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Hi Matt Certainly that would be a very fine feature on QMX. I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be perfectly feasible. Signals transmitted cleanly would also have a much greater chance of being properly decoded, than playing audio into a mic, on a windy summit!? Since QMX doesn't have a realtime clock, but your cellphone?does, time synchronization is a consideration in a standalone QMX implementation. I think this is feasible too, QMX can listen to the FT8 activity on the band and in my experience when I listen by ear, there is always a loud whining sound for the 12.8 seconds of FT8 transmission, and then just noise in the couple of seconds gap until the next cycle. It's very distinct and I don't imagine it will be difficult to program QMX to listen for the start of the transmission and sync an internal real time clock accordingly.? 73 Hans G0UPL On Mon, Oct 2, 2023 at 6:57?AM <w6csn@...> wrote: This is a feature request for the QMX. |
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Hey Hans, great upgrade to the QMX.
Here are some observations: - Maybe it is a good idea to move the Hardware tests menu in the last position, so you can access it with single ccw turn of the encoder and then swr tune should be on the first position, as it is used the most. - Sometimes when transmitting already stored messages it got messed up. Additional dit or dat are transmitted inside the message. - When using the tune swr function on the device, the swr starts jumping up and down and i have to restart the device to have a steady reading again. Great work on these devices. I just love my qcx mini and qmx. 73 de LZ3OM |
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This is a feature request for the QMX.
Sending special FT8 messages that trigger the spotting system enabled by sotamat.com would make the QMX a killer rig for back country or off grid SOTA and POTA activators. The ¡°normal¡± method of using sotamat¡¯s FT8 spotting system involves using an app on your phone to play a specially encoded FT8 message while you hold the phone next to the radio¡¯s mic during an SSB transmission. ?The app cycles through several transmissions of the coded message, each transmission at different audio offsets to increase the odds of the message being picked up by a skimmer and forwarded to PSKReporter. I would like to be able to enter the coded message as a text input into the QMX, then while in the field, trigger the transmission of the message like I would a CW memory message, only here the firmware would compute the FT8 tones/frequencies. If the QMX could do this then I wouldn¡¯t even need the app running on my phone to initiate a SOTA spot. Here is information about sotamat? and here is a very short , 2 minutes, video on sotamat? Hans, I hope this feature is something you might consider for a future QMX firmware release. 73 de Matt |
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Re: QMX Power Supply PCB's
This post by Chris G5CTH has been mentioned several times.
/g/QRPLabs/message/106787 To follow the instructions you'll need a voltage-controlled and current-limited power supply.? You do need accurate, adjustable voltage.? You will want to be able to monitor the current.? Can you get away without a current-limiting power supply?? Yes ... as long as nothing goes wrong.? If you don't connect anything to the regulated output voltage terminal, the board should draw very minimal current. You will be taking the place of the QMX microprocessor, providing the necessary voltage signals to exercise the functionality of the power supply boards. You could -- cautiously -- connect a resistor between the board's output terminal and board ground, to see that the board can source some current.? Choose your resistor so it limits current to quite a low value, just to see it work.? On the 5V board, if you wanted to see 10 milliamps of current sourced by the board, use your V=IR rule and compute 500 ohms.? I doubt there's much value in doing that experiment though, and there is the risk of fumble-fingers shorting out the output and killing the board.? My risk / benefit analysis says don't do it.? Be happy with the voltage checks that Chris has shown us. Remember that with fully-functional power supply boards, your radio can still be damaged by other mistakes.? Like Hans says in the assembly manual (Section 2.31, FINAL CHECKS BEFORE APPLYING POWER THE FIRST TIME), give it a GOOD examination with magnification, to rule out shorts, solder bridges and the like.? Find the things you forgot to do.? Check the areas he tells you to check. 73 |
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Re: QMX supply voltage reporting higher than input and strange display behavior
Another development that might be telling - I just connected and the diagnostics very quicky upon boot, and it shows the errant measured supply voltage and VCC by by the processor ramp up in voltage over the course of several seconds. It starts out as good, and then voltage creeps up. Is this suggesting a processor issue? I instrumented the "ADC_BATT" line and it holds steady at about 1.7V which is what I calculated as expected value for a 10V supply.
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Long press of the Tune knob usually takes me into the Messages, like a double click would do, rather than letting me move the VFO cursor to larger or smaller tuning rates. Also, occasionally single clicks are interpreted as double clicks even though I¡¯m nowhere close to clicking within the 300ms double click threshold.
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Re: QMX supply voltage reporting higher than input and strange display behavior
Thanks for the suggestinons! I spent some more time probing around and testing things as well as reflowing the pins to the SMPS boards. I've noticed now that the VCC line is at 5.6V, so I believe for whatever reason the zener is clamping it. Can anyone help me with some measured voltages around Q108, Q106, and Q112? I see both V_IN and +12V reading about 10V as expected, so it appears there is some issue at the 5V supply.
It also appears this is somewhat intermittent. I was able to boot the radio up, connect to the terminal, and diagnostics read everything correct, but then a few seconds later the terminal lost connection and I saw the same contrast issue on the display. |
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Hans,
Thanks for the updates. Great to see things progressing. Here are a few observations FYI: First, I am mainly looking at CW operations, so haven't really looked at FT8 or other modes. RIT: -Occasionally will not turn off and remains on screen with just the offset numbers, not the 'RIT'. Does not always do this and I can't figure out what causes it. Sometimes only could get rid of it by turning off radio or pulling power. -RIT tune rate is at 10Hz (as in manual picture), not 100Hz as manual says. -Cannot change RIT tune rate with the hold and turn encoder. It always switches to the main tuning and changes that rate. -A or B VFO reset to 0,000,00 a couple of times. Not sure what set it off. A/B Operations: -While playing with A/B ops, both A & B VFOs occasionally reset to 0,000,00 MHz and once QMX locked up. Could only get out of it by pulling power - i.e., no buttons worked, including power down. Not sure how I did this, either. Messages: -Custom splash does not work with message 11 or 12. Not implemented yet? No big deal anyway. -When SWR protection (setting 3) is on, interrupting an automated message frequently triggers SWR protection. This is into a good dummy load or a reasonably matched antenna. If it is interrupted during key down, it almost always triggers it. If you time it between characters or words, it does not always trigger it.? Factory Reset: -Request going back to enter '17' for reset rather than press TUNE. Altho I haven't done it, it would be just too easy to reset it accidentally. Volume Control: -After updating firmware, I got minimum volume for a good while (maybe a minute) no matter what I did with the volume encoder. Seems okay now except as below. -At times volume control works opposite of usual- i.e., CW lowers volume and CCW raises it.? -Minimum to max volume often over a very small angle motion; less than 90 degrees and sometimes this repeats multiple times in a single encoder 360 deg turn. -I know you are working on this and AGC. Hope you get it done soon, as I find my QCXs are much nicer for CW and I usually take them or my TR-35 for portable ops due to the volume control oddities. SWR: -Seems to work pretty well. Slight increase with increasing frequency. 1.2 at 80m, 1.4 at 20m into dummy load that is less than 1:1.1 thru 100 MHz.? -- 73, Dan? NM3A |
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On the SWR display in 1_00_010, Sorry - my misunderstanding.? I watched the youtube video, more carefully.? You need an SWR greater or equal to 1.2 in order for the VSWR display to come on.? The dots under the first SWR bar indicate >=? 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.8 and the second SWR bar comes on at 2 or more.? So the blank display is actually a good thing, indicating the SWR is less than 1.2.? Doh!
- Steve K1RF ------ Original Message ------
From "Steven Dick, K1RF" <sbdick@...>
Date 10/1/2023 6:16:22 PM
Subject Re: [QRPLabs] #qmx #firmware version 1_00_010
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Thank You For Troubleshooting My QMX
I would like to thank Ron Taylor for fixing my QMX. After final assemble and power up I had a back lit screen and no display. Not knowing where to look, I contacted Ron and asked for his help. He gladly offered to look at the rig and In one day he spotted my error and had the QMX up and running. Ron is a real asset to this hobby.?
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Hans, Kudos on the 1_00_010 upgrade. It provides tremendous protection to the BS170s for both high current or high voltage faults due to high VSWR.? I udated my QMX to the latest _010 version.? It works well but I did notice one minor problem.? ?When I have the power and SWR display enabled, my display is only showing power. The SWR part of the display is blank.? The power display looks proper compared to my own measurements.? I did an SWR sweep from the terminal using a QRP labs dummy load.? That sweep looked good.? I have the SWR threshold set to 3.? I also did a system reset and that didn't change the lack of SWR display when I updated configuration parameters. It transmits fine. Not sure where the problem is.? I'll try reloading the software and see if that clears the problem out.
-Steve K1RF ------ Original Message ------
From "Hans Summers" <hans.summers@...>
To "[email protected] Notification" <[email protected]>
Date 9/30/2023 5:48:40 PM
Subject [QRPLabs] #qmx #firmware version 1_00_010
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Re: QMX VSWR indication
#qmx
I don't see a voltage divider in QMX schematic. Maybe it is in a different rig. But the SWR reading error problem is in the RF couplers and not the A/D quantization error. It is also not a bridge balancing issue. Tandem bridge works by adding and subtracting the RF voltage and RF current. Forward and reflected waves have the same sign in voltage but opposite in current. The resistors are there to do the addition and subtraction. |
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QMX build success
Apologies if there¡¯s already a topic with this title. After that it worked. |
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Re: QMX won't connect to some computers/No audio out for FT8
I can't speak to all of the problems, but QMX rev1 definitely won't work on a Mac with a usb-c to usb-c cable (in my anecdotal experience) without the modification I did to add the required pull-down resistors. See the "USB-C Connectivity Issues" topic here: https://qrp-labs.com/qmx/qmxtrouble.html
-- 73 Andrew KI7FXL |
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Re: QMX VSWR indication
#qmx
Another suggestion would be to adjust the reverse power input voltage divider to be twice the value of the forward power and divide the value by two in the software.? You might need to clamp the max voltage on the reverse input with a Zener to protect it.
The above assumes that the current values are at the last few bits of the ADC. 73 Evan AC9TU |
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QMX: cheap GPS module confirmed compatible
Hello, I could not find any information in the archives on GPS modules compatible with QMX, so I decided to give a €6 module I got from a local supplier a try ¨C successfully. That enables convenient use of QMX as a WSPR beacon, as there is no need to worry about setting the time on each power-up. The module referenced as GY-NEO6MV2 is based on the uBlox NEO-6M receiver and can sourced from a variety of sellers.? The uBlox chip works at 3.3V logic, however, the module hosts an on-board regulator and can be powered via a 5V USB supply with the current draw of about ~60 to 90 mA. There is also a backup battery to keep satellite data (and RTC?). The default baud rate is what QMX expects (9600bps). On the mechanical side, the VCC, TX, and GND are exposed as a pin header and the PPS signal needs to be tapped from pin 3 of uBlox. There is a GPS fix indicator LED connected to that pin via a resistor as well. On my board, screw holes were not connected to the ground, so I soldered a goldpin connector to the edge of the closest one in order to mechanically strengthen the PPS tap and be able to disconnect if needed. I tapped the PPS signal from the nearby resistor as that was the closest to the extra connector. Note that there may be some variations and clones on the market, so I¡¯d recommend checking for continuity between the hole and the ground before you try. The only thing left was to connect the module to a 5V power supply and a 3.5mm jack according to the QMX documentation (Tip = PPS, Ring = TX on the module, Sleeve = Ground).? Finally, here is a screenshot from the GPS Viewer terminal app. 73, Kamil |
Ryuji Suzuki AB1WX
Randy, N4TVC
Andrew KI7FXL
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