I did have to readjust all the spark gaps and spring tension when I replaced my HAMKEY keyer with the QCX, but all fine now!? Good luck. 73, Tony N0BPA ? ?
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From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Donald Gover
Sent: Monday, September 3, 2018 3:28 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [QRPLabs] Keyer issue. #problem ? Frank:
? ? now that sounds like an Idea to try. When I get back home on Wednesday I'll be giving that a go.?
? ? 73, Donald L. Gover, KC9ZMY
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Re: QCX 40m IC2 soldered directly to board
#qcx
Robert,? Do not give up brother. I am at 62, attempting to learn CW. Its tough but it keeps the mind going.?
De kc2lwx? Sean "Talk The World With Ham Radio "
On Mon, Sep 3, 2018 at 4:41 PM, rcw@... <rcw@...> wrote: ?I'm starting to think that I wasn't cut out for this
You know what they say in skydiving "If at first you don't succeed...skydiving might not be for you"? :) Looking forward to working on mine, ordered one last week.? Lots of electronics when I was a kid, 45-50 years ago, not much since then.? Finally got around to getting my ticket at 61 years old, working on code, hope it coincides with finishing this kit. robert VE4CZT
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Re: My first time QCX build - fail.
Thanks Charles. I'm ordering another tonight.
Jim - K9DD
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Re: My first time QCX build - fail.
Take heart, Jim. ?I had a problem with my first QCX. ?I did just that - set it aside - and then built another. ?After that I traced down the problem in the first build without any sophisticated test gear. ?I only had a screwdriver that made a dandy noise injector, and a multimeter that showed me where the fault was.
72,
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On Sep 3, 2018, at 5:08 PM, Jim - K9DD < jdawson@...> wrote:
Thanks for your confidence. I'm going to put it aside for awhile and think about it.?
I may order another kit and try again.
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Re: My first time QCX build - fail.
Thanks for your confidence. I'm going to put it aside for awhile and think about it.?
I may order another kit and try again.
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Re: QCX 40m IC2 soldered directly to board
#qcx
?I'm starting to think that I wasn't cut out for this
You know what they say in skydiving "If at first you don't succeed...skydiving might not be for you"? :) Looking forward to working on mine, ordered one last week.? Lots of electronics when I was a kid, 45-50 years ago, not much since then.? Finally got around to getting my ticket at 61 years old, working on code, hope it coincides with finishing this kit. robert VE4CZT
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Frank:
? ? now that sounds like an Idea to try. When I get back home on Wednesday I'll be giving that a go.?
? ? 73, Donald L. Gover, KC9ZMY
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Tony:
? ?I'm not using the MFJ keyer, just the Key. In fact if I set the QCX to straight key and use my nanokeyer it works 100% of the time. So I'm kind of stymied.?
? ?73, Donald L. Gover
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Re: My first time QCX build - fail.
Jim
I strongly suggest not transmitting until the receiver is working. Unplug the key or paddle.
On my build I missed on solder connection in the audio section. I found the issue by turning on the alignment source, yes free test equipment already built in. I poked around and found my issue. Also as mentioned its easy to not get the enamel off the toroid connections.
You have enough test equipment,? please slow down and I think you may solve it.
Keep in touch
Curt
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Tom
I suggest reading what is in the manual. Yes its honestly a 3 watt rig with 13.5 volts input. If you feed a slightly higher voltage only to the PA stage, you can gain a half s-unit at most. I suggest enjoying the class E xmtr as is, but if you must have 5 watts see the manual.
Curt
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This may sound silly, but are you trying to key the QCX keyer with the signal from your MFJ keyer?.? May I suggest that you connect your existing key and paddles directly to the QCX keyer input and set the MFJ unit aside? ? 73, N0BPA ? ?
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From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Donald Gover
Sent: Monday, September 3, 2018 9:08 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [QRPLabs] Keyer issue. #problem ? I see a number of topics addressing various issues with the Keyer but after trying all the various solutions I can't seem to solve mine. I have a MFJ-564b that seems to work flawlessly on my Elecraft KX3. If I measure the resistance and continuity of the contacts at the phone jack end, with no pressing of the paddles there is basically infinite resistance. However that being said, about 2 out of 10 times when I power up the QCX it is just stuck in sending steady Dah's. This only clears when I tap either of the paddles several times. Then the second thing that happens is if I hold down the Right Paddle to get a steady stream of Dah's it from time to time inserts a Dit, with no pressing of the Dit paddle.?
? I've tried different cables, made sure I have a dummy load connected and verified I'm in CW test mode. I've gone over the construction and looked for bridged or almost bridged connections and I don't see any. Also have double checked the components and they seem to be correctly positioned. Receive works well and is very sensitive. In transmit I get a solid 5 Watts out when connected to a LiFO battery. I'm starting to come down on the side of demonic possession but before calling an exorcist might anyone have a suggestion as to where to look for this vexing problem??
? 73, Donald L. Gover KC9ZMY??
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Donald,
You could try 1k pullup resistors from the paddle contacts to the +5V power supply. Maybe there is too much resistance to ground somehow.
73 de Frank PA3CNO
I see a number of topics addressing various issues with the Keyer but after trying all the various solutions I can't seem to solve mine. I have a MFJ-564b that seems to work flawlessly on my Elecraft KX3. If I measure the resistance and continuity of the contacts at the phone jack end, with no pressing of the paddles there is basically infinite resistance. However that being said, about 2 out of 10 times when I power up the QCX it is just stuck in sending steady Dah's. This only clears when I tap either of the paddles several times. Then the second thing that happens is if I hold down the Right Paddle to get a steady stream of Dah's it from time to time inserts a Dit, with no pressing of the Dit paddle.?
? I've tried different cables, made sure I have a dummy load connected and verified I'm in CW test mode. I've gone over the construction and looked for bridged or almost bridged connections and I don't see any. Also have double checked the components and they seem to be correctly positioned. Receive works well and is very sensitive. In transmit I get a solid 5 Watts out when connected to a LiFO battery. I'm starting to come down on the side of demonic possession but before calling an exorcist might anyone have a suggestion as to where to look for this vexing problem??
? 73, Donald L. Gover KC9ZMY??
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A short in your keyer wire/plug?
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On Sep 3, 2018, at 10:08 AM, Donald Gover < dlgover@...> wrote: I see a number of topics addressing various issues with the Keyer but after trying all the various solutions I can't seem to solve mine. I have a MFJ-564b that seems to work flawlessly on my Elecraft KX3. If I measure the resistance and continuity of the contacts at the phone jack end, with no pressing of the paddles there is basically infinite resistance. However that being said, about 2 out of 10 times when I power up the QCX it is just stuck in sending steady Dah's. This only clears when I tap either of the paddles several times. Then the second thing that happens is if I hold down the Right Paddle to get a steady stream of Dah's it from time to time inserts a Dit, with no pressing of the Dit paddle.?
? I've tried different cables, made sure I have a dummy load connected and verified I'm in CW test mode. I've gone over the construction and looked for bridged or almost bridged connections and I don't see any. Also have double checked the components and they seem to be correctly positioned. Receive works well and is very sensitive. In transmit I get a solid 5 Watts out when connected to a LiFO battery. I'm starting to come down on the side of demonic possession but before calling an exorcist might anyone have a suggestion as to where to look for this vexing problem??
? 73, Donald L. Gover KC9ZMY??
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I see a number of topics addressing various issues with the Keyer but after trying all the various solutions I can't seem to solve mine. I have a MFJ-564b that seems to work flawlessly on my Elecraft KX3. If I measure the resistance and continuity of the contacts at the phone jack end, with no pressing of the paddles there is basically infinite resistance. However that being said, about 2 out of 10 times when I power up the QCX it is just stuck in sending steady Dah's. This only clears when I tap either of the paddles several times. Then the second thing that happens is if I hold down the Right Paddle to get a steady stream of Dah's it from time to time inserts a Dit, with no pressing of the Dit paddle.?
? I've tried different cables, made sure I have a dummy load connected and verified I'm in CW test mode. I've gone over the construction and looked for bridged or almost bridged connections and I don't see any. Also have double checked the components and they seem to be correctly positioned. Receive works well and is very sensitive. In transmit I get a solid 5 Watts out when connected to a LiFO battery. I'm starting to come down on the side of demonic possession but before calling an exorcist might anyone have a suggestion as to where to look for this vexing problem??
? 73, Donald L. Gover KC9ZMY??
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The TLC272 is not a rail-to-rail capable op amp and can only supply
10mA. So it's not a full replacement for the TS922, though it may
suffice in this application. The TLV272 is rail-to-rail but can only
supply 7mA; it may also work. Both are inadequate for the final stage
because of the limited current capability.
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On Mon, Sep 3, 2018 at 1:07 AM, K¨¡rlis Goba <karlis.goba@...> wrote: I think TLC272 should also do the job, except perhaps for the final
headphone stage. It's a similarly specced part, and is available in DIP.
Regarding the supply voltage, look at the lowermost right corner. There you
see (ok, it's an educated guess) all of opamps being supplied straight from
12V rail. Common sense tells that too, since the common mode voltage used in
the circuit is 5V.
Karlis
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Re: QRP Labs postage stamps
Hi Jim
We post 600-800 packages per month. A lot of money!?
73 Hans G0UPL? ?
How did you pull that one off, Hans?
The word about QRP Labs is definitely getting out!
73 de Jim KM5M
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I think TLC272 should also do the job, except perhaps for the final headphone stage. It's a similarly specced part, and is available in DIP.
Regarding the supply voltage, look at the lowermost right corner. There you see (ok, it's an educated guess) all of opamps being supplied straight from 12V rail. Common sense tells that too, since the common mode voltage used in the circuit is 5V.
Karlis
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You are correct: the TS922 is now only available in SMD packages. You would either have to find some NOS DIPs or use an SOIC to DIP adapter. The other alternative is to find another suitable part. So far as I can tell, the QCX schematic doesn't show what the power supply voltage supplied to those ICs is, so I can't tell whether they are attached to the nominally 12V input or to the 5V regulated output. If it's the latter (which is suggested by the bias circuit seen on IC9) you could use a lower voltage op amp such as the TLV2462, which is the op amp that Adafruit sells to replace the TS922. It's a 2.7-6V op amp that otherwise has similar specifications and the same pinout. IC10 (the output amplifier) appears to be biased to run from the 12V rail so it definitely should NOT be replaced by a lower voltage part. On Sun, Sep 2, 2018 at 5:33 PM, John VA7JBE via Groups.Io <va7jbe@...> wrote: There's some great advice in this thread and replacing IC6-9 sounds like a
worthwhile mod, but I'm having a bit of trouble sourcing the TS922 in a DIP8
package. They seem to have been discontinued in favor of SMD packaging.
Does anyone know of a source for these or a substitute that's still in
production?
Cheers,
John VA7JBE
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To get the best power output from QCX.
---
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Re: My first time QCX build - fail.
I've made progress but it still isn't working right. I rewired T1 and reinstalled it. That fixed the loud tone but I caused more problems. I lifted a trace off the board from pin 4 of T1. It appears to me to go to the source of Q5 so I hooked it directly to it. It now seems to work but I can't hear anything but noise and clicking when on an antenna. Also, now when I key the transmitter I can barely hear it in another receiver where before it was a strong signal. I'm close to giving up. I no longer have test equipment except a DMM.
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Donald Gover
Shirley Dulcey KE1L