Revisiting a Ultimate3S case shipping question.
Has anyone received a case for the?Ultimate3S lately???
It was pasted off the the airmail carrier 8 weeks ago today.
The latest tracking is attached.?
Thank for any information you may have.?
p s I know about covid etc etc. I¡¯m just wondering if anyone has received a case from China.?
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You can use a little clear nail polish to cover the nick in the
insulation to seal it back up. I would make sure you have the right
number of turns and spacing before dropping a tiny drop, just in
case it sticks to the core. I've had to cover several spliced toroid
windings on some BPFs I built, and they have all worked out well.
Just know that flexing that area may cause the polish to crack or
flake off, which is why I suggest waiting until you're certain
before applying. Good luck!
Jeffrey
On 11/13/21 15:39, Mike KK7ER wrote:
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My 11yo son and I are doing the QDX build together.? His young
eyes are great for finding potential issues.? We are going at a
very slow pace and benefitting greatly from all the
troubleshooting stories here on groups.io.??We are taking turns
winding toroids and it was his turn when we got to L14.? The #22
wire is pretty stiff and it takes a little extra force to pull it
through.? He started noticing nicks in the enamel and was a bit
concerned about it.? I told him I'd run it past the experts in the
forum here before we soldered it onto the board.? Some have
reported having to replace toroids with shorted turns.? These
nicks do not seem that significant and the turns have space
between them (except in the center of the toroid).? I attached a
picture below with some nicks circled.? The first one in the
rightmost picture is lined up just right to come into contact with
the core.? So the question is:? should we proceed or stop and buy
some more #22 magnet wire?? Thanks for any advice.
73, Mike KK7ER
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Re: QDX - No RF output, Tx line stays low
John, thanks for the tip it¡¯s coming tomorrow.
On Saturday, November 13, 2021, 3:30 PM, John AE5X <ae5x@...> wrote: On Sat, Nov 13, 2021 at 03:44 PM, Jay Gustin wrote:
about how to remove while the replacement?part is in transit.?
Chip Quik is probably the safest way to do it. Runs about $12 on Amazon: ? -- John AE5X
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Jginaz
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For those toroids you're probably OK, because the turns are spaced, but for T1 and T2 it is CRITICAL that you do not scrape off the insulation. I've written about this at least twice - once mere moments ago.
To be specific: Contact with the core is not a problem, but contact with other windings IS.
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Julian, N4JO.
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My 11yo son and I are doing the QDX build together.? His young eyes are great for finding potential issues.? We are going at a very slow pace and benefitting greatly from all the troubleshooting stories here on groups.io.??We are taking turns winding toroids and it was his turn when we got to L14.? The #22 wire is pretty stiff and it takes a little extra force to pull it through.? He started noticing nicks in the enamel and was a bit concerned about it.? I told him I'd run it past the experts in the forum here before we soldered it onto the board.? Some have reported having to replace toroids with shorted turns.? These nicks do not seem that significant and the turns have space between them (except in the center of the toroid).? I attached a picture below with some nicks circled.? The first one in the rightmost picture is lined up just right to come into contact with the core.? So the question is:? should we proceed or stop and buy some more #22 magnet wire?? Thanks for any advice.
73, Mike KK7ER
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Re: Qdx smoked - USB
#qdx
It is just as possible - in fact more so, because of the number of turns - to short the windings of T2. The results aren't as spectacular, but certainly as frustrating. I wrote a warning about the sharp edges? of the inner edge of the toroids in my post on the subject a while back.
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Julian, N4JO.
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Thanks for the link! DE KJ7YYM
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Re: Qdx smoked - USB
#qdx
It is possible to get a short inside of T1 and I think this happened to someone else that?I read about. The short happens because when winding the #22 wire through the binocular, some of the wire insulation gets scraped off the wire and the exposed copper *might* touch inside the core. I observed that the wire insulation was scraped off in places when I wound my T1 winding, but since I checked primary to secondary with an ohmmeter before I installed it, I left it as is. And so far, mine has been fine.
In the 50W Amplifier instructions, I seem to recall there is a recommendation to de-burr the openings of a?binocular so this is less likely to happen. However, if you do that, be careful not to put too much pressure on the core as it might be possible to break it.
Good luck, Gregg W7GRM
Qdx powered up fine, then attached usb and it let the magic smoke out.?
Haven't had a lot of time to troubleshoot, but it is shorted between primary and secondary of t1. Previously during build, no short between primary and secondary.?
Headed out of town for a few days, so I won't be able to work with it. But any input is appreciated.
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If you have multiple coax lines coming in, you might look into getting a coax switch. Many will ground the lines in the unused positions and have a position that grounds all of them. That won¡¯t totally eliminate the dangers from a lightning strike, but in conjunction with the others might protect your transceiver.
¡ªMike Perry, WA4MP
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On Nov 13, 2021, at 9:34 am, richlim11 via groups.io <richlim11@...> wrote:
Wow! I¡¯ve alsways wondered about putting some lightning arrestors for my wire antennas but never have
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Re: BNC connector position on the QCX mini
Yes, it certainly shows you what the orientation should be when properly installed, but unfortunately you can't solder it in that way, because you can't get to the underside of the board. The precision of the kit parts is really good, so if you go for parallel you can't really go wrong.
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Julian, N4JO.
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Exactly.
If you need a trace to compare to, let me know, and I'll take a couple of snapshots for you.
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Julian, N4JO.
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Re: BNC connector position on the QCX mini
I have found that using the rear enclosure panel piece as a template when installing the connectors results in a much better fit.
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Re: QDX - No RF output, Tx line stays low
On Sat, Nov 13, 2021 at 03:44 PM, Jay Gustin wrote:
about how to remove while the replacement?part is in transit.?
Chip Quik is probably the safest way to do it. Runs about $12 on Amazon: ? -- John AE5X
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Re: BNC connector position on the QCX mini
Here are two pictures of what it should look lie: side?view and end?view.
The side view shows that the connector must be parallel to the board, not angled up or down (this picture shows it angled slightly down, which is technically wrong), and the side view shows the flat on the underside of the flange. You may need to file it slightly to allow the connector to sit parallel.
Also, I solder the front two retaining lugs first, so that I don't add stress to the electrical connections by soldering them first, then pulling the connector around to orient it correctly.
Hope that helps.
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Julian, N4JO.
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Re: BNC connector position on the QCX mini
Excellent question. Your picture does look like if you obey that instruction then the connector will be tilted upwards, and that's definitely not a good thing.
I'll go and look at one right now, maybe take a picture, and respond within a few minutes... b.r.b...
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Julian, N4JO.
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BNC connector position on the QCX mini
Hey folks,
I'm a bit confused about instructions for the BNC connector installation on the QCX mini. Particularly about "The rim on the connector body should not overlap the edge of the PCB."
Please check a picture, something tells me that it doesn't look OK :) Shouldn't have I put it a bit to the right?
Cheers,
Victor, PA8MM
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Hi Bill,
I thought the 12 Mhz is for the 160 m QCX only. Anyhow I will experiment with the 27 Mhz to see if I can get a closer match.
Martin
DK3UW
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Re: QDX - No RF output, Tx line stays low
Update on the debug. First replaced C37 with .1uf. Inserted a 560 ohm resistor in series with L14. Measured the final¡¯s gates with a scope. Q8,10 had squashed signal,?Q9, 11 had 5 v square wave. The drain of these also looked ok with a sawtooth wave. Q8,10 drain looked bad. Removed Q8,10 remeasured and now tx signal never goes high. Loaded latest firmware and I¡¯m getting the 3 quick flashes but no tx signal. Will likely replace IC5 but I need to think about how to remove while the replacement?part is in transit.?
On Saturday, November 13, 2021, 5:19 AM, Steve via groups.io <qed28@...> wrote: Hi Jay, did you mean to say R27 and not R37?? If it is R27 you are referring to, that's part of a filter/amplifier circuit for the I/Q signals.? That resistor should only affect receiver performance.? Steve KY4GX.
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:14
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Jginaz
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Julian
You are absolutely correct about a resonant circuit increasing the output amplitude. But how much does it affect the output square wave from the 3 PAs? Right now I went back and reassembled all the coils, L1 - L4, to there exact posted values and reinstalled them. Now instead of 0.5W I'm at 1.1W when I spread all the coil turns, so I may be on the correct track. At the drains of the 3 PAs ( actually at C29) I do get 29Vpp square wave.? I wonder if anyone can tell me if that is high enough to get 5W after going through the LPF??? Calculating power from Vpp is only good for a sine wave.? If this voltage in too low then I would go and look at the key shaping circuit.
syd/wtiv
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Ian
On second thought, don't see how that will give me any more information than an ohm meter measuring continuity from C29 to the bnc RF output connector which I have already done and found it to be OK! Taking the output this way will only show the waveform at the output of the 3 PAs, which I have already measured the Vpp with a scope which I found to be 28 Vpp.
syd/wt1v
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Julian N4JO
Mike Perry, WA4MP
N3MNT