manual.pdf
- https://rigexpert.com/files/manuals/zeroII/
- https://rigexpert.com/news/zero-ii-the-tiny-and-powerful-analyzer/
- https://rigexpert.com/downloads/
- https://rigexpert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/fw_zeroii_ver_1_0_38400.bin
- https://rigexpert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/rigexpert-flash-tool-v1.6.4.exe
- https://rigexpert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/rigexpert-flash-tool-ver_1.6.4.dmg
- https://static.dxengineering.com/global/images/technicalarticles/reu-zero-ii.pdf
- https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/reu-zero-ii/reviews
- https://wb9raa.com/AAZ-II/
- https://github.com/gerner/zeroii-analyzer
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K6qOPxwzps
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au5EDlXOcOs
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Gk67iNEcU4
License
- GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 3
Author:
- kaulquappe (https://notabug.org/kaulquappe/)