Re: QSX Enclosure Request
Hi all
1) QSX will meet regulatory requirements in all jurisdictions on all bands, if built with the supplied components and following the published assembly manual, without changes. If you modify it, or deviate, of course you may need to make your own measurements etc.
2) Whether or not a metal case is required from an RF perspective is an interesting question. I think more shielding never hurts. It may be more important in some (electronically noisy) environments than others. I think a superher receiver architecture, which QSX is NOT, requires more shielding. I no not expect it to make much difference to QSX. As far as heat dissipation is concerned, QSX has a generous and substantial heatsink for the rated power. It does not rely on a metal case to dissipate heat as some radios do. A 3D printed case should work just fine I think; it would also make for a lighter package for portable operations. I know of one of the YOTA participants who plans to design a 3D printed case for his QSX.
73 Hans G0UPL? ? ?
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Re: QSX Enclosure Request
Dear Dave,
Again, looking at the second part of your message you made. Hans is not the manufacturer of the/this radio, it is only a kit. You are reponsible for what your 'buildt'. You are a HAM-radio operator. It's your 'problem' what you 'set in the air', not Hans. He can't looking over your shoulders, when your mixed some parts on the circuit-board, and then you will not met the 'regulations'.? Or, if you take a different size of wire, or a wrong type of ferrite-core,? ... and so on, and so on, ... ! It's only you, who buildt that radio. Again, Hans delivers only the kit, you make a radio out of this kit! You are a skilled HAM-RADIO-OP! You are the man/woman who pushes the PTT/CW-key. And if you have to make some alterations on the kit, it could be the 'salt in the soup', or the difference between a good and a 'much better' radio. But this is your choise, ... ? Hope to meet you with a QSX-TRX or maybe my beloved 'one-watter's', on 20m, 30m or 40m, on the air,... (All very 'QRPp' !) 73 de Markus ; db9pz
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Re: QSX Enclosure Request
With some expensive electro-luminescence coatings we could even have the units change
color from black when OFF, green when Receiving, and red when Transmitting. 8-)
_._
Can I suggest that each kit have its own unique colour, with the QCX being natural aluminium, the QSX black, perhaps, and so on.
Ross, vk4fawr On Thu, 20 Sep 2561 at 20:59 Dave, W0DF < dfine100@...> wrote: You have hit the nail on the head Hans, do what you think is the best business decision for QRPLabs.? It is ridiculous to think that you can provide everyone's favorite color, or that you will sell one less QSX kit because the case is lime green or cherry picking red rather than natural aluminum.? My only concern is that as delivered,? it is a radio that is legal to operate on the advertised bands without having to do extensive modifications, not one with spurious emissions all over the place.? I don't give a tinker's damn what color the case is.
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The idea that toroid cores might cause a short comes up fairly regularly.?
If you perform an ohmmeter test across most cores you will find that they
are not conductive.? Even if the cores are metallic, the binder (glue) isolates
metal dust particles from other metal dust particles resulting in very high
resistance across the core material. _._
If the enamel coating on T1 windings is stripped back too far, can the winding contact the (bare) bottom side of the core and cause a short?
No,? ?Robert
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Re: QSX Enclosure Request
Always fun to watch the conversations from a group of builders. And building kits from Hans has been enjoyable for years. I would like to hear from the Master himself, whether a metal case is a must or if there is a problem using a 3D printed case. The 3D printed is certainly cheaper, and of course, comes in a variety of colors!? There are a few different designs available on www. and more showing up almost monthly.
Frank? ?W1FRA?
On Thu, Sep 20, 2018 at 12:46 PM Al Clark < hotdogx@...> wrote: Apologies, I didn't mean to stir things up so much regarding case color - I can see this discussion is taking away from Hans' valuable time.? I will be building a QSX regardless of color, so whatever works best for Hans is OK with me.? If one is so inclined, it would be easy to change the color of the painted case, and re-apply the appropriate labels.? Most hams are adept at this sort of thing.
--
Al KD4EO
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Re: QSX Enclosure Request
Apologies, I didn't mean to stir things up so much regarding case color - I can see this discussion is taking away from Hans' valuable time.? I will be building a QSX regardless of color, so whatever works best for Hans is OK with me.? If one is so inclined, it would be easy to change the color of the painted case, and re-apply the appropriate labels.? Most hams are adept at this sort of thing.
--
Al KD4EO
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Re: QSX Enclosure Request
Next thing someone may request is a color fade from maybe pink on one end and
dark green on the opposite end.? Might even be a tiny market for camouflage paint
patterns.?? 8-) _._
On Thu, Sep 20, 2018 at 4:31 AM Stephen Farthing G0XAR JO92ON97 < squirrox@...> wrote: Hans,?
To simply things it might be best to offer a natural aluminium finish. People could then paint or anodise the case to whatever colour they want. Painting Aluminium is no big deal. It just needs roughing up with some emery paper, a coat of etching primer and a top coat of any of the colours of the rainbow. Two spray cans from the nearest car supply shop would be more than enough.?
Anodising is a tad trickier but well within the abilities of a practical minded amateur with a power supply.?
Regards from Hungary,?
Steve
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Re: QSX Enclosure Request
I think everyone probably agrees that Hans can't possibly stock different colors for the case. If someone is really unhappy with a black case, it can't be that hard to prepare the existing case for a coat of primer and finish it off with a touch Krylon in their favorite color.
Jack, W8TEE
On Thursday, September 20, 2018, 12:37:57 PM EDT, Arv Evans <arvid.evans@...> wrote:
Keeping a stock of multiple colored cases could cause the price to rise significantly. _._
On Thu, Sep 20, 2018 at 12:43 AM Clint Sharp < cjaysharp@...> wrote: I¡¯d also be interested in a different case colour too, even a raw aluminium but other colours might be interesting, I¡¯m sure the case manufacturers could offer many options at what could be only a small ¡®extra cost¡¯ option
I¡¯ve got far too many ¡®manly man ¡® black cased pieces of kit in my shack and it all blends in together.? Hi Al
That's an interesting request. I was planning black. It looks nice.?
I'm curious how often a radio is likely to be subjected to a hot sun during operation, such as Alabama... if it is that hot for the radio, wouldn't it be that hot for the operator too? Wouldn't you sit under a tree, or a shade of some sort??
73 Hans G0UPL
On Thu, Sep 20, 2018 at 2:20 AM Al Clark < hotdogx@...> wrote: I'm sure Hans is getting overwhelmed with QSX requests, but I had to throw this one in before the QSX gets too far along.? My request is please don't make the enclosure black.? When you have a xcvr outside in the hot Alabama sun, a black case gets really hot - too hot to touch in fact.? And the high enclosure temperature probably doesn't do the electronics and display much good either.? A light color is preferable, like white or yellow.? I suppose red or blue might be useable, but I imagine those would get fairly warm also.? Actually, a gold or yellow anodized enclosure would be nice, but I suppose anodizing would increase the cost.
--
Al KD4EO
Clint. M0UAW IO83
No trees were harmed in the sending of this mail. However, a large number of electrons were greatly inconvenienced.
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Re: QSX Enclosure Request
Keeping a stock of multiple colored cases could cause the price to rise significantly. _._
On Thu, Sep 20, 2018 at 12:43 AM Clint Sharp < cjaysharp@...> wrote: I¡¯d also be interested in a different case colour too, even a raw aluminium but other colours might be interesting, I¡¯m sure the case manufacturers could offer many options at what could be only a small ¡®extra cost¡¯ option
I¡¯ve got far too many ¡®manly man ¡® black cased pieces of kit in my shack and it all blends in together.? Hi Al
That's an interesting request. I was planning black. It looks nice.?
I'm curious how often a radio is likely to be subjected to a hot sun during operation, such as Alabama... if it is that hot for the radio, wouldn't it be that hot for the operator too? Wouldn't you sit under a tree, or a shade of some sort??
73 Hans G0UPL
On Thu, Sep 20, 2018 at 2:20 AM Al Clark < hotdogx@...> wrote: I'm sure Hans is getting overwhelmed with QSX requests, but I had to throw this one in before the QSX gets too far along.? My request is please don't make the enclosure black.? When you have a xcvr outside in the hot Alabama sun, a black case gets really hot - too hot to touch in fact.? And the high enclosure temperature probably doesn't do the electronics and display much good either.? A light color is preferable, like white or yellow.? I suppose red or blue might be useable, but I imagine those would get fairly warm also.? Actually, a gold or yellow anodized enclosure would be nice, but I suppose anodizing would increase the cost.
--
Al KD4EO
Clint. M0UAW IO83
No trees were harmed in the sending of this mail. However, a large number of electrons were greatly inconvenienced.
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Re: QSX Enclosure Request
I don¡¯t understand why anyone would sit in the hot summer sun and not be able to place the minimal amount of shade on the rig with the box/case/knapsack that one brought it there with. If nothing else is available then sit with back to sun and shade with body. I would prefer to sit in a bit of shade myself and not be subject to heat stroke, especially in the ¡°hot¡¯ Alabama sun.
db wb9sts
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Sep 20, 2018, at 5:36 AM, Alan de G1FXB via Groups.Io < g1fxb@...> wrote:
Thanks Hans,
That IS small,
the QSX front panel width is shorter than the U3 case depth!
any idea on rx / tx current draw, so we can judge battery
requirements?
I'll have to get measuring....
My comment about black was "to match" the existing classy QRP Labs
cabinets rather than for heatsinking properties, for have the finned
bit for that...
(Plenty of commercial product heatsinks retain a bare Alu finish.)
After a couple a weeks of sun, the UK is nearer to 13 rather than
your 33 degrees.
100kph winds for the weekend if you believe our (IN)accurate
forecasters....
the QSX will need an inbuilt de-icing option. :-[
or just bolt a 7805 to the case
Alan
On 20/09/2018 10:52, Hans Summers
wrote:
Hi Alan
QSX enclosure outside dimension is 145w x 68h x 73d mm. The
heatsink protrudes 25mm at the back panel. The knobs protrude
10mm at the front panel.
Even despite not really having an idle moment I googled a
bit more about heatsinks (as far as black/white colour etc is
concerned, radiation and absorption are equivalent). It seems
that colour is a matter of preference, making a nice smooth
protected finish, etc. There is not a significant heat
absorption/emission benefit.?
What I read reinforces my opinion. I believe it will be the
same with the QSX enclosure. Colour isn't going to save it
from getting hot in the sun. It will make little, if any,
difference. From your perspective colour should come down to
personal taste. From my perspective it is a matter of pricing
and logistics.?
73 Hans G0UPL
On Thu, Sep 20, 2018 at 12:28 PM Alan de G1FXB
via Groups.Io <g1fxb= [email protected]> wrote:
Hi Al,
for trail carry I use army surplus pouches mainly for
convenience & bash protection here in the UK rather than
thermal reasons.....
though i'm sure that would also provide the required
sufficient thermal protection in your situation.
(May have to make a cut out in the bottom of the pouch in
the case of the QSX for the heat sink)
It's hard to judge size from the images supplied so far,
only a little wider than the U3 case and 1/3rd / 1/2 as
deep?
It looks to be able to fit in something similar to a US 100
/ 200 Round pouch,
if it proves too small the 300 Round bag will possibly in
addition hold batteries, AMU, and simple wire antennas...
or in Europe and NATO countries, the respirator / field bag
are more easily sourced?
I believe IO groups already support polling?
I would vote for black to match the previous high quality
anodized finished QRP Labs cases.....
Alan
On
20/09/2018 00:20, Al Clark wrote:
I'm sure Hans is getting
overwhelmed with QSX requests, but I had to throw this one
in before the QSX gets too far along.? My request is
please don't make the enclosure black.? When you have a
xcvr outside in the hot Alabama sun, a black case gets
really hot - too hot to touch in fact.? And the high
enclosure temperature probably doesn't do the electronics
and display much good either.? A light color is
preferable, like white or yellow.? I suppose red or blue
might be useable, but I imagine those would get fairly
warm also.? Actually, a gold or yellow anodized enclosure
would be nice, but I suppose anodizing would increase the
cost.
--
Al KD4EO
|
Hi,
I built my QCX 20 meter ( serial # 5408 ) a few weeks ago and it worked at the first power on. So I was very happy. I checked this group on a regular basis and found the topics discussing low power output on 20 meter.
I built my QCX like the manual with the original number of turns on the toroids L1 L2 and L3 and my output was a little over 1 watt. So I removed 1 Turn of L1, L2 and L3.
Now the output increased. Output was now at 13.8 V. 2.60 watt on the internal wattmeter. ( a little over 1.5 Watt on my Diamond SX-1000 ).
The following measurement I did using a dummyload and used the internal wattmeter (menu item 9.2)
14.020 MHz output 2.60 Watt
13.500? 2.80 Watt
13.000? 3.04 Watt
12.000? 3,52 Watt
11.000? 3,91 Watt
10.000? 4.52 Watt
I connected my antenna and heard LZ920MLC on 10.117 MHz and was able to make a QSO :-) , that was fun!!
Today I removed toriod L1, L2 and L3 again and removed another winding like Hans is suggesting ( removing 2 turns of L1, L2 and L3 in case of low power output ).
L2 is now 15 turns and L1 and L3 both have 14 turns.
The output didn't increase much, only 0.1 Watt.
What could be wrong?
I am still very happy with my QCX and make QSO's every day, but I like to find the reason for low output.
Any suggestions are appreciated very much.
Dick? DL1CLM
?
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Re: QSX Enclosure Request
Can I suggest that each kit have its own unique colour, with the QCX being natural aluminium, the QSX black, perhaps, and so on.
Ross, vk4fawr
On Thu, 20 Sep 2561 at 20:59 Dave, W0DF < dfine100@...> wrote: You have hit the nail on the head Hans, do what you think is the best business decision for QRPLabs.? It is ridiculous to think that you can provide everyone's favorite color, or that you will sell one less QSX kit because the case is lime green or cherry picking red rather than natural aluminum.? My only concern is that as delivered,? it is a radio that is legal to operate on the advertised bands without having to do extensive modifications, not one with spurious emissions all over the place.? I don't give a tinker's damn what color the case is.
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Re: QSX Enclosure Request
You have hit the nail on the head Hans, do what you think is the best business decision for QRPLabs.? It is ridiculous to think that you can provide everyone's favorite color, or that you will sell one less QSX kit because the case is lime green or cherry picking red rather than natural aluminum.? My only concern is that as delivered,? it is a radio that is legal to operate on the advertised bands without having to do extensive modifications, not one with spurious emissions all over the place.? I don't give a tinker's damn what color the case is.
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Is the bottom of the T1 core that appears to be uncoated truly that? I have stripped the enamel from the S3 winding just a little to far, this is the end toward the top of the PCB that passes under the core and then through the board. Is it possible for that winding to short to the core? If so, is the a way to patch the enamel or repair otherwise?
Thanks, Robert
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Re: 30m QCX working ¨C but not for long....
Check polarity of electrolytic capacitors.
73 Mirek OK2BUH
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Dutch Day of the Amateur, Zwolle 3 Nov
Greetings fellow QRPLabs fans,
I will be going to the VERON rally in Zwolle along with Jan Verduyn G0BBL. Will anyone else be there? May be we could take some pictures so Hans can put some faces to the names of his customers. Jan and I generally hang our at the Benelux QRP Club stand.
regards,
Steve G0XAR?
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Re: 30m QCX working ¨C but not for long....
Injecting audio signal at gain pot wiper has no effect, Chris This seems to show that something is wrong after the pot. Q7 failed? Shorting to ground. And if not give us the actual voltages at Q7 and IC10 Left overnight, switch on, worked for 3 or 4 minutes This makes me think of bad connection somewhere, but maybe not. Probably entirely unrelated, but LCD pins 7-10 show ~4.96v not ~1.08. Not sure, possibly due to good meter, not the integral one that is low impedance, that's what the troubleshooting gives. 73 Alan GZFQ
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30m QCX working ¨C but not for long....
Good morning
I¡¯ve recently finished building my 30m QCX, board rev 4.? Completed alignment ok (after fixing poor joint on T1).? 4w output at 13v and had a brief ¡®599TU¡¯ style qso with a Spanish station.
So the good news is that it has worked ok, apart from very loud clicks on power on, power off, first press of buttons and first key closure on tx/rx changeover.?
Then the rx died, leaving just a faint ticking and the sidetone faint and distorted.? ?In ¡®rx dead¡¯ state, tx works fine, clean keyed output, menu selection also works and ticking disappears in menu mode.
Switch off, leave for a minute, switch on, no change.? Left overnight, switch on, worked for 3 or 4 minutes then died.? This time ticking, but no sidetone audible at all.? Left overnight again, switch on again, no resurrection this time.? Nothing.
Injecting audio signal at gain pot wiper has no effect, nor does injecting signal from ¡®Peak BPF¡¯ alignment process.
DC voltage checks in ¡®rx dead¡¯ state with supply voltage set to 12v (per manual section 6.4, but using external DVM for measurements):?
Rx current 120 mA working and 100 mA with dead rx.
Clk0 and Clk1 both show ~1.7, but no nasty noise audible.? T1 pins 5, 6 and 8 also C46 ok.
IC5 to 10 pins 3 and 5 at same voltage as pins 1/2 and 6/7.? Perhaps not surprising if rx is showing no sign of life.?
Probably entirely unrelated, but LCD pins 7-10 show ~4.96v not ~1.08.
I¡¯ve examined the board with a good magnifying glass and by taking photos enlarged on my pc screen.? Soldering looks ok, no shorts evident.
So something is amiss in the rx world, possibly a poor joint somewhere.? I¡¯ve reached the end of my meagre investigative skills, and would very much appreciate the advice of others.?
Thanks
73 Chris G4CWS
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Re: QSX Enclosure Request
Thanks Hans,
That IS small,
the QSX front panel width is shorter than the U3 case depth!
any idea on rx / tx current draw, so we can judge battery
requirements?
I'll have to get measuring....
My comment about black was "to match" the existing classy QRP Labs
cabinets rather than for heatsinking properties, for have the finned
bit for that...
(Plenty of commercial product heatsinks retain a bare Alu finish.)
After a couple a weeks of sun, the UK is nearer to 13 rather than
your 33 degrees.
100kph winds for the weekend if you believe our (IN)accurate
forecasters....
the QSX will need an inbuilt de-icing option. :-[
or just bolt a 7805 to the case
Alan
On 20/09/2018 10:52, Hans Summers
wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Hi Alan
QSX enclosure outside dimension is 145w x 68h x 73d mm. The
heatsink protrudes 25mm at the back panel. The knobs protrude
10mm at the front panel.
Even despite not really having an idle moment I googled a
bit more about heatsinks (as far as black/white colour etc is
concerned, radiation and absorption are equivalent). It seems
that colour is a matter of preference, making a nice smooth
protected finish, etc. There is not a significant heat
absorption/emission benefit.?
What I read reinforces my opinion. I believe it will be the
same with the QSX enclosure. Colour isn't going to save it
from getting hot in the sun. It will make little, if any,
difference. From your perspective colour should come down to
personal taste. From my perspective it is a matter of pricing
and logistics.?
73 Hans G0UPL
On Thu, Sep 20, 2018 at 12:28 PM Alan de G1FXB
via Groups.Io <g1fxb= [email protected]> wrote:
Hi Al,
for trail carry I use army surplus pouches mainly for
convenience & bash protection here in the UK rather than
thermal reasons.....
though i'm sure that would also provide the required
sufficient thermal protection in your situation.
(May have to make a cut out in the bottom of the pouch in
the case of the QSX for the heat sink)
It's hard to judge size from the images supplied so far,
only a little wider than the U3 case and 1/3rd / 1/2 as
deep?
It looks to be able to fit in something similar to a US 100
/ 200 Round pouch,
if it proves too small the 300 Round bag will possibly in
addition hold batteries, AMU, and simple wire antennas...
or in Europe and NATO countries, the respirator / field bag
are more easily sourced?
I believe IO groups already support polling?
I would vote for black to match the previous high quality
anodized finished QRP Labs cases.....
Alan
On
20/09/2018 00:20, Al Clark wrote:
I'm sure Hans is getting
overwhelmed with QSX requests, but I had to throw this one
in before the QSX gets too far along.? My request is
please don't make the enclosure black.? When you have a
xcvr outside in the hot Alabama sun, a black case gets
really hot - too hot to touch in fact.? And the high
enclosure temperature probably doesn't do the electronics
and display much good either.? A light color is
preferable, like white or yellow.? I suppose red or blue
might be useable, but I imagine those would get fairly
warm also.? Actually, a gold or yellow anodized enclosure
would be nice, but I suppose anodizing would increase the
cost.
--
Al KD4EO
|
Re: QSX Enclosure Request
Hans,?
To simply things it might be best to offer a natural aluminium finish. People could then paint or anodise the case to whatever colour they want. Painting Aluminium is no big deal. It just needs roughing up with some emery paper, a coat of etching primer and a top coat of any of the colours of the rainbow. Two spray cans from the nearest car supply shop would be more than enough.?
Anodising is a tad trickier but well within the abilities of a practical minded amateur with a power supply.?
Regards from Hungary,?
Steve
|
Markus
Al Clark
jjpurdum
AC3DN - Ross
Alan de G1FXB