Re: QMX+ Lightning Damage
Probably a dumb rookie question but ....
If CW is working AND the terminal based TX diagnostic tests into a dummy load are OK then ...
Is the Q set to DIGI mode when you are trying to connect into WSJT-X in normal operation?
On Fri, Jan 3, 2025 at 6:23 PM, Sam Hanie via groups.io <SAMHANIE@...> wrote: Yes
Device Manager has:
2 Sound Cards
1 Serial port (com17)
Diagnostic runs.? buttons test good, voltages look OK.
What?else?
Thanks Thanks,
Sam Hanie
623-219-8130 Hi Sam, can you still access the QMX+ diagnostics via Terminal? Do you still see the serial port as well as the sound card on your computer?
Cheers Nick G0OQK
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Re: QMX+ Lightning Damage
Yes
Device Manager has:
2 Sound Cards
1 Serial port (com17)
Diagnostic runs.? buttons test good, voltages look OK.
What?else?
Thanks Thanks,
Sam Hanie
623-219-8130
Hi Sam, can you still access the QMX+ diagnostics via Terminal? Do you still see the serial port as well as the sound card on your computer?
Cheers Nick G0OQK
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Isn't Hans currently in an exotic foreign land?!? Sadly, to many Americans, Canada is an exotic foreign land....................
Lee KX4TT
On Friday, January 3, 2025 at 05:41:21 PM EST, Jerry Gaffke via groups.io <jgaffke@...> wrote:
h.
But if Hans succeeds in getting SSB firmware out with the hardware as it is, that's a huge win.
And time for him to celebrate with a 6 month break in some exotic foreign land.
?
Jerry, KE7ER
?
?
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Good, had me puzzled.
So where the bottom axis now reads:
-7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
it should read:
-9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
?
An informative graph, thanks!
?
Do those SWR's all assume a purely resistive load?
The load could also be capacitive or inductive, which would also affect the peak voltage.
?
Keeping the SWR below 2 is clearly a good idea on 80m and 160m.
If you have a VNA so you can see more than just the SWR, shoot for an impedance under 50 ohms.
?
Tony's idea of substituting TN0110's could be good for those not planning to use the new SSB firmware.
Perhaps Hans can someday have a menu option to allow SSB mode using the TN0110's.
?
Going to TN0110's adds another $4 to the parts cost, I'd guess the kits will continue going out with BS170's.
Using Q507 as a linear regulator to reduce the supply voltage to the? BS170 finals on 80m and 160m should work
or you could vary the power supply external to the rig.
?
A future kit might be able to use an SMPS instead of Q507 to keep efficiency high.
But if Hans succeeds in getting SSB firmware out with the hardware as it is, that's a huge win.
And time for him to celebrate with a 6 month break in some exotic foreign land.
?
Jerry, KE7ER
?
?
On Fri, Jan 3, 2025 at 12:27 PM, Chris KB1NLW wrote:
FYI?
On my plot I should of suppressed "0" and "-1" on the x axis?
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Chris,
It’s clear that the BS170 maximum Vds rating is greatly exceeded on 80 and 160 meters and this is indeed due to higher gain in the FETs at lower frequencies. I saw this gain difference vs frequency in the sims I ran using JZ’s model long ago. I proposed TN0110 as an alternative to the BS170 back then to handle the voltage spikes in the QDX. QMX fixed the spikes but that was prior to opening up the 80 and 160 bands where high voltage is now showing up for an entirely different reason. I know Hans planned to limit the drain voltage in these two bands but I don’t know if he completed this effort. From your graphs, it appears that this feature isn’t working in whatever firmware version you have. In any event, lowering the supply voltage when operating on 80 or 160 should lower the PA excursions but they might still be exceeded to some degree. Have you tried running your tests at a lower supply voltage?
Tony
FYI?
On my plot I should of suppressed "0" and "-1" on the x axis?
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Chris,
?
I guess I need new glasses, as I now see the band designation in the prior posts.? Looking at the SWR of 1, the measured voltage does seem to follow projected power as frequency changes.? A proper test is to keep the power out at 5 watts for each band at 1:1 SWR, adjusting the voltage to the radio to maintain the correct power level.
?
The PA's class D design power output is significantly impacted by the impedance of the output stage, which includes the filter and the antenna.
?
The spike at the end of transmission for the QDX is well-documented.? The QDX has no key-shaping circuit to prevent the abrupt end.? I have measured it at well over 120 volts, which is peak voltage, not peak-to-peak.? A commutating diode fix across L14 removes this spike (similar to diode protection for a relay).
?
The QMX does have a key-shaping circuit, and I know of no spikes on key up that have been detected.? If you are seeing spikes, a solder bridge in the Q507 circuit could keep it on all the time.? This happened to one of my QMX builds.? Q507 is the key shaping circuit.
?
73
Evan
AC9TU
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Re: QMX+ Lightning Damage
Hi Sam, can you still access the QMX+ diagnostics via Terminal? Do you still see the serial port as well as the sound card on your computer?
Cheers Nick G0OQK
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Hi George?
Bruce is correct that you can use the 0.33 on all QMX and QMX+ kits now. And QDX kits too.?
Depending on when you bought your kit you may have received enough 0.33 to complete everything, even if there was also some 0.6 wire supplied.
If there is 0.6 wire in the kit supplied, you might want to measure the length of the 0.33 supplied to make sure there is enough to wire all the toroids and transformers. Otherwise, you may come up short and will need to buy some extra.
I have used 0.33mm BNTECHGO brand wire from Amazon with great results.?
On Fri, Jan 3, 2025 at 1:53 PM, George Carey <glcareyii@...> wrote: I am building my second QMX. I am now winding T501 and following the transformer1_00c.pdf document as specified in the assembly_1_04f.pdf. The assembly manual specifies using 0.60 mm wire and the transformer document says using 0.33 mm wire improves performance. Which should I use?
?
Thanks,
?
George, N9DXP
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FYI?
On my plot I should of suppressed "0" and "-1" on the x axis?
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The plot does not address power. Only peak voltage across the BS170s. However the 160m has higher power than the other bands.
You can see that 160m and 80m exceed the 60V ratings of BS170 and are marginal on 60m and 40m.
?
When evaluating the effects of ATU switching (used my Elecraft T1) I was able to capture ~100v very fast spikes.? Breakdown from these spikes may cause cumulative damage and ultimately total failure.
?
?
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Got it, thanks Bruce.
?
George
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It's all 0.33mm (#28) wire.
?
Cheers -
?
Bruce K1FFX
?
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I am building my second QMX. I am now winding T501 and following the transformer1_00c.pdf document as specified in the assembly_1_04f.pdf. The assembly manual specifies using 0.60 mm wire and the transformer document says using 0.33 mm wire improves performance. Which should I use?
?
Thanks,
?
George, N9DXP
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Greetings,
?
Had a storm come through a few days ago.? Heard a "POP" and my 12v brick was dead.
Fuse was blown, replaced the fuse, but the 12v adapter was still dead... Replaced it with a new one.
?
12v adapter feeds the QMX+ through a buck converter.
Buck converter and QMX+ seemed to operate fine. (so I thought)
?
HOWEVER, the QMX+ throws an error when it tries to transmit in WSJT-X FT-8.
Also fails the "TEST CAT" function.
?
WSJT-X seems to work in receive mode.
Transmitting in CW mode works fine.
?
Performed "factory reset", but did not work.? Tested on 2 other computers, still throws the error.
?
I am seeking troubleshooting suggestions.? ;)
?
Thanks in advance.
?
AC4OW, Sam
?
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Re: AB8DF CW Practice / Rag Chew 1/2/25
Check out on the CWOPs website.? Lots of resources including scheduled classes for improving CW proficiency.
Charles K5KXJ
On Friday, January 3, 2025 at 09:01:53 AM CST, WB0ZJJ-Alan via groups.io <alanmcdonley@...> wrote:
On Thu, Jan 2, 2025 at 01:50 PM, Ed Kwik wrote:
might try 20 meters if I can figure out a good time of day for it. Like the idea of operating where Techs have CW privileges and tempting them to get into CW
Techs have CW privilege on 15m.? ? 21.0675 is supposedly a "Slow CW" calling frequency (forgot what group was designating that..).?
?
When I couldn't hear you yesterday, I answered a slow 15m CQ and then got in trouble because I have my key speed set to 12wpm.? The fellow (in Pennsylvania) came back to me at 15wpm.? I managed to copy my call and GM, then gave him a signal report but couldn't copy my report or anything until I heard FB..TU..73 WB0ZJJ DE <his call>.? ?
?
I'm getting back on the air after 45 years away from it.? Using VBand and LCWO.net to improve my speed, but my brain just hears the dits fly by and says "duuuuh!"
?
?
Perhaps next week on 15m???
?
WB0ZJJ - Alan
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CW Practice / Rag Chew Let's try 30 meters tomorrow 1/4/25
On 1/3/25 I had a CW practice / rag chew
session on 40 meters. I worked only one station:
| Date
/ Time |
Call |
Bnd |
Frequency |
Comments |
|
Mode |
Name |
Power |
Rec |
Snt |
SPC# |
| 1/3/2025
14:58 |
KE8TBM |
40 |
7.038 |
Ten
Tec Triton IV at 75 watts 100 ft slopped doublet |
|
CW |
Fred |
75 |
579 |
579 |
OH |
Conditions were poor. SSN = 173, SFI = 212, A = 22, K = 2 so
the band was pretty noisy.
I will be doing another CW on the air practice session Saturday
01/04/25 . Anyone is welcome. This practice is intended
for operators who are new to CW or they need some practice. IT
DOES NOT MATTER HOW POOR YOUR CW IS. Mistakes are OK. Poor
fists are OK. Slow speed is OK. Really slow speed is OK. This
practice is meant for you to improve your CW. I will do my
best to adjust to your skill level. Operate at any power
level. If several stations show up, I will operate as a
round-table control station. I will do it as a round-table so
everyone gets a chance to transmit. Please listen to my
directions.
Details:
Time - 10:00 AM Eastern Time / 15:00 UTC
Band - 30 Meters
How to find me - I will find a clear frequency and call CQ. Go
to the Reverse Beacon Network and search for my call sign
AB8DF.
That will tell you what frequency I am
on. Tune your station to that frequency and if you hear me
give me a call. If there is a QSO in progress, please wait for
a break in the action. Then send your callsign. If I hear you,
I will invite you to join the QSO and start a round-table QSO.
Reply to this email if you have questions.
IT DOES NOT MATTER HOW POOR CW IS
Ed
AB8DF
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Re: #qmx+ #qmx #qdx Documentation updates
#qmx
#qdx
Thank you for the update Hans, my mid band kit has the black cores, I just need to finish another project and then I’ll get started with it.
I noticed that you also tided up the formatting in a couple of places, where the images were obscuring the text.
In the latest QMX manual, the instructions for T507 still refer to using 0.6mm wire for the links.
73 and Happy New Year, Nick G0OQK.
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Re: AB8DF CW Practice / Rag Chew 1/2/25
On Thu, Jan 2, 2025 at 01:50 PM, Ed Kwik wrote:
might try 20 meters if I can figure out a good time of day for it. Like the idea of operating where Techs have CW privileges and tempting them to get into CW
Techs have CW privilege on 15m.? ? 21.0675 is supposedly a "Slow CW" calling frequency (forgot what group was designating that..).?
?
When I couldn't hear you yesterday, I answered a slow 15m CQ and then got in trouble because I have my key speed set to 12wpm.? The fellow (in Pennsylvania) came back to me at 15wpm.? I managed to copy my call and GM, then gave him a signal report but couldn't copy my report or anything until I heard FB..TU..73 WB0ZJJ DE <his call>.? ?
?
I'm getting back on the air after 45 years away from it.? Using VBand and LCWO.net to improve my speed, but my brain just hears the dits fly by and says "duuuuh!"
?
?
Perhaps next week on 15m???
?
WB0ZJJ - Alan
|
Re: #qmx+ #qmx #qdx Documentation updates
#qmx
#qdx
Hi Dale
You might not need the revised manual anyway, if your kit comes with T37-6 toroids. Anyway:
QMX+? - Edit to the parts list to?reflect the fact that four of the toroids might be T37-10 or T37-6
- I changed pages 29 to 31 inclusive, which is section 2.11, to reflect the instructions?for winding if you have a T37-10 toroid for L403.?
- I amended page 32 to include a note that T37-10 toroids may be supplied and also the winding details for those toroids.?
- Page 33 is a new page completely which shows a new diagram for the T37-10 version of the LPFs with the turns count.?
- I made notes in a couple of other places about the FT37-43 being a dull black and the T37-10 being shiny black and NOT to mix them up
- I made some edits to the part of the manual about firmware?updates since?for Rev 2 PCBs it is no longer correct to say that the board comes with no firmware installed.?
QMX (only 60-15m version is affected) - Amendment to parts list notes the possibility of black shiny T37-10 toroids being supplied
- Some notes in a couple of other places about the FT37-43 being a dull black and the T37-10 being shiny black and NOT to mix them up
- Pages 38-40 inclusive are updated to include turns count details?for both the yellow T37-6 case, and the black T37-10 situation.?
QDX (only affects 80-20m version) - Page 11: Amendment to parts list notes the possibility of black shiny T37-10 toroids being supplied
- Page 29: A whole new page that shows the turns counts in table and diagram format for the T37-10 toroids
- Again a couple of notes about NOT mixing up with the dull matt black FT37-43 toroids
The substitution of T37-10 for T37-6 won't cause any performance differences; and the permeability is almost the same, just a turn or couple of turns more are required on the T37-10 for the same inductance. We tested all the builds using T37-10 and they all worked great. No issues.?
A big thing to watch out for is not mixing up the FT37-43 and T37-10, being the same size, and both being black; but really the appearance is quite different, the FT37-43 has a more angular square-ish cross-section, whereas the T37-10 is much more smooth and rounded if you consider it's cross-section.?
73 Hans G0UPL
On Fri, Jan 3, 2025 at 5:30?PM Dale Hardin KS4NS via <joe.dale.hardin= [email protected]> wrote:
Could you list the pages that changed so those of us awaiting our QMX+ delivery can update our assembly manuals?? I already printed out the assembly manual to read while awaiting delivery.
On Fri, Jan 3, 2025, 8:01 AM Hans Summers via <hans.summers= [email protected]> wrote: Hi all
Since T37-6 (yellow) toroids suddenly got scarce, some new batches of QDX 80-20m, QMX 60-15m and QMX+ are now being supplied with some T37-10 (shiny black) toroids. I have updated the QDX, QMX and QMX+ manuals to reflect this.?
--
Dale Hardin
KS4NS
Elberta, AL
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Re: QMX(+) Build experience, Poor Audio Filter Sweep/RF Filter Sweep/Image Sweep/ADC IQ test and resolution with new PCM1804
I have no idea what procedures QRP Labs has before shipping a QMX+,? so take this with as much skepticism as you can muster:
?
My assumption is that they plug in a USB cable to program the STM32F and power the board up, not much more.
That USB cable is just a connection to ground and a couple pins on the STM32F, nothing anywhere near the PCM1804 gets touched.
A fake received signal would have to be driven into pins 7 and 9 of IC403, but that is well isolated from the PCM1804.
The power supplies on the QMX+ are complete, exactly as they will be when shipped to the customer.
I can't imagine any reason for the procedure to physically disturb the PCM1804 in a way that would not happen after a bad chip is replaced.
Any handling at QRP Labs would likely be considerably more benign than that of the typical kit builder who is adding dozens of parts.
My understanding is that the PCM1804 seldom (never?) fails once the PCM1804 has been found to work, either during initial testing at QRP Labs
for recent versions of the QDX and QMX+,? or after Jeff has replaced a PCM1804 (which I'd guess is now mostly on the QMX, since
the QDX and QMX+ have already been tested).? Older kits that did not have firmware loaded at QRP Labs don't have the PCM1804 tested.
?
If the above is correct, it sounds to me llke the assembly house is stuffing bad parts.
?
I could easily imagine that shorting the VCC rail (perhaps due to clearance issues around the front panel) would cause a spike in VCC when the short is removed, blowing the PCM1804.? However, if such failures seldom (never?) occur after the receiver has been found to be working correctly,?
that is probably not an issue.
?
A complete bed of nails would not be required to test the PCM1804 on the currently untested QMX.? I would think it would just require applying VCC and VDD, a USB cable to a host computer that has appropriate test software, and appropriate signals at IC403 pins 7 and 9 that are 180 degrees out of phase.??
Getting this working properly could take several days that Hans does not have, but should not take weeks and a major hardware effort.
?
Jerry, KE7ER
?
?
On Fri, Jan 3, 2025 at 05:42 AM, Bruce Akhurst wrote:
I suspect ESD or power supply damage to an incomplete board would not be repeated once fully built.? ESD damage, to ICs in particular, is often evident only after a few weeks or months...
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Sam Hanie
Lee
WB0ZJJ-Alan