Other than WSJT-x, what do folks use for waterfall display and CAT control under Windows?
--
Brent DeWitt, AB1LF
Milford, MA
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Thank you for the reply. Does this mean you are currently working on a simplified filter or are you still strictly in SSB mode? Is anyone simplified filter such as I described a relatively easy add, or a difficult one? Thanks again.?
I'm in try-to-catch-up-from-holidays mode. Then there are the bug fixes and enhancements arising out of the SSB beta firmware. And it's imminently Hamfest season (Dayton, Friedrichshafen). And a hundred other things that I have neglected for the last 9 months. So I'm not currently working on a simplified CW filter. But I will... And I wouldn't say it's a difficult thing to do. Just that the cascaded filter thing was almost trivially easy at the time Reg suggested it to me, I got intrigued and thought "why not". The hardest part was the special handling of the menu but even so if I recall it was less than a day's work. So that's why it was done then, it wasn't a big interruption to my SSB marathon.? 73 Hans G0UPL
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Hans,
Thank you for the reply. Does this mean you are currently working on a simplified filter or are you still strictly in SSB mode? Is anyone simplified filter such as I described a relatively easy add, or a difficult one? Thanks again.?
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Hello Braden
I hope to see you in Dayton next month then?
I agree with you. As I posted earlier today, I was deep in the SSB project for 9 months which was quite a marathon. Last summer I had a suggestion from?Reginald Beardsley about overlapping two instances of the existing 300 Hz of 500 Hz filters at different centers, to synthesize many different center frequencies and bandwidths. I had on hand the DSP coefficients and it was a rather easy code change to make, which satisfied quite a few requests I'd had for different center frequency or bandwidth filters - at least in the interim until I'd have the chance to do something more elaborate. At that time I had a policy of trying to fulfill requests and fix bugs if they were relatively simple and quick. Soon after I slipped into "ignore-everyone-until-after-SSB" mode hihi.
Hello Hans! I haven't spoken with you since Hamvention several years ago. It occurs only 20 miles from my house. Nice to encounter you again? - you are doing amazing work.?
?
What I would like to see as a CW operator is what I have on my KX3: Press the filter button and then turn a knob that varies the filter from 50 hz all the way up to 3khz. No cascading or overlaps to deal with, no reference charts needed... just a simple variable bandwidth filter. Maybe not that "simple" to accomplish ?
?
From reading these forums, it's clear that I am far less technically oriented than most of the people lurking here. So techies will probably strongly disagree with what I want. As a business strategist I fully understand that if your target market is engineers and near-gineers, then you should definitely disregard what I am saying, and not uncomplicate the filtering. I know that uncomplicated things are generally not as versatile or flexible.?
?
I hope that helps, my friend, thank you. 73
Braden Glett KD8ZM?
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Re: QMX+ with ~1000 tone on 12M & 6M
I have found that IC401 is essentially not available to the experimenter at this time, except from Amazon with long lead times.
I also found this - and looked at the newer cs4344 chip.? It is 10-pin rather than 8-pin, but the 'top' 8 pins are pin-compatible with the 4334.? I am considering experimenting with this chip.? On the QMX+, there is (barely) room to solder it in place of the current chip, and add the requisite capacitors to the two new pins.
One issue you are going to face is that CS4334 is an 8-pin SOIC and CS4344 with 0.05-inch pin spacing is a 10-pin TSSOP which has 0.5mm pin spacing (0.02-inch). The CS4344 is similar sized to the MS5351M. Much smaller than a CS4334. You can't just solder it on and take care of the two extra pins.?
I have been reviewing the two datasheets and it's interesting. Firstly I don't see any reason why a CS4344 wouldn't work and be compatible with current firmware.?
In several aspects the CS4344 has higher performance specifications than the current CS4334. Not that the current CS4334 is anywhere near to being the limiting factor in overall performance, so the higher performance of the CS4344 wouldn't be usable or noticeable in that regard.? 73 Hans G0UPL
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Found two unsoldered pins on the lcd board.?
Now display works great.
Now back to RTFM. ?Planning to start with FT8 before downloading the SSB firmware.?
Ludwig: thanks for your suggestions.
72/73
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Apr 10, 2025, at 9:46?AM, DH8WN via groups.io <DH8WN@...> wrote:
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On Thu, Apr 10, 2025 at 04:44 PM, @Ludwig_DH8WN wrote:
pin 3 up to pin 15 (2 - 4, 4 - 5, ..., 14 - 15).
Sorry, typo!!!
Correct is 2 - 3, 3 - 4, ..., 14 - 15.
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On Fri, Apr 11, 2025 at 10:31 AM, <k3loe@...> wrote:
trying not to put money into powerpole tools at the moment.
I see your point, good crimpers are expensive.? This is one of the reasons I prefer soldering.? My one soldering iron works with all sizes of cables.? Also making a good crimp joint requires that the wire, crimp ferrule, crimp dies and crimper are all compatible.
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Re: Here's hoping for QMX+ v2
I've been kicking around similar ideas. I go back and forth on whether an all-in-one is better or not when portable/traveling (vs a separate PC/display.) There are pros and cons for sure to each.
Seems the zBitx has some bugs to work out on the FT8 front (per AE5X's blog), so by my view, it's not ready for FT8 POTA prime time yet. The DX-FT8 on the other hand just got a firmware release that allows SOTA/POTA and such, but I feel the <1w is a bit weak for reliable POTA/portable work.??
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-Nate
N8BTR
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Thanks all for the quick input.
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Jason wrote:
Here's a 16awg in line barrel fuse :
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I know their not 18awg,and that you might not want to buy it off Amazon, but at the least they can give you a starting point of search terms.?
Thank you, that's what I was looking for! 16awg is fine. Will look for that kit off Amazon. I ordered the barrel connector from QRP Labs when I got the radio.
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On Fri, Apr 11, 2025 at 12:56 PM, Chris, G5CTH wrote:
Don't remove the powerpoles from that lead, add Powerpole connectors to your battery
The main problem with that cable is that it's expensive and across the ocean, and I do have powerpole cables for the battery, but the barrel connector will be on the other side of the buck converter. Fair enough though, it's worth considering terminating the cable out of the buck converter with powerpoles too for versatility. I just don't think I'd have another need for a strictly regulated 12V source so I was thinking of this as a dedicated cable and was trying not to put money into powerpole tools at the moment.
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On Fri, Apr 11, 2025 at 12:05 PM, Sean [AK6BM] wrote:
It is infinitely worth your time to learn to solder and/or crimp, and to go ahead and get the equipment to do so
Yes, I know how to solder and crimp. I have a crimper for butt connectors and the like. It's the "getting the components and connectors and putting them together how I need" that I'm primarily asking about. I just don't want to have more splices than necessary.
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Re: QMX+ with ~1000 tone on 12M & 6M
On Fri, Apr 11, 2025 at 08:15 AM, Richard Hattaway wrote:
I have found that IC401 is essentially not available to the experimenter at this time, except from Amazon with long lead times.
I also found this - and looked at the newer cs4344 chip.? It is 10-pin rather than 8-pin, but the 'top' 8 pins are pin-compatible with the 4334.? I am considering experimenting with this chip.? On the QMX+, there is (barely) room to solder it in place of the current chip, and add the requisite capacitors to the two new pins.
Stan KC7XE
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Getting cable and even some basic crimpers and connectors is fairly easy. I'm in the process of setting something up for a go kit right now and loving my Wirefy () for making some quick connectors. You can do most things even without solder if that part is sketchy for you (although you can get good at soldering very fast with practice, too!).
?
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Don't remove the powerpoles from that lead, add Powerpole connectors to your battery, and everything else that needs or uses low voltage power.? Pairs of connectors can be assembled handed and so make connecting a supply the wrong way round much less likely.
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I have a constant Voltage and Current buck/boost regulator with PowerPoles and so can hook this up to provide regulated power with the voltage and current limits of my choice from a variety of sources to anything.
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Here's a barrel jack, 12awg:
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Here's a 16awg in line barrel fuse :
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I know their not 18awg,and that you might not want to buy it off Amazon, but at the least they can give you a starting point of search terms.?
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On 4/11/25 I had a CW practice / rag chew session on 30 meters. I worked five stations:
| Date / Time | Call | Bnd | Frequency | Mode | Power | Rec | Snt | SPC# | Name | Comments | Off | | 4/11/2025 14:35 | AB2EW | 30 | 10.108 | CW | 100 | 579 | 559 | NY | Steve | K3 at 100 watts 100 ft sloper doublet | 15:04 | | 4/11/2025 14:17 | VE3UXJ | 30 | 10.108 | CW | 100 | 569 | 559 | Canada | Craig | K3 at 100 watts 100 ft sloper doublet | 14:22 | | 4/11/2025 13:26 | W4SYV | 30 | 10.108 | CW | 100 | 579 | 449 | FL | Rich | K3 at 100 watts 100 ft sloper doublet | 14:05 | | 4/11/2025 13:11 | K1PUG | 30 | 10.108 | CW | 100 | 559 | 449 | CT | Hank | K3 at 100 watts 100 ft sloper doublet | 13:22 | | 4/11/2025 12:59 | WB4DKF | 30 | 10.108 | CW | 100 | 349 | 229 | FL | Dick | K3 at 100 watts 100 ft sloper doublet | 13:09 |
Conditions were OK. SSN = 112, SFI = 153, A = 17, K = 2.
My next CW practice session will be?April 12 at 20:00 EDT / 00:00 UTC on 30 meters.?Anyone and everyone 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:
Date - April 12 2025
Time - 20:00 EDT ?00:00 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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It is infinitely worth your time to learn to solder and/or crimp, and to go ahead and get the equipment to do so. It's a small investment and if your doing ham and/or electronics projects you will need cables, it's really just a matter of getting the components and connectors and putting them together how you need
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Re: QMX+ with 100 amp/hour lithium iron battery
The suggestion on adding a low value (100-1000 pF) capacitor in parallel with the 20-1000 uF bypass capacitors if the best answer. It has to do with the frequency response of the capacitors and their ability to nibble away at the high frequency component.
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With linear regulators you need to have a few volts higher on the input when compared to the output so the regulator has something to regulate and drop voltage. Not too much because that voltage drop during regulation is converted to heat. For example; If you had a 18 volt input and a 12 volt regulated output at 2 amps that 6 volts of drop, multiplied by 2 amps would be 12 watts of (thermal) that would need a substantial heat sink to dissipate.
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The other way is bad too, a 12 volt regulator with a 12.5 volt supply. The 78xx series regulates best when the input voltage is > ~2.5V up to ~10V. Below that differential and the regulator cannot function correctly and you would be better off with just a diode string.
--
Tisha Hayes
AA4HA
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Re: SWR and PWR does not show lcd
Weird, mine was not showing the SWR or power output bars, but a couple of days later, now it is! Happy ending for me.?
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Hello Hans! I haven't spoken with you since Hamvention several years ago. It occurs only 20 miles from my house. Nice to encounter you again? - you are doing amazing work.?
?
What I would like to see as a CW operator is what I have on my KX3: Press the filter button and then turn a knob that varies the filter from 50 hz all the way up to 3khz. No cascading or overlaps to deal with, no reference charts needed... just a simple variable bandwidth filter. Maybe not that "simple" to accomplish ?
?
From reading these forums, it's clear that I am far less technically oriented than most of the people lurking here. So techies will probably strongly disagree with what I want. As a business strategist I fully understand that if your target market is engineers and near-gineers, then you should definitely disregard what I am saying, and not uncomplicate the filtering. I know that uncomplicated things are generally not as versatile or flexible.?
?
I hope that helps, my friend, thank you. 73
Braden Glett KD8ZM?
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Re: QMX+ with 100 amp/hour lithium iron battery
On Fri, Apr 11, 2025 at 08:22 AM, Richard Barnich wrote:
The 78/79 hundred families of regulators expect bypassing on both input and output sides of the regulator.
I always parallel a 100- or 1000pF cap with the bulk bypass for additional RF bypassing/filtering.? Those larger values do not work effectively at higher frequencies.
73, Don N2VGU
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Re: QMX+ with 100 amp/hour lithium iron battery
I am using a Drok buck converter from Amazon. DROK DC Buck Converter:
It works great, and no noise. I set it at 11.9 volts and just leave it there. I put anderson powerpole connectors on each side input and output: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CNZ1V5CL?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
I predict you will like this solution.
73
Braden Glett KD8ZM?
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Brent DeWitt
Braden Glett
Jason
Tisha Hayes, AA4HA
Donald S Brant Jr