The new supplier has shipped cases so we’ll fill all of our backorders this week.
The price has increased to $15 for new orders.
Thanks for your patience.
We received the first article from the new supplier and the design needs tweaking so that the tabs will assemble correctly. We have a new sample in process and I’l keep you apprised.
Just back from Orlando Hamcation. Nice to meet many of our existing customers and chat with some new ones.
The UDRX made it thru initial bring-up and I drove them to Oregon, while Portland was being slammed with snow. Jeremy has completed the updated Drivers and PLD code and shipped the first unit to Dennis for IQ audio and RF path analysis.
No significant problems were found at this stage.
I’ll be working on the PA and RX/TX switch while Dennis fine tunes the IQ/RF.
I’ve also been working with CMs and it looks like we’ll be be able to meet our production cost goals at this point. There is still ambiguity on the Heat Sink Extrusion and enclosure cost.
I’ll post approximately monthly as we continue to make progress.
Bryan K7UDR
The Pi cases were designed and supplied by Budd Churchward, WB7FHC. Budd laser cuts the acrylic at a local DIY cooperative here in Washington.
Over the holidays the coop moved and they’re not back on line yet so we are working on alternative suppliers. We should have a first article next week and will be back in stock mid February.
If you have a case on backorder or order one now with a UDRC-II, it will be shipped for free as soon as they arrive.
After dealing with component shortages and Holiday schedule, the UDRX pilot boards arrived this afternoon from our assembly house in Renton WA.
The boards now go into the lab for initial bring-up, then they will be split into 3 task groups:
- SW Driver additions and updates
- IQ audio and RF path
- PA and RX/TX switch
There are a substantial number of relatively minor changes to the design, in addition to the major change in form factor to accommodate the switch to the R-Pi 3.
I will provide an update on our progress by Hamcation in Orlando next month, where the pilot units will be on display. There is still significant work ahead, before we can determine if the pilot run can move to production.
Thanks for your patience and support,
Bryan K7UDR
UDRX Assembled PCB
UDRX with Pi and PA
We will be closed the week before Christmas.
Orders received after 10am Pacific time on Friday December 16th will be shipped when we return on December 27th.
Thanks and Happy Holidays!
Bryan K7UDR
The UDRC-II has generated renewed interest in Digital Radio. We were recently approached by a local club that wanted to make a group buy, so we’ve put together a quantity discount program.
Buy 5 of any of our products (they don’t have to be all the same) and receive a 5% discount. Use coupon:
club5
Or receive 10% off on 10 or more. Use coupon:
club10
You must place a single order to one shipping address to qualify.
The great thing about Software is that you can improve it continuously. Here at NW Digital Radio, we view Hardware the same way. Each time we build out a PCB Fabrication run, it’s only engineering time and new solder-paste stencil charge to make any improvements. So we re-evaluate each product, looking for ways to make it better or appeal to a broader market.
Now that we’ve shipped hundreds of units, we’ve updated the UDRC based on feedback from the field.
UDRC-II Changes:
- PTT and SQL are now independent and buffered on both ports making it a true 2 port controller
- LEDs have been added to both PTTs and the 5V converter (only lights if wired to 12V)
- The 12V to 5V converter has an RFI Filter and Transient Protection for Mobile Applications
- The Audio Inputs and Outputs are now 100 ohms to improve cable matching
- The EEPROM version allows the driver to auto-configure for the UDRC or UDRC-II
The UDRC-II starts shipping once we have all the documentation updated. All existing backorders will ship UDRC-II. The original UDRC will be obsoleted.
Limited Time Offer for all UDRC Owners!
If you’ve already purchased a UDRC, place an order for a UDRC-II by the end of September and receive a $20 Rebate. Just write UDRC Rebate in the comment field. Your email address must be in our Customer Database to qualify.
Some users have encountered reliability issues when the UDRC™ is used with a Raspberry Pi 3.
NW Digital Radio has duplicated the problem and isolated its root cause.
Our team looked at different options and after consideration, we recommend the following simple change on the Raspberry Pi. The change can be applied to both the Raspberry Pi 2 and 3.
Edit /boot/config.txt adding the following to the file and saving the change:
force_turbo=1
This will take effect upon rebooting of the Raspberry Pi.
Additional details are available on the UDRC Wiki
Shipping will be shutdown starting June 22nd. Orders placed after that will ship when we re-open on July 10th.
