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Re: QMX Question for Troubleshooting

 

Don,
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I re-read your previous post and realized that you were working a problem where you did not have Vdd.? In that case I understand why the USB interface might not work.? Apologies for the confusion.
?
Brien - KE7WB


New QMX+ build not powering up/accepting new firmware

 

Hello

I have recently built a Rev 2 QMX+, for 9V.

?

I am attempting initial power up with a 9V battery to see if LCD turns on or if I can update the firmware.

I see neither the LCD screen go on, or see disk mounting actions to load the firmware.

I tried different computers and USB-C cables.

?

I touched up all soldering points, and don¡¯t see anything physical wrong with the board.

When I attempt power on (PWR/Vol knob) with a small amplified speaker connected I hear a loud click/thump.

?

What would my first steps diagnosing potential issues be?

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Thank you.


Re: QMX+ 160m problems

 

I was able to go from 0.6 watts on 6 meters to 2.6 watts by removing turns from L520, the toroid closer to the antenna.? I ended up removing 4 turns, but you will want to do this one turn at a time, checking power out and the LPF curve as you go.


Re: audio volume QMX+

 

Charles
?
Could it be your antenna is better on 40m?
?
Could also be stronger signals then on 40m.?
?
Try this. Find a spot on each band with no signals. See how the noise level varies across the bands.?
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Note the audio you hear is function of antenna behavior, it's matching and the qmx. Note when signals are present the AGC or lack of it can be very different than conventional receivers. Maybe all is actually okay. Signals were a bit strange today on the upper frequencies.?
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Curt
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Re: QMX Question for Troubleshooting

 

Don,
?
Not sure why VDD would not be there with 9V applied to the input plug.? It works fine with only the control board plugged in and push on the left encoder to turn it on.? Then the USB port works fine.? If I had to guess, this is built into the the design to be able to test the main board independently during manufacturing.? It worked for me.? By all means, if your worried about hot unplugging the control board, don't.
?
Brien


audio volume QMX+

 

I have a huge increase in volume on 40 meters.? On transmit, I seem to have pretty consistent output across the band.? Is there any particular reason 40m would be maybe 10 dB louder than any other band?? (QMX+)
?
72
?
Charles - NK8O


Jeff Moore W1NC to the Repair Rescue

 

I wish to add my high praise and deep respect for Jeff Moore,? the skilled EE and repair wizard who's come to the rescue of so many of us kit builders with seeming impossible-to-fix radios.
A recent QMX+ kit shipment to me sustained a vertically crushed box by FedEx. The board inside appeared undamaged, so I carefully built the kit.? On completion, the radio was dead. Just inert. No smoke signals. Just dead.??
After exhausting all my knowledge in trying to bring it to life, I concluded that the board or one or more components were damaged by the shipper.
So I sent it to Jeff Moore, who took on the task.? Without going into deep detail, suffice it to say that the challenges it presented may well have been among the toughest anyone could remotely imagine.
After hours upon hours of work, consultation, repair and replacement of multiple major components, some more than once, Jeff has been able to bring my radio back from the dead.?
As many know, Jeff is a generous community resource whose value cannot be over-stated.? He does not charge a fee for his efforts -- only asks help paying for parts used, postage, and a voluntary donation to a funds pool to help others, if one is so motivated.??
So if you ever want to give up on a radio, don't.? Contact Jeff and ask if it's OK to send it to him for evaluation.
Thank you, Jeff.
72 and 73,
Bill Jobes? W3WJ??
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Re: I had one lockup after a band change

 

That's what I'm beginning to think, and yes I will do that. I have the torroids and coax to do that :) Thanks.


Re: I had one lockup after a band change

 

Joe
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It could have been RF leaking back into the rigs controller. Not a big surprise operating portable, and a specific band or even a specific frequency can do it. Build a simple choke balun that may be useful to you.?
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Curt
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Re: I had one lockup after a band change

 

I have been sending CQ on all 6 bands for over an hour and I can't replicate it freezing. I just had a QSO on 60 meters a few minutes ago. I guess it was a fluke.
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?


Re: QMX Question for Troubleshooting

 

Brien,
I don't have the courage to unplug the hot boards.? Besides, if there is no VDD I don't think I could connect PuTTY.
I don't think? USB would be working.
?
Don WB0LQW


Re: QMX Question for Troubleshooting

 

Thanks, Adam.
No, "+12V" (needs a new label) is not present, at least as far as can be determined with measurements on the main PCB.
A connection problem in the PCB #1 connector could explain this.? That's why I want to get to the board with the power on
and the power supply activated via PWR_ON.?
?
The "+12V" is in the lower row of pins on the PCB #1 connector, inaccessible with the board plugged in, but I can get to the
drains of Q103 and Q103 by probing the top side of the board.? That's where I'm headed.
?
Don WB0LQW


Re: QMX, one of op-amps self-oscillates at 25 MHz (or picks up the system clock?)

 

Haven't had a chance to look at mine, but I'm quite sure CLK0 and CLK1 should have no interruptions when receiving.
Perhaps they are somehow shorted to another signal (but I still can't think of anything that's 100 Hz.).
?
I believe that when receiving without turning the knob to tune different frequencies, the Si5351
should not be getting written to by the processor.? You might check the signals I2C_SCL and I2C_SDA
to see if the processor is writing to the Si5351.? And if it is, if it looks like it is occurring at 100 Hz.
Look at all of the other pins on the Si5351 too for something happening at 100 Hz.
If none of that leads anywhere, it might be time to try changing the Si5351.
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Jerry
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On Wed, Jan 8, 2025 at 04:41 PM, Adam wrote:

Turns out that CLK0 and CLK1 signals are interrupted for 200 microseconds at this rate (100 Hz).


Re: These cursed little pwr supply boards...QMX

 

Scott VY1CO via groups.io <scott.vy1co@...> wrote:

Can I test the boards independently? In the circuit all I am seeing is
my main input voltage of appx 11.9 volts on the 8 pin board, and nothing
at all on the six pin...these little beggars have become the bane of my
existence ! LOL.
I'd start with soldering the diode :) Do you know which one was it?

Then: what's the voltage on the PWR_ON pin? Does it go low when you press
and hold the left rotary knob? If it does, then does the +12V line get
enabled?


Re: These cursed little pwr supply boards...QMX

 

You can't test those SMPS boards independently.? You need the processor driving the PWM_3V3/PWM_5v line, and the processor then monitors the ADC_3V3/ADC_5V line to determine if it should increase or decrease the PWM duty cycle.
?
It is possible to run the 3V3 and 5V rails of the QMX from linear regulators and then have the QMX processor tied to the PWM and ADC pins of an SMPS board under test, but that's a project, and you can blow your rig if you do it wrong.
Another possibility would be to set up some microcontroller development board (perhaps an Arduino or RPi-pico) to run those PWM and ADC pins, but that is also a significant project.? The 3.3v board should have some kind of load drawing about 130ma when testing (a 25 ohm 1/2W resistor), the 5v board should have a 100ma load (a 50 ohm 1/2W resistor).
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Jerry, KE7ER
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On Wed, Jan 8, 2025 at 04:29 PM, Scott VY1CO wrote:

Is it possible to test the pwr supply boards outside of the radio just by themselves?
?


Re: [QMX] SMPS to linear regulator conversion tips

 

Jerry Gaffke via groups.io <jgaffke@...> wrote:

Can't imagine how that dinky 78M33 manages to dissipate so much heat
through one or two skinny Sot23 ground pins.
Barely :) But it's only a matter of heat, not of current, so I guess it
should be OK. It transfers the heat to the ground plane quite efficiently.

Here's how it looks like. Tons of solder to increase thermal capacity.
It's uneven, because there are "vias" (from wire) going to the other side
(and other side has a ground plane too, just to dissipate the heat).



BTW, capacitors are a little too large, the display doesn't fit (I guess
I wouldn't be able to close the case without squeezing them). I'll have
to cut the board below them, or order smaller ones. But first the buzzing
problem (described in another thread)...

Now I'm wondering how hot this IC gets when QMX (with original boards) is
left in the bootloader mode, with linear regulator enabled for extended
time.


Re: [QMX] SMPS to linear regulator conversion tips

 

Chris <chris.rowland@...> wrote:

I used generic TO220 style linear regulators for my linear SMPS
replacement, had to trim the tabs a bit but they are rated for 1A and
while they get warm seem OK.
Do you have a photo?


Re: QMX, one of op-amps self-oscillates at 25 MHz (or picks up the system clock?)

 

Stan Dye via groups.io <standye@...> wrote:

These two observations tell me that your problem is 'to the right' of the capacitor.
That's what I suspected as well.

After spending (too much) time on it, I think I figured out the source of
this buzzing (not the cause, just the source).

First, these 25 MHz oscillations were probably caused by the oscilloscope
probe. They're irrelevant.

There are 100 Hz spikes on inputs of two of four op amps (and, what's
interesting, on outputs of OTHER two op amps).

These spikes are not in sync with mains (in Poland I have 50 Hz mains, so
that was my first suspicion).

What in the QMX generates such spikes? Turns out that CLK0 and CLK1
signals are interrupted for 200 microseconds at this rate (100 Hz).
Why, I have no idea.

I replaced op-amps, replaced C416...C419 (I used 22n, I didn't have 33n,
but it didn't seem to make any difference), finally replaced C406 that you
mentioned (with 2x 1u, the same reason as above). Nothing changed.

So the source is located, and it would even make sense for these spikes to
appear on two of four outputs of IC403 (if the clock signal was always
interrupted in one or two "phases" of the detector -- but I didn't measure
both signals at the same time, so I'm only guessing).

I guess the proper question would be: could you / someone else look at
CLK0 and CLK1 lines (IC403 pins 2 and 14) and see if you see these breaks
there? It's hard to spot on the oscilloscope...

Maybe Hans can confirm that the CPU indeed does such thing? Or deny? Maybe
it's some weird firmware bug?

Have you checked carefully R401/R402/C406? A bad C406 in that biasing
circuit could cause oscillations and disturb the audio.
Yes, now I did (replaced C406). I didn't touch R401 or R402, as the
biasing voltage seems correct.

Are you certain that there is no anomaly with T401?
At this point I'm not sure of anything... but I don't think, given this
new discovery, it's T401. Plus these spikes are not present on its outputs
(pins 7 and 9 of IC403).

Is the buzzing only on 'left' or 'right' audio, or both?
Spikes are on inputs of IC406 (so right) and outputs of IC405 (so left).
Crazy.

And finally, as unlikely as it seems, IC407 has been the most common
failure source of anything related to audio in the QMX.? If none of the
previous apply, I would replace that one.
When I removed op-amps, the buzzing stopped, so I guess IC407 is fine...

btw - you are the third person now recently who I have heard blew the
IC403 with a strong overvoltage burning through the 5V supply, myself
being one of them (I inadvertently turned QMX+ on with a 17.5V supply).?
I don't know why the nearly identical IC402 didn't also blow.? Maybe
it's the doubled bias across the Z/W pins.
It would make sense. Maybe the chip can sustain overvoltage on VCC, but
not on Z and W (their input protection diodes would normally clamp it to
VCC, but with VCC also being too high it didn't happen)...

BTW, I recorded videos (with oscillograms) when I worked on it, partly in
case I needed some more advice, partly to document what I was doing in
case I got confused later. I summarized everything above, but here's the
raw footage anyway (not edited or cut, just merged).


These cursed little pwr supply boards...QMX

 

Is it possible to test the pwr supply boards outside of the radio just by themselves?
?
Long story, but I blew mine a few weeks ago (likely shorted the pins). I ordered 2 new sets--they finally arrived but with 3 of the same little board. one larger board and a broken diode floating around in the little bag...I swear I'm cursed. (its great they get bubble wrapped, but placed together inside the bag they obviously rub together) anyway...
?
Can I test the boards independently? In the circuit all I am seeing is my main input voltage of appx 11.9 volts on the 8 pin board, and nothing at all on the six pin...these little beggars have become the bane of my existence ! LOL.
?
Kind regards as always,
?
Scott vy1co


Re: [QMX] SMPS to linear regulator conversion tips

 

I put a couple TO220 linear regulators on a small piece of vector board that plugs into JP105.? The 3.3v TO220 regulator got too hot to touch, so I bolted a copper plate to the tab.? ?Can't imagine how that dinky 78M33 manages to dissipate so much heat through one or two skinny Sot23 ground pins.
?
Jerry, KE7ER
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On Wed, Jan 8, 2025 at 03:58 PM, Adam wrote:

I'd love to use a bigger regulator, but there's almost no space there. Or
is there? Did you fit a bigger regulator?