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QCX+ Menu 8.5 Ref frq

 

I would like to know if I can apply the following procedure to calibrate the Ref frq without GPS?
Using a QCX+ 20M Band I would go to WWV 15MHz and read precisely the frequency for a zero beat. If I read 15.003.00 could I modify menu 8.5 to read 25.005.000 with the TCXO and have a more precise QCX+?
73 - Pierre - FK8IH
Re: QMX+ Volume

 

On Wed, Apr 2, 2025 at 09:07 AM, Martin DK3UW wrote:
I finde, that the min. audio volume is still quite high but could not find a setting to alter that
There are three primary audio gain controls.? ?
?
The first is in Band Configuration.? Audio level set here is applied very early in the processing, and affects I/Q output as well as the rest of the audio path. [I think you earlier increased this value to increase the level into wsjt-x.]
?
The second is the volume control knob, which as a gain range of 0-200dB.? The third is in the Audio menu, an audio attenuator that can be set in steps from 0 to 100dB.? I think both of these only affect the audio output jack.
?
For SSB, there is are additional audio gain parameters in the agc settings.? The CW mode agc also has an 'S9 sounds like' setting which is essentially an audio gain control.?
?
Stan KC7XE?
?
?
Re: QMX+ Power Output Question

 

Hi,
The power output list is fine.?
?It is what it is, and if you build another one,?
it will be just like that. Which is wonderful!
73,
George
K3GK
Re: QMX+ Power Output Question

 

Yep. Ran into that too.

Appreciate the possible alternative work around.

GREG


On Thu, Apr 3, 2025 at 8:23 PM, Mark K9TR via groups.io
<venchant@...> wrote:
Greg,
?
I had to download the zip file version of Hamlib, that got it by Mcaffee.? Unzipping the file just to get the single .dll file I needed gave Malwarebytes a fit, so I disabled the anti-malware app, got my .dll and just copied it over to the Hamlib folder.
?
73! Mark K9TR
Re: QMX+ Power Output Question

 

Appreciate the info and that you checked the file too.

And of course, the great general group support. I've saved a bunch of your troubleshooting recommendations and signal flows explanations.?

GREG


On Thu, Apr 3, 2025 at 7:55 PM, Stan Dye via groups.io
<standye@...> wrote:
It would certainly be nice for McAfee to fix it - I am pretty confident it is a false detection.
I checked the file with several other scanners; a couple had problems with it, others didn't.
Stan
Re: Gibberish characters appended onto end of Message 1

 

Braden,
I agree this is a bug.?
I also had this problem when I first entered and edited messages.
I found a way to fix it from the QMX front panel:
1 - enter the message menu, and select the message to edit it.
2 - using the vol knob, move the cursor to the end of the message, then use the 'backward triangle' char to delete all
3 - fill all of the characters of the message buffer with spaces, by pressing the 'select' button at least 32 times
4 - exit the menu to save the message of spaces.
5 - select the message again, and put in the 'enter' character (looks like a keyboard enter icon) in the first character of the message.
6 - the last three steps got the internals sync'd again, and won't send any extra characters or spaces.
?
I think what is happening is that when using the 'enter' or 'backward triangle' character to delete any unwanted characters, the firmware is only putting in some marker at that position, rather than clearing the buffer.? Then it honors that marker when showing you the message text (either on the front panel or in the terminal message editor), and you can't see the rest of the message buffer.? Then sending the (newly edited) message, that marker is not honored by the firmware for sending the message, and it sends all non-empty characters entered into the buffer and not individually deleted.? And sometimes some of the extra characters are corrupted, causing '*' to be sent.
?
So when a message memory is corrupted that way, you have to clear it out, either by the above procedure, or by using the terminal memory editor.? In the terminal memory editor, you still can't see the extra characters, but if you edit a character in the message, it seems to clear everything out and leave it correct as you see it.
?
BTW, while 'putty' is what most use, it is not necessarily easiest - any terminal emulator app will do (like the old Windows Hyperterm or whatever).? I use TeraTerm, which is also free and friendlier to use (in my opinion) and if you search messages in this group, I recently wrote some details on how to set it up.
Stan KC7XE
?
Re: RTC battery mistake

 

Thanks for suggestions Stan and co. Confirming that with GPS connected and RTC source set to "software" the clock became accurate within a few minutes.
de VK6XT?
?
?
?
Re: RTC battery mistake

 

On Thu, Apr 3, 2025 at 07:35 PM, Greg McCain wrote:
Using a small gauge of insulated wire instead of a lead cutoff and tubing would work too. Get it close and flat on the PCB.?
?
?
Extra style points for tacking the wire/tubing down with Krazy-type glue.
73, Don N2VGU
Re: QMX SMPS issues, and a possible cure

 

Don,
?
These are pretty dinky supplies, no need for your 3/8" copper bolts.
But the file certainly makes for lots of crud to study.
?
I loaded up the supply with 50 ohms on 5v, 25 ohms on 3.3v (100ma and 132ma respectively).
When scraping the 12v source to the supply across a file, I saw an occasional triangular peak
on 5v that got up to about 5.7v, the base of that triangle was about 100us.
This was overshoot as the supply recovered from a quick dip in 12v, and only when the?
5v rail didn't go below about 3v.? Scope photo attached.
?
This is exactly the case that was killing QMX's when 12v power was intermittent,?
though I can guarantee the overshoot then was far far worse.? That has mostly
been addressed through firmware changes, though I suspect issues remain.
?
In my Readme I say:
> Next rev of this board will have:
>? Larger inductors than the now 3x3mm, with pads large enough to do rework.
>? Inductors (1uH?) added at input to each switcher to reduce noise on supply.
?
Larger inductors, both physically larger and more uH.
Because the current through the inductors now rises and falls very fast,
it very nearly reaches 0 current in the valleys on VCC.? Planning to go from 4.7uH to 22uH.
That will slow the rate at which current rises, and I'd expect it to cure the spike.
Adding the 1uH up front of the switchers (cap still across the switchers Vin) should also
help, meant primarily to reduce noise on the incoming rail but may also help avoid
sudden dips on Vin to the IC's.
?
I also tried using the file as a load on both VCC and VDD, going from no load to 0 ohms.
Again saw spikes, the worst was still around 5.7v peak on VCC.
?
The 3.3v rail was relatively clean in all cases, in part because it is supplied from VCC.
?
Anyways, if there's enough interest and I have a few of these auto-stuffed,?
I'll plan on shipping a couple off to you for further tests.?
Also to Jeff Moore and Hans if they are interested.
These inductors are short and robust, the boards are small and cheap.
I'm confident the boards can go out as first class letter mail here in the US.
?
Attached is a scope photo of the VCC spikes when under load and?
running the 12v supply across a file.
?
Switching at 2mhz and a 100ma load on Vcc, 130ma on Vdd (typical for a QMX),
the efficiency is around 84%.
I don't expect switcher noise to be an issue, if so we can reduce it to around 500khz
by using a different variant of these IC's and significantly improve efficiency.
We may not quite reach the efficiency of the old scheme which operates at 100khz
but I for one am more interested in a robust design than the last few percent in efficiency.
?
Jerry, KE7ER
?
?
On Thu, Apr 3, 2025 at 01:18 PM, Donald S Brant Jr wrote:

From the readme:? "Behaves well when output is suddenly shorted and then the short is removed."??
Try this:
The most brutal power supply torture test I saw was to connect the supply output with heavy leads to two 3/8" copper bolts closely spaced in an insulating block.
Energize the supply, then take a coarse file and file the ends of the bolts simultaneously.??
Watch the sparks fly and monitor the supply for instabilities. ?The fast, random short/open transitions, with bonus negative-resistance arcs, will challenge any control loop.
I love getting paid to do stuff like that.
73, Don N2VGU

QMXPS_Vcc_Scope.JPG

Re: QMX+ Power Output Question

 

Greg,
?
I had to download the zip file version of Hamlib, that got it by Mcaffee.? Unzipping the file just to get the single .dll file I needed gave Malwarebytes a fit, so I disabled the anti-malware app, got my .dll and just copied it over to the Hamlib folder.
?
73! Mark K9TR
Re: QMX+ SWR sweeps with SSB firmware?

 

On Thu, Apr 3, 2025 at 09:59 AM, mux_folder2001 wrote:
but I kinda don't want to go back one firmware level and lose my calibration.
You won't lose your calibration settings if you re-install v_027 of the firmware, unless you do a Factory Reset.
Firmware update preserves all compatible configuration settings across update versions.
Just this week I downgraded one of my QMX to 027, then went back up to 01_003, and the calibration was all still there.
?
And I'm not seeing any improper behavior of SWR sweeps in 01_003 either.? They show my antenna behavior as expected.
Check to make sure you're really getting output power - SWR sweep will be wrong if the power isn't getting out (or back through T507).
Stan KC7XE
Re: QMX+ Power Output Question

 

It would certainly be nice for McAfee to fix it - I am pretty confident it is a false detection.
I checked the file with several other scanners; a couple had problems with it, others didn't.
Stan
Re: QMX+ rev 3 freezes shortly after boot

 

On Thu, Apr 3, 2025 at 04:28 PM, Michael Shiplet wrote:
I am getting some strange power readings across all the bands, and my SWR readings are all over the place
I would start by doing (from the Hardware tool page of the terminal app):
- LPF sweeps of each of the bands
- SWR sweeps of each of the bands
both with a dummy load attached.
?
But first make sure you didn't forget to install the jumper across the middle pads of JP501 by the BNC.
?
Look not only at the shape of the curve, but also the left-axis labels.
For SWR all bands should give between 1.0 and 1.2 at the band frequency, and most of the way across the display; except on the higher bands it will be higher above the band frequency.
For the LPF sweeps, the left axis should show something near 0dB (or a few dB positive) at the top, going down to -30dB or so at the bottom.? And there should be a reasonable LPF shape.? If the left axis is all around 0 dB top and bottom, it means you are not getting any tx power out then back through T507 back to the processor to measure.
?
So in addition, re-check all soldering of T501, T507, and L502 - a fault in any of these will cause havoc with TX on all/most bands.? Faults in single bands are more likely in the LPF toroids and their diodes.
?
?
Re: QMX+ Power Output Question

 

Thanks.

I knew about that option but want to try the 'send to McAfee' option to see if I get a response and closer validation from them. Might help others going forward.?

If not, successful with that, I'll dig into the memory banks and see if I can figure out how to run the package validation checksum from the SourceForge files.?

My current WSJT-X is recent and working fine for my QM's and QD's on two, fully up to date, Windows 11 laptops. So not desperate :)?

GREG


On Thu, Apr 3, 2025 at 7:32 PM, Stan Dye via groups.io
<standye@...> wrote:
On Thu, Apr 3, 2025 at 07:52 AM, Greg McCain wrote:
Now, if I can get McAfee to check and bless the latest hamlib release which gets immediately quarantined when I try to pull it off SourceForge I can try out the latest WSJT-X version. Sigh ....
Greg, I had to turn off McAfee virus scanning while downloading the file and unzipping it.
After I had the hamlib.lib file out of the zip and deleted the zip, there was no longer a problem with it, and I successfully dropped it in the wsjt-x folder.
?
A few other files (JTAlert) I had to put in the 'Excluded files' list on the real-time scanning tab of McAfee.
?
Re: RTC battery mistake

 

And as noted in the assembly instructions ...

WARNING: the jumper wire must sit flush
down on the board. Otherwise it will short
with the metal body of the SMA
connector!

I insulated mine with a thin piece of shrink tubing.
Using a small gauge of insulated wire instead of a lead cutoff and tubing would work too. Get it close and flat on the PCB.?

G


On Thu, Apr 3, 2025 at 6:23 PM, Rick Hill via groups.io
<6xraytango@...> wrote:
The GPS vdd or vbat setting is a wire link on the PCB.
de VK6XT?
Re: QMX+ Power Output Question

 

On Thu, Apr 3, 2025 at 07:52 AM, Greg McCain wrote:
Now, if I can get McAfee to check and bless the latest hamlib release which gets immediately quarantined when I try to pull it off SourceForge I can try out the latest WSJT-X version. Sigh ....
Greg, I had to turn off McAfee virus scanning while downloading the file and unzipping it.
After I had the hamlib.lib file out of the zip and deleted the zip, there was no longer a problem with it, and I successfully dropped it in the wsjt-x folder.
?
A few other files (JTAlert) I had to put in the 'Excluded files' list on the real-time scanning tab of McAfee.
?
Re: QMX+ rev 3 freezes shortly after boot

 

On Thu, Apr 3, 2025 at 02:17 PM, @Ludwig_DH8WN wrote:
and it looks like I'm getting about 0.1W on 20m
Let us know if you need some help.
Actually, now that you mention it, I am getting some strange power readings across all the bands, and my SWR readings are all over the place, even with dummy load & a tuned antenna.
?
Here's my power readings from diagnostics:
160m -> 4W
?80m -> 0.8W
?60m -> 1.6W
?40m -> 0.2W
?30m -> 0.0W
?20m -> 0.0W
(the rest) -> 0.0W
?
I'm assuming that means I've got something wrong in one of my toroids, is that a correct understanding?
Re: RTC battery mistake

 

The GPS vdd or vbat setting is a wire link on the PCB.
de VK6XT?
Another QMX+ became SSB capable

 

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Kudos to Hans - the beta was well worth the wait!
Thanks again to the folks that helped me earlier this year locate and replace the bad switch. I had not used the little beast that much after confirming the repair, mostly due to time commitments. Did get some good reports on CW, then shelved it until firmware beta 1-01-003 that covered SSB was dropped.
The firmware upgrade was straight forward. I constructed two Mic adapters, one for a spare ICOM HM-219 and one for a Heil ProSet Elite iC. Both worked well without adjustments of any kind.
First voice QSO was this afternoon on 40M with VA3XV up in Ontario (about 400+ miles). He reported the audio to be as very nice, as good as my 7610. The QMX+ even received a 54 sig report when the QSB and adjacent frequency QRM was not present.
Next up configuring it for fldigi - FSQ and other digital modes... and of course portable ops. So far this has proved an excellent and surprisingly full featured little rig.
--
Jack Spitznagel
KD4IZ FM19oo
Parkton, MD
Re: QMX Display Brightness

 

Wont stop the backlight running hot though? ..? ?resistors are even cheaper . .?
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