Re: AA Battery Power for QRP Labs gear
Agreed. Just look at what 1960-era Heathkit tube transceivers sell for. I¡¯m looking at several on eBay in the $450 range. Even the ¡°parts only¡± ones are around $150. But for the collector¡¯s urge, new hams could be purchasing them for under $100. Even an ancient Heathkit GR-91 receiver is $99.99. I owned one. It was my first SW radio¡ªa $40 Christmas present. I know for a fact that no one is buying it for the quality of reception. Heathkit simply took the design for a cheap table radio and extended its coverage into SW.
That¡¯s why what Hans is doing is wonderful. He¡¯s a one-man Heathkit, creating inexpensive kits that both new and experienced hams can enjoy.
¡ªMike Perry, WA4MP
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On Oct 28, 2021, at 10:56 am, Julian N4JO <n4jo@...> wrote:
Yes, that would be a great idea, but many hams are collectors who get very emotionally attached to their stuff, which keeps resale value absurdly high, keeping such equipment out of reach of newcomers. You only have to look at the preposterous resale value of Morse keys to see this.
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Why go to all that trouble
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Run a mains cable down to shed, (if need be in a bit of plastic conduit clipped to fence), then no need for battery and control the QDX via a raspberry pi using VNC and wireless networking?
?
Peter
M0PWX
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From: Mike Perry, WA4MP
Sent: 28 October 2021 15:47
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [QRPLabs] A remote QDX....
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Peter,
You¡¯ve hit on a brilliant idea, one that could be expanded still further. Technically, anything that could be handled over an Ethernet cable could probably be handled over the Internet or with a cellular data link. Imagine that you live in the middle of a big
city with the accompanying electrical noise and intermod along with no space for an antenna. You could remote your transceiver to somewhere distant where the spectrum is quieter and there¡¯s ample room for a large antennas.
That¡¯s already common is astronomy, where someone in the bright lights of a city can rent nights on a quality telescope at a remote mountain top.
Best of luck in the next QDX sale.
¡ªMike Perry, WA4MP
> On Oct 28, 2021, at 10:32 am, G3SPL <leepd60@...> wrote:
>
> While lying in bed recently, my mind pondered on the QDX and it suddenly struck me that it has no manual controls at all: it is totally controlled by software. This would make it ideal for remote location, for example, in a shed at the bottom of the garden,
making antenna arrangements easier and getting somewhat away from the noisy domestic location.
?
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Re: AA Battery Power for QRP Labs gear
I covered this in a recent presentation on Portable Operating - . I have used this with my KX2 successfully.
On Sun, Oct 24, 2021 at 4:44 PM Gwen Patton < ardrhi@...> wrote: I'm going to reply to both the battery power for QRP-LABS gear and the power for the 50w amp in one email.
For powering my QCX radios, I use a Power Delivery (or Qualcomm Quick Charge, now) USB-C power bank with an appropriate trigger circuit, usually in the cable. It works very well, and the somewhat exotic buck/boost circuit in the power bank doesn't appear to generate noticable noise on frequencies we operate on, as neither I nor others who reproduced my results have experienced any.?
On to the 50w amp issue...
Theoretically, PD also includes 20v at up to 5A, but I haven't tried it yet. I built the 50w amp, but haven't gotten it to work. I also think that the typical PD power bank might work, but it's be a really nasty drain. For that amp, I'd use a different power bank, an _atypical_ PD power bank.
This particular PD power bank wasn't available for a long while due to Covid restrictions, but I finally got one (Amazon Prime Day is awesome ?).?
It's the Omnicharge Ultimate, which has a ton of power. It can do 12v from USB-C with ease using a trigger cable, and has a simple DC power jack that will provide up to 60v at 8A over an appropriate DC coaxial line. They include a short example, MD30 plug to 5.5x21 coaxial socket. I got a bag of MD30 plugs and sockets on Amazon for cheap. Turns out they're common on drones.
The Omni Ultimate even has a 150w AC inverter socket on it.
It isn't cheap and weighs around 3 lbs., but it has plenty of power. I wouldn't want to run that amp from a standard PD power bank. This one is designed to handle it.
My articles on these subjects are on my ham blog at NG3P.com.
73, Gwen, NG3P
-- Anthony Luscre
K8ZT Ohio Section Section Youth Coordinator & Education Outreach ARRL - The National Association For Amateur Radio? ?
The Web Resource Hoarder-
K8ZT Radio Website-
Amateur Radio Resources for Students/Youth -
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Re: AA Battery Power for QRP Labs gear
On Thu, Oct 28, 2021 at 09:56 AM, Mike Perry, WA4MP wrote:
In much the same fashion, old ham gear can be passed along to new hams. My first ham transmitter in the 1960s cost about $5 as war surplus.
Yes, that would be a great idea, but many hams are collectors who get very emotionally attached to their stuff, which keeps resale value absurdly high, keeping such equipment out of reach of newcomers. You only have to look at the preposterous resale value of Morse keys to see this.? ? -- Julian, N4JO.
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How about a Raspberry Pi/Power over Ethernet ("PoE") solution? That would be the Cat's Meow...
One of my future projects is a multi-channel Ethernet connected GUI for QCXs, so I can run my growing stable of them in my shed from my office. Minnesota winters are not "polite", and I can't afford to insulate and heat my shed/shack. Right now I have a couple of extension cables running the 50 ft between the house and the shed, but I'll have to come up with a better solution.?
For the QDX, though, a PoE solution would be perfectly adequate, as long as we can keep RF out of the Ethernet wiring.
If you don't investigate it, Peter, I will :-)
--
Julian, N4JO.
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Peter,
You¡¯ve hit on a brilliant idea, one that could be expanded still further. Technically, anything that could be handled over an Ethernet cable could probably be handled over the Internet or with a cellular data link. Imagine that you live in the middle of a big city with the accompanying electrical noise and intermod along with no space for an antenna. You could remote your transceiver to somewhere distant where the spectrum is quieter and there¡¯s ample room for a large antennas.
That¡¯s already common is astronomy, where someone in the bright lights of a city can rent nights on a quality telescope at a remote mountain top.
Best of luck in the next QDX sale.
¡ªMike Perry, WA4MP
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On Oct 28, 2021, at 10:32 am, G3SPL <leepd60@...> wrote:
While lying in bed recently, my mind pondered on the QDX and it suddenly struck me that it has no manual controls at all: it is totally controlled by software. This would make it ideal for remote location, for example, in a shed at the bottom of the garden, making antenna arrangements easier and getting somewhat away from the noisy domestic location.
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Re: QDX TRIFILAR STEP 2.12 Wind and install trifilar toroid T2
I don't think the draft manual is quite clear enough on this.? It is important that the START and FINISH of the windings are identified as well as just continuity.? It would be possible to mix up start and finish of windings and still get a good continuity check!? So make sure that the 3 "starts" are on one side, and the 3 "finishes" on the other before doing your continuity checks!
Total failure if you get this wrong as the phasing won't be right...
--
Peter Lee
G3SPL
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While lying in bed recently, my mind pondered on the QDX and it suddenly struck me that it has no manual controls at all: it is totally controlled by software. This would make it ideal for remote location, for example, in a shed at the bottom of the garden, making antenna arrangements easier and getting somewhat away from the noisy domestic location.
?
Next morning, I looked up how far you can run a USB cable: answer, not far enough for my needs, but then I came across the "USB Extender over Cat5 cable".? For somewhere around ?10 or so, you can buy 2 units which you interconnect with cat5 cable up to a distance of 50m - just what the doctor ordered!
?
Next, what sort of CAT5 cable to use for installation outside and probably directly buried. It turns out there is suitable outdoor grade cable available with tough double sheath and not too expensive - about ?50 for 100m. Burying the cable in the lawn is desirable for two reasons.? Firstly, it is relatively easy by using a spade to make a slit (about 150mm deep) into which you can push the cable down using a small piece of wood. The grass is then restored by pressing down with your foot. The second reason is that burying the cable gives some screening and also helps common mode rejection due to the capacitance of the cable cores to ground.
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Further reduction of common mode noise from the PC can be achieved by winding the CAT5 cable around a couple of ferrite toroids near the PC end.
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Powering the QDX is most easily done using a 12V lead acid battery which is charged up in the shack and taken down the garden for each operating session.? A suitable sized battery would allow several typical operating sessions between charges. (The QDX would need to be built for 12V operation using a 3:2 ratio output transformer rather than 2:2.)
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What about changing bands?? At first, I thought I would have to use a separate multicore cable to control some antenna switching relays. Then I realized that the QDX has band select signals to control the preselector.? BAND0 and BAND1 are output from the microcontroller to give a two bit binary output, where "00" represents the 80m and "11" represents 20m band.
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It would be relatively easy to take the BAND0 and BAND1 signals from the microcontroller (available at IC3, pins 14 and 2 respectively) and feed them to the gates of a couple of BS170 MOSFETs as relay drivers.? Two relays, one SPCO and the other DPCO can be wired to select one of 4 antennas under these control signals from the QDX. It would probably be best to put a simple RC low pass filter on the MOSFET gates to stop RF from the transmitter affecting the relay operation - that could be disastrous if it caused an incorrect band selection!
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The relays could be configured to select different ATU settings if you use a single antenna. Of course, if you have a multiband antenna you don't need any of this antenna selection arrangement at all.
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So remote operation could be fairly easy to achieve.
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However, for me it will have to remain a dream as I was 30 minutes too late to place a QDX order!
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-- Peter Lee G3SPL
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Hi Fred
More likely, you should have it by Monday. Trust in USPS! I expect you will let us know on Monday :-)?
73 Hans G0UPL
I received my shipping notice email (from US stock) for order 50001 this morning.? So in a week or so I should get the QDX.? Maybe I will be able to build over Thanksgiving... We will see.??
Fred W0FMS/7
On Wed, Oct 27, 2021 at 09:07 AM, Mike KK7ER wrote:
the USPS will notify you of ANY package on its way to you if you sign up for an account
I have been using this service for years.? It not only tells you about packages you are receiving, but provides an image of all normal-sized mail, like mail in the regular-sized envelopes and postcards.? I get an email every morning with these details, so I get to see the junk mail before it hits my mail box!? When there is a foot or two of snow outside, I know in advance if I need to make the trek out to the mail box.? I see I have a USPS package shipped by pirateship and coming from Sedalia, MO.? I have received QRP Labs kits from Sedalia before, so likely have the kit by the weekend.??
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As soon as i switched to the asset tracker sketch that does not need a gps fix to start i got instant connection to helium. here is the cayenne dash board. The pico tracker sketch worked? the first time i tried it the other day but not since. The position is showing on map but altitude is 0.00
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Re: QDX TRIFILAR STEP 2.12 Wind and install trifilar toroid T2
Hee Hee...can you imagine wrapping? in such a way that one wire gets wrapped around
the the other or others in such a manner, at the end of say 10 inches it is close to an?
inch longer than the other and you cut it off to even it up...that is almost a full turn on the toroid.
:}:}:} that would be crazy,,,,never happens.?
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Re: AA Battery Power for QRP Labs gear
Yeah, I¡¯m still sorry I didn¡¯t pick up several of those fire-alarm batteries at my local ReStore when they were only $1 each, they¡¯d be perfect for the QCX I have on order.
Recycling is to raw materials, in the case of these batteries back to lead, is often stupid. The smart way to recycle is to repurpose to a less demanding role. I know I got ticked off a couple of U.S. administrations back when huge sums were spent to crush so-called gas guzzling Ford F-150 pickup trucks. While they might no longer make sense for full-time construction work, they¡¯re ideal for homeowners needing to haul stuff occasionally. When I need concrete or landscaping stones for my place, I have to make multiple trips in my Toyota subcompact, making sure I don¡¯t go over 300 pounds. I could haul far more than that one trip in an old F-150, and for the use I¡¯d give it, the gas mileage matters not.
In much the same fashion, old ham gear can be passed along to new hams. My first ham transmitter in the 1960s cost about $5 as war surplus. It was a marvelously well-built Command set employed in B-17s during WWII and given a new purpose. Actually, I had two, one for 80 and one for 40. I still have the antenna coil from one of them and if my hunch is right the wire in that coil is silver. It¡¯s three-quarters of a century old and still useful.
¡ªMike Perry, WA4MP
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On Oct 28, 2021, at 9:24 am, Chris Wood via groups.io <g4cws@...> wrote:
I use a 12v 7AH battery from our own domestic alarm system. It sits in a box on my desk, charged by a small solar panel, and feeds my QCX family and my FT817. As you say, the security company had to replace it and I couldn't let them junk (at my cost) a potentially useful battery. In fact I have two from that source, one as a spare....
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I received my shipping notice email (from US stock) for order 50001 this morning.? So in a week or so I should get the QDX.? Maybe I will be able to build over Thanksgiving... We will see.??
Fred W0FMS/7
On Wed, Oct 27, 2021 at 09:07 AM, Mike KK7ER wrote:
the USPS will notify you of ANY package on its way to you if you sign up for an account
I have been using this service for years.? It not only tells you about packages you are receiving, but provides an image of all normal-sized mail, like mail in the regular-sized envelopes and postcards.? I get an email every morning with these details, so I get to see the junk mail before it hits my mail box!? When there is a foot or two of snow outside, I know in advance if I need to make the trek out to the mail box.? I see I have a USPS package shipped by pirateship and coming from Sedalia, MO.? I have received QRP Labs kits from Sedalia before, so likely have the kit by the weekend.??
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Re: AA Battery Power for QRP Labs gear
Mike
I use a 12v 7AH battery from our own domestic alarm system.? It sits in a box on my desk, charged by a small solar panel, and feeds my QCX family and my FT817.? As you say, the security company had to replace it and I couldn't let them junk (at my cost) a potentially useful battery.? In fact I have two from that source, one as a spare....
Chris? G4CWS
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Nice idea. But then the QCX-mini is by far the smallest part of the whole setup. This is just an antenna switch. You supply a RX and panoramic display yourself. 73 Alan G4ZFQ
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Re: AA Battery Power for QRP Labs gear
Those looking to save money might contact local companies that service fire alarms and exit lights for public spaces. They typically have to replace the batteries, typically small, sealed, lead-acid ones, after a certain amount of time. The batteries are likely to still have years of life left in them.
I know because a few years back a local charity thrift was selling them for $1 each. Wish I had bought some.
¡ªMike Perry
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On Oct 27, 2021, at 10:57 pm, dwentz <digid2@...> wrote:
To make things even better there are been a bunch of new 5AH cells being given away at the local hamfests by the local QRP club.
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Syd, I just finished a QCX+ (40M) build. I had to remove 7 turns from T1 to get the trimmer capacitor off the fully open position. The BPF (8.7) moved up as I removed turns. I did not bother going through the hole for this, I merely left about 1/4" of wire from the board and soldered the shortened winding to it. I then checked power output and found none, though an adjacent rig could hear it. It turns out L4 had a bad solder connection, easily fixed with a few seconds of soldering iron heat and a dab of flux. I then had .7 watts, so I spread out L3 and got it up to 2.7 watts. That was my clue to remove a couple of turns. Between that and tweaking L1 and L2 (mostly L2) I got it up to roughly 4 watts @ 13.8V. That's less that I'd like, but one more watt would make almost no difference to a receiving station so I quit there.
I have since made a bunch of great contacts.?
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Hi Paul
Nice idea. But then the QCX-mini is by far the smallest part of the whole setup. Can you imagine having a panadapter as a separate?box the size of QCX mini? Like Elecraft's KX3?+ PX3 combo. That would?be really cool!
I know it is a rather ambitious idea, but I could resist it, hi!
Kind regards
Janez, S58J V V ?et., 28. okt. 2021 ob 11:56 je oseba Paul Harrison via <dj0cu= [email protected]> napisala:
This panadaptor looks perfect as an addition to the qcx mini etc.
A description can be seen here:?
And can be purchased on Banggood.com at the moment for around 40 euros.
Paul DJ0CU.
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This panadaptor looks perfect as an addition to the qcx mini etc. A description can be seen here:?https://youtu.be/jKqXBvsrGsI
And can be purchased on Banggood.com at the moment for around 40 euros.
Paul DJ0CU.
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Thanks Paul
I agree, and I have amended the manual accordingly.?
73 Hans G0UPL
On Thu, Oct 28, 2021 at 11:27 AM < paul@...> wrote: On page 17, the text describes the 3:3 option for T1 but the board diagram still references the 3:2 option. This might be slightly confusing. Also, maybe there should be a pointer on this page back to page 4?
Paul
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Mike Perry, WA4MP
Peter M0PWX
Anthony Luscre
Julian N4JO
Fred Spinner
K9NUD-Steve