Re: QDX CAT Control Issue?
Hello Hans,
Thank you for the quick response.? The reason for my question is that I have a poor antenna set up here and the input level indicator was down below 20db.? I do know it is that antenna as when I attached a signal generator through a 90 DB step attenuator and the generator set for 0.001 volts peak to peak I can get the bar in the middle of the band with the factor setting.? Going back to the antenna I was able to get it to 28 DB with a gain setting of 20,000 (20000).? Just wanted to know how high I can go.
73
Evan
AC9TU
|
Re: A couple QDX questions: 60 meters? & 9v vs 12v
I liked the idea of building my QDX for 9v as I thought the occasional use off a lower voltage battery and still maintain 5W would be nice. Plus 'more efficient' sounded good to me, too, and I also think it is kinder to the 5v and 3.3v LDO regulators to not have to drop as many volts (and they run cooler). But what if I wanted to operate a my 13-14v battery? In this case I simply put a 9v 7809 regulator and the normal two small capacitors in line with a patch cable. It was easy to do and I was happy to have this flexibility. The alternative was to put the 7809 inside the case, but I like the flexibility of putting it outside the case. Anyway, that's what I did.
Cheers, Gregg W7GRM
On Wed, Nov 10, 2021 at 7:11 AM Mike Perry, WA4MP < editor@...> wrote: Buck/boost convertors are cheap on eBay and elsewhere. Those who want to stick to a 12 volt supply might pick up a 12-to-9-volt buck converter and put it in-line with their power cable. It¡¯d waste a bit of power, but would put and end to their worries. It¡¯d also hold the input voltage to the QDX at 9 volts as the battery supply voltage drops, which would be a plus.
¡ªMike Perry WA4MP
> On Nov 10, 2021, at 1:01 am, ohwenzelph via <Ohwenzelph=[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Impression: seems like most are picking 12 volts, my guess is already having 12v, or near 12volt, supplies already at hand and less chance grabbing the wrong one. But... also have the impression that 9 volts is, perhaps, more efficient so maybe a better portable choice. An 8 cell AA holder with 1.2 volt ni metal hydrides make a pretty good rechargeable ~9v source.
|
Re: A couple QDX questions: 60 meters? & 9v vs 12v
Buck/boost convertors are cheap on eBay and elsewhere. Those who want to stick to a 12 volt supply might pick up a 12-to-9-volt buck converter and put it in-line with their power cable. It¡¯d waste a bit of power, but would put and end to their worries. It¡¯d also hold the input voltage to the QDX at 9 volts as the battery supply voltage drops, which would be a plus.
¡ªMike Perry WA4MP
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Nov 10, 2021, at 1:01 am, ohwenzelph via groups.io <Ohwenzelph@...> wrote:
Impression: seems like most are picking 12 volts, my guess is already having 12v, or near 12volt, supplies already at hand and less chance grabbing the wrong one. But... also have the impression that 9 volts is, perhaps, more efficient so maybe a better portable choice. An 8 cell AA holder with 1.2 volt ni metal hydrides make a pretty good rechargeable ~9v source.
|
Re: QDX CAT Control Issue?
Hello Evan
I did not write it in the manual?:-D?
If you set it too high, it will be obvious on the waterfall display which will look thoroughly awful.?
It essentially?just multiplies the received samples by that factor.?
The Configuration item is limited to 5 digits so the highest number you could enter would be 99999.?
73 Hans G0UPL
On Wed, Nov 10, 2021 at 4:59 PM Evan Hand < elhandjr@...> wrote: Hans,
I apologize if I missed it in the manual, but can you tell me the valid range for the Audio Gain setting?
73
Evan
AC9TU
|
Re: QDX CAT Control Issue?
Hans,
I apologize if I missed it in the manual, but can you tell me the valid range for the Audio Gain setting?
73
Evan
AC9TU
|
I also like to do handicrafts and have decided on a multiband QCX + in the original housing. It works, but is still being refined.
Short info:
Bands 7-30MHz
C amplifier with RD16HHF1 (around 8W at around 1.2A, N around 40%)
RX with 3 high-pass filters, from 18MHz with MMIC amplifier 10dB
Control computer for band switching etc.
Built-in LiPO battery 14.8V / 1.3Ah
It was a lot of work and testing, only recommended for hobby freaks. Some measuring equipment is required. A report (sri, only German, I use google translator) is below
https://www.darc.de/fileadmin/filemounts/distrikte/s/ortsverbaende/31/QCXplus_DL8LRZ.pdf
73, Reiner
|
Re: QDX Surface Mount inductors
What is the duty cycle at 5 Watts?
It's hard to say.?
I think running WSPR on a 100% cycle - for example setting up WSJT-X to cycle through 80-40-30-20, may be pushing things a bit too hard. The thing is not 100% efficient and it's a tiny enclosure, so the temperature starts rising.?
FT8 has a duty cycle something under 50%, each transmission being in alternate slots and lasting 12.6 seconds, so 42%.?
On the other hand - I have been having fun on JS8Call without any trouble, and here, the underlying protocol is the same as FT8, but unlike FT8 where you always transmit in alternate 15 second slots, in JS8Call you can transmit in multiple consecutive slots, if you type a long message it will keep transmitting chunks of it sequentially until it gets through to the end of your message. During that time the duty cycle is 84%. Of course if you go to slow mode the slots are twice as long (30 seconds).?
Other factors will influence what duty mode will be acceptable without damage - such as any differences arising from running a 12V QDX vs a 9V QDX; different bands have different efficiencies, attenuation in the LPF, SWR of the antenna, ambient temperature, and and and... And of course a sustained very high duty cycle may not cause failure immediately but may hasten early failure.?
Sorry I don't have a more accurate answer to the question.?
73 Hans G0UPL
|
Re: QDX CAT Control Issue?
Hi Robin
XUbuntu 18.04 on an if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it basis.?
73 Hans G0UPL
On Wed, Nov 10, 2021 at 12:40 PM G8DQX list < list@...> wrote: Hans,
that looks like an Ubuntu desktop, rather than Windows! Possibly 20.04
default desktop background, but it's hard to be sure. As for serial
comms, and emulations thereof, it's all Dark Arts, even if we don't
need/can't use the serial breakout box!
Yours having a nervous breakdown,
Robin, G8DQX
On 10/11/2021 08:49, Hans Summers wrote:
> Thanks Ross
>
> I have added this to the manual
> <>
>
> I do not see why this should make any difference because it should not
> be required on a Virtual COM port where start, stop bits etc are of no
> relevance (it is USB comms not real serial. However... if it improves
> things for Windows users, why not :-D? ?We don't have to understand
> it. Windows moves in mysterious ways.
>
> 73 Hans G0UPL
> <>
>
|
Re: QDX CAT Control Issue?
Mine is 21.10.
73
Ross
Sent from my iPhone 6
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On 10 Nov 2021, at 09:40, G8DQX list <list@...> wrote:
?Hans,
that looks like an Ubuntu desktop, rather than Windows! Possibly 20.04 default desktop background, but it's hard to be sure. As for serial comms, and emulations thereof, it's all Dark Arts, even if we don't need/can't use the serial breakout box!
Yours having a nervous breakdown,
Robin, G8DQX
On 10/11/2021 08:49, Hans Summers wrote:
Thanks Ross
I have added this to the manual <>
I do not see why this should make any difference because it should not be required on a Virtual COM port where start, stop bits etc are of no relevance (it is USB comms not real serial. However... if it improves things for Windows users, why not :-D We don't have to understand it. Windows moves in mysterious ways.
73 Hans G0UPL
<>
|
Re: Si5351A Synth kit board Rev 5 now available, fits TCXO module
Is the progrock happy to run with the 25Mhz TXCO module in the si5351 synth? Simon, I'd guess so. I use 26MHz TCXOs in most of my QRPLabs gear including Progrock. 73 Alan G4ZFQ
|
Re: Si5351A Synth kit board Rev 5 now available, fits TCXO module
Is the progrock happy to run with the 25Mhz TXCO module in the si5351 synth?? I couldn't find anything in the progrock manuals on this other than a reference to how to manually program the reference frequency for the progrock but it only mentions 27mhz frequencies.
73
Simon
VK3ELH
|
Re: Order "in transit" at Grace-Hollogne for 3 weeks?
Thank you Curt and Ian for your input.? As it turns out, when I looked this morning, I got this message:
| 09/11/2021, 21:04 |
? |
Formal customs clearance required |
So it appears to be some movement.? What it means, I do not know but...at least something is happening.
Kent.
|
I get Ts all the time just listening. Noise seems to produce Ts if the code reader is turned on.
David J. Wilcox¡¯s iPad
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Nov 9, 2021, at 4:05 PM, Jim Campbell <jecspasc@...> wrote:
?I built my QCX+ some time ago. When completed the power out was approximately 3 watts. Recently I decided to get it up to 5 watts with a 13.6 volts DC supply. After taking 3 turns off L3 I achieved my goal. After putting my covers back on the QCX+ I discovered I had no RF out. Going back through the Menu settings I found a few things amiss so I corrected them. When I did a save configuration I got an "0 7 0 7" on the bottom right of the screen. I cycled power and got a "T" on the bottom right of the screen and then another "T" with a space between them several seconds later. This continued till I powered the QCX+ off.
I did a cursory pass through the documentation looking for error codes but was unable to find any. Can some kind soul tell me where they might be found?
Thanks es 73,
Jim - W4BQP since 1953
|
Im still ground testing your Lora pico tracker with no problems.
Im going to continue test using a car and solar power only Can i please test your python script to transfer telemetry to the other online tracker
regards
richard
|
Re: QDX CAT Control Issue?
Hans,
that looks like an Ubuntu desktop, rather than Windows! Possibly 20.04 default desktop background, but it's hard to be sure. As for serial comms, and emulations thereof, it's all Dark Arts, even if we don't need/can't use the serial breakout box!
Yours having a nervous breakdown,
Robin, G8DQX
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On 10/11/2021 08:49, Hans Summers wrote: Thanks Ross
I have added this to the manual <>
I do not see why this should make any difference because it should not be required on a Virtual COM port where start, stop bits etc are of no relevance (it is USB comms not real serial. However... if it improves things for Windows users, why not :-D? ?We don't have to understand it. Windows moves in mysterious ways.
73 Hans G0UPL
<>
|
Or, perhaps, try 2021-11-10! (Unless you're H. G. Wells' time traveller, in civvies!)
73,
Robin, G8DQX
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On 10/11/2021 03:32, Hew Lines wrote:
Make that date "Nov 11"? !!
On 11/9/2021 6:32 PM, Hew Lines wrote:
Many thanks Hans. It finally arrived yesterday Oct (10). in perfect shape.
Just FYI, this email from you was the only shipping/tracking document I got so that process got messed up somehow.
After coffee, my next job is to download all documents. Are there any new ones or any change listings as well yet ?
Thanks again,
73 Hew VA7HU
|
QDX issues: please include info:
#qdx
Hi all
I'm seeing a growing number of reports from people happily using their QDX and making QSOs.?
Personally?I am quite enjoying JS8Call. This morning?I had a nice QSO with YO3FVR on 40m JS8Call (875km distance), two-way QRP, me on QDX and him on FT817 to a random wire. JS8Call is a chat mode that utilizes the underlying communication protocol of FT8. His SNR varied wildly from -9 to -21 and I missed some transmissions. We both changed to "slow" mode where the transmission slots are 30s rather than 15s and I did not lose any "packets" after that.?
JS8Call is fun and I prefer a real chat; but it is nowhere near as much activity as FT8. I have set mine up so that if it notices any incoming directed messages to me, or any general CQ call, then it plays a sound on my PC to alert me. It's much like receiving an incoming email, WhatsApp message, Facebook IM message, Telegram or Signal message - all of which also make an alert sound. But with JS8Call it's radio, not internet :-D?
Anyway - those of you in less happy situations, having QDX issues: in general, when reporting any issues on QDX it would be very helpful if everyone includes information as follows, that will help us to spot any trends, and more efficiently learn troubleshooting issues: - What?OS you are running, including what version of MS Windows, or what flavor of Linux. Remember?that Linux, Mac and MS Windows 10 users do not need any driver installs, but earlier MS Windows users will need to install a Virtual COM Port driver as described in the QDX manual.?
- What QDX firmware version you are running; preferably if you have any issue, it would be best to make sure you are using the latest firmware at and see if the problem persists.?
- Whether you built the QDX for 12V operation (output transformer 3:2) or for 9V operation (output transformer 3:3).
- What power supply you are using: voltage, current capability, and whether it is? a Linear or Switched Mode type.
- Now everyone has Rev 1 PCBs, but in future when Rev 2 comes along, please also state what PCB revision you have.?
- Also state any deviations you intentionally made from the manual. We may need to know about your deviations? :-/?
73 Hans G0UPL
|
Re: Thoughts on protecting BS170s in QDX
Hi all
I think over-voltage BS170s on QDX are a lot less likely?than on QCX (where I have never experienced it myself, either) - because Class-E is a lot more sensitive to this and because QDX is operating push-pull Class-D, the voltages should be a lot less.?
If the 180-degree phase relationship broke down due to some Si5351A issue, I am not sure whether this would cause a problem or not. For example - what happens if Clk0 and Clk1 are in phase. To be sure, each set of BS170s is still switching at the operating frequency correctly. However, now the output transformer will be all wrong... won't the RF from each half now be in-phase and the output transformer will be seeking?to annihilate the two halves, not reinforce them? Anyway, I think this is very unlikely.?
A bigger problem has been ways to get the Si5351A to output DC rather than anything sensible at all. DC will certainly destroy BS170s as they will pass a very high current.?
Several people found ways to cause the Si5351A to output DC: - Configuration via WSJT-X of a band that the QDX cannot support
- Entering a very incorrect reference oscillator value in the QDX Config screen - for example by missing off one of the digits entirely.?
Both of these have now been resolved via firmware updates. So please make sure you use the latest QDX firmware version published at ?
73 Hans G0UPL
It is certainly worth some experimental effort. Somehow it needs to detect severe stress while not false alarming too often, as in FT modes quite annoying when rig decides not to transmit. I have many rigs with bs170 finals, zero failures but all these are Morse cw.?
Failure of si5351?? Perhaps you mean error in its quadrature.?
I don't know if this complexity makes sense versus reasonable derating of PA bias. One of my rigs did suggest some diodes to drop PA bias voltage, but I didn't do that. But for digital modes it may make sense to back down PA bias voltage.?
Curt
|
Re: QDX CAT Control Issue?
Thanks Ross
I have added this to the manual
I do not see why this should make any difference because it should not be required on a Virtual COM port where start, stop bits etc are of no relevance (it is USB comms not real serial. However... if it improves things for Windows users, why not :-D? ?We don't have to understand it. Windows moves in mysterious ways.?
73 Hans G0UPL
On Wed, Nov 10, 2021 at 6:54 AM Afghan Kabulldust via <kabulldust= [email protected]> wrote: Hello all, I have a nice new QDX that, at times, is working very well, however, firstly I would get an odd startup screen in WSJTX, as attached, and the CAT would sometimes not transmit. I did some research on Kenwood CAT protocol and found it prefers the attached setup, not ¡°Default¡±
Data bits 8
Stop bits 1
Handshake none
I¡¯ve had fewer CAT issues since of set these params.
73
Ross
EX0AA
|
Re: A couple QDX questions: 60 meters? & 9v vs 12v
I have not tried it myself. In fact my WSJT-X does not even show 60m as an option, Hans, This is done because of the various different frequencies in use worldwide. Adding frequencies is easy. John AE5X reported good 60m results, and good low enough harmonic levels My crude tests seem to give good results. The way? Just enter the frequency you want in WSJT_X (See manual, frequency tab.) and select it. Is it "legal", I think that is a tricky question... Yes... 73 Alan G4ZFQ
|
Mike Perry, WA4MP
dl8lrz Reiner
Retired Doc
David Wilcox K8WPE