Keyboard Shortcuts
ctrl + shift + ? :
Show all keyboard shortcuts
ctrl + g :
Navigate to a group
ctrl + shift + f :
Find
ctrl + / :
Quick actions
esc to dismiss
Likes
- QRPLabs
- Messages
Search
|
Re: QMX+ Manual - BS170 - solder only 2 pins?
Often in mil applications, vias are fill with conductive or non-conductive material.? Most of the high density PCBs I worked with had vias that were filled with a conductive epoxy.? It enhanced reliability.? See link below.
-Steve K1RF ------ Original Message ------
From "Tony Scaminaci" <tonyscam@...>
Date 7/18/2024 8:17:50 PM
Subject Re: [QRPLabs] QMX+ Manual - BS170 - solder only 2 pins?
|
|
Re: Keyboard CW
Hi? i have a ready built keyer from Funtronics model fk11 works well NO computer only a keyboard needed its a fully functional k3ng keyer??? ? Mick
On Friday, 19 July 2024 at 05:14:57 BST, Hans Summers <hans.summers@...> wrote:
Hi Zhenxing ?
Yes but the USB port on QMX can also be configured as a host... the STM32F446 processor is a wonderful device! 73 Hans G0UPL |
|
Re: QMX New build - no flash drive - how to troubleshoot?
On Fri, Jul 19, 2024 at 05:26 AM, Gordon Young wrote:
- something in the path VDD is defectiveGordon, maybe it's the same. A defective Controller would affect VDD and LIN_REG_EN. ?
I wonder why LIN_REG_EN is pulled down with this value. I think the resistance is non linear. Up to 0.75V the value is high and starting from 0.75V very low like for a Si diode.
?
I don't know if an other broken element connected to VDD would affect the controller in this way or the controller have to produce this effect by itself.
?
Sorry but no experience here for further debugging in this state. Maybe someone else could share his own experience. I wish you success.
?
73, Ludwig
? |
|
Hi Ronan ?
Thanks Ronan but you are too kind ;-)? ?I am constrained crucially by cost and availability considerations. An individual constructor may not be so constrained; and for this reason it is not necessarily?the case that no "upgrade" of a particular part is possible! For example?- if you buy a Ford Pickup truck and you really love it, and you want to pimp it up, and you decide to give it a custom gold plated finish, leather upholstery etc - then it will look very nice and fine for you that you did it. But Ford sure as hell aren't going to do offer it as standard or probably not even as an option, because it would not suit their cost and availability constraints.?? ?
I do think it can do, and that would impact the power output and efficiency at higher frequencies. I am not sure if anyone here has tested that, apologies if so and I have missed or forgotten it.? Aside from the higher gate capacitance, I think there are other differences too which may or may not impact the suitability. Datasheets are often difficult to interpret and particularly to compare between parts from different manufacturers, because often the specified data is at a certain operating point which is different between the two datasheets. But I would make the following observations:
I should also note that I'm not really yet convinced by the proposition that the lower gate threshold voltage of the TN0110 is an advantage. The gate threshold is specified at Vds = Vgs and Id = 1mA; BS170 min-typ-max is 0.6-2.1-3V and TN0110 is min-max 0.6-2V (at the same operating point). However these operating conditions are not really similar to what is really encountered in the circuit and I think it is more correct to look at the Saturation Characteristics performance curve (which in the BS170 sheet is labelled "On-Region characteristics"). Taking into account the difference in scales of the graphs (due to the fact TN0110 is in some way a "bigger" device), it's hard for me to see any difference between the two transistors, at the 0-5V squarewave drive and expected Drain-Source currents in the actual circuit. In both cases a 5V square wave should saturate the transistor in the ON/OFF states. I don't see an easy way from the datasheets to say which transistor would be best. I may be wrong. Personally and again I could be wrong, I actually like a slightly higher threshold, IF it still allows full saturation at the "high" of the drive circuit waveform in the application, because it appears to me to be closer to symmetry. The rise/fall time of the logic gate IC that drives the MOSFET gate is not infinitely fast. It appears to me that if the gate threshold was optimally at the mid-point (2.5V here), that would give the best symmetry in the transistor switching times; ideally you want as close to 50% timing as possible, as any deviation from that would I think start to cause overlap cancellation in the output transformer which will impair efficiency. To imagine in extremes, that the transistors are ON for 75% of the time and OFF for 25% of the time; then there is a considerable overlap in the push-pull circuit where BOTH the push side and the pull side are ON, and fighting each other via the output transformer. So as close as possible to 50% should be desirable and maximize efficiency.? As always the proof of the pudding is in the eating, not in the studying of datasheets. But the pudding should always be cooked in the same kitchen, by the same chef, and eaten by the same customer making a decision, under the same conditions (not more hungry one day, than the next). In other words it has to be ONE QMX, all the LPFs exactly the same, the same person building it, the same measurement equipment under as identical conditions as possible. One person on one side of the planet can't build is QMX one way, measure it with his equipment in his lab, and compare results meaningfully with another person on the other side of the planet who used TN0110 and measured in his own lab. There are in that case just too many variables changing.? ? 73 Hans G0UPL |
|
Re: CAT control and compatibility with Kenwood TS-480
Hello Bj?rn ?
Just to explain some background. QCX was created in 2017 and there was no CAT port on it; in fact the 32K Flash program memory was 100% full. But CAT was requested and I wrote it. I managed to squeeze existing functionality, to make space for the program code for the CAT features. I chose TS480 because the protocol is well documented and widely supported. I believe (based on similarities) that the Elecraft radios were also based originally off TS480 protocol but I may be wrong on that, and certainly they were later extended and now have their own entries in the list. QRP Labs also has its own radio type in recent hamlibs.? Because of the very limited program memory and also the fact that of course QCX and TS480 don't have the same capabilities, only a subset of the TS480 protocol was implemented, and it was implemented in a less strict way compared to TS480, in order to save program space. Nevertheless it was sufficient for correct operation with many logging programs. The hardware required a few extra components to be able to share some IO pins with the LCD; later those components were incorporated into PCB revisions so it became standard.? Later I had requests from QRP Works who wanted to make their SideKar product which had originally been an Elecraft Accessory only.? George Korper if you are reading this - SideKar is another option for sending keyboard Morse from a QRP Labs transceiver, as you were asking about Keyboards in a different thread. Anyway - so I added some support for the KY; command to send and retrieve decoded CW. KY is an Elecraft command not a TS480 command so was another departure from pure TS480.? ? Now some of those CAT commands were inherited into QDX CAT commands, and later QDX CAT was inherited into QMX. Unfortunately QMX doesn't yet handle KY (and perhaps other CW details) because of the inheritance route of the code modules through QCX->QDX->QMX... however this is just an anomaly and will be resolved, in fact it's even quite high on my QMX ToDo list to make KY work properly on QMX. So won't be long I hope.? QMX has plenty of code space, it isn't so restricted as QCX was so if there are any requests, they can be accommodated (in time).? I had thought the QCX/QMX documentation is precise and sufficiently detailed but if there are any improvements necessary please let me know/? ?
Apologies for the delay handling that, I'm *still* behind on emails and helpdesk tickets... at the same time trying to carve out a little time for development. Pitying?myself that there is only one me whhaaaaaahhh...? ?
I'm not sure your description of the RU RD commands on a TS-480 is quite right either. The TS-480 document is here: RD and RU commands are described on pages 17 and 18 respectively.? The RU description is: "Moves the RIT offset frequency up. Slows down the scan speed in Scan mode". I have no idea what scan mode is but it isn't a current QCX or QMX thing anyway so ignore that. The Set command has format RU p1 p1 p1 p1 p1 ; where P1 is the offset frequency 00000-99999 in Hz. So there are five digits (not four as you state). But my interpretation of the TS480 specification is that this sets the RIT offset frequency in the up direction. Not that it applies a shift to the currently set RIT offset frequency. In other words I interpreted it as an absolute RIT setting, not a shift to the current setting. It seems more logical to me.? But am I WRONG? Does someone have an actual TS-480 to check? And even if wrong - should I change QMX? (Note: QCX firmware is very stable with few if any known bugs and hasn't had an update for more than 2 years; I'd be reluctant to meddle in QCX firmware unless it is very terribly urgent).? Attached is a screenshot of the RU command from the Kenwood document. RD is similar. Aside from the 5 digit thing which seems clear, I can't in my view, see a way to interpret this that RU increases the RIT offset. To me it seems it should specify an absolute, positive RIT offset. Since it declares that P1 is the offset frequency, and had previously referred in the description to the "RIT offset frequency". It doesn't say that P1 is a CHANGE to the RIT offset frequency.? So this is why I implemented it this way. I did not implement the Read command because it appeared to be applicable only in Scan mode.? To summarize the QMX implementation:
As a result of typing out this reply and my experiments on an actual QMX+ here I have found the following anomalies and added it to my Dev list to correct:
Yes. As for RU and RD, with FA and FB QCX/QMX is not strict about the length of the frequency specification, it does not have to be 11 digits.?? ?
No. On both QCX and QMX IF command character 30 is the same as the result of the MD command. 73 Hans G0UPL |
|
Interesting....
I hadn't considered changing output devices on any of my Q*X's as I expected Hans already put much effort into selecting the best part for the job.?
?
A quick look at the datasheet for the TN0110 shows it has much higher input capacitance than the BS170. Does that not impact its performance in this role, given the available drive?
?
? |
|
Re: LIpo Battery use possible
There's lots of discussion on here regarding QMX power supplies and you'll find almost as many different opinions as there are responses.
?
Taking a step back from the noise, the general message (including info from Hans himself) is that it's fine to power the 12V QMX with over 12V BUT as the voltage increases, so does the risk of popping output transistors if your radio isn't running into a well-matched load. How much you go above 12V is entirely down to how long you want the radio to survive.....?
?
I run my 12V QMX from either 3 x 18650 LiPo cells or a 3S LiPo pack. Fully charged, the radio reports these as supplying about 12.5V ish which drops fairly quickly. I've had no issues so far in running it that way.
?
When I first built the kit and connected to it via putty, I saw that the terminal software displays the supply voltage to the radio. When the supply voltage hits 12.5V and above, the displayed numbers turn red. I used this as a general indicator that the radio is safe enough when run at 12.4 and below.?
?
Anyway, long story short - Yes. A 3S LiPo is fine for a 12V QMX ....... in my experience. |
|
CAT control and compatibility with Kenwood TS-480
I'm on the DXLog development team and struggle with implementing the drivers for the? QMX and QCX models. If I had access to them I could do reverse engineering but unfortunately I don't.? The CAT part of the QMX/QCX documentation is not very detailed and unfortunately also? somewhat inconsistent. Since my help desk ticket remains unanswered I am turning to this reflector.? The challenges I face are the following: RD/RU Is the implementation of the RD and RU commands really the same as the TS-480?? The documentation suggests otherwise. With the TS-480, RD must be followed by exactly four digits? and decreases the RIT with a certain number of hertz. RU works?the same but increases the RIT.? The QMX/QCX documentation seems to suggest RD instead sets the RIT to an absolute value and? that a sign also must be included?in the command (like with Kenwood's RF command). How does RD/RU really work with the QMX/QCX and what is the format? FA/FB With?the?TS-480, the FA and FB commands?must be followed by exactly 11 digits.? The QMX/QCX seems to accept?a varying?length. Is this true? IF With the TS-480, the mode field (character number 30) returns the same code as MD.? This does not seem to be the case with the QMX/QCX. Is this true? Thank you in advance, Bj?rn SM7IUN |
|
Re: WSPR doesn't report many stations after being on overnight with my QMX+
Michael there may be a problem with the WSPR server again. I just had no spots on 30, which I use to check propagation and I checked power output, timing, and Freq. and they all are normal. So maybe it's not you or me, but it!
?
WSPR server goes down occasionally but somebody out there fixes it. You may also see data from the hours you sent show up. |
|
Re: Keyboard CW 2
Hi George ?
It's already my intention in the future (AFTER the SSB) to add a CW screen to the terminal tools, which shows decoded text and allows you to key in CW etc via the keyboard.? Back to what?Zhenxing said, about the USB port on the QMX yes, it is configured currently as a USB Device. However on the STM32F446 this peripheral may be configured instead as a USB Host port. Therefore it IS technically possible that in future QMX firmware could have a new feature to allow QMX to host a USB keyboard. 73 Hans G0UPL |
Bj?rn SM7IUN
CoolDuke
to navigate to use esc to dismiss