Re: Don't Look Back, Look Forward...FreeDV
On Sat, Aug 20, 2022 at 09:38 AM, Michael VE3WMB wrote:
but if the signals are strong enough there is no background noise at all
all wasted effort just to compensate for that minor lack of skill: understanding the magic of those Cool Waves (CW)... :,-( Me, myself would wish a rig with an improved front-end to help me urban steel-rat survive in the qrm jungle I am forced to live in.? Ideas welcome. Not needing multi band, not needing multi mode, not even aiming for big DX. Just a couple of quiet kHz on 30 or 40m to launch one of those Cool Waves and receive a decent answer from a friendly ham would be my dream, the last dream I dare to dream... Keep going strong, yours friendly, Razvan DL2ARL
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So, does it make a difference?
Yes or No?
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Re: Don't pre-rinse your dishes (Was: Coffee Cup)
Unless there's egg, or oatmeal or psyllium fiber, or any number of other things that'll never come off. ?8*)
73, Willie N1JBJ
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On Aug 20, 2022, at 1:49 PM, Steve K0STK < k0stk@...> wrote:
you should not pre-rinse dishes before
placing them in the dishwasher; just scrape the excess food off.
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Re: QCX loud noise on power on
Nico?
Possibly you are in uncharted territory. Suggest trying any 12 volt battery or power supply you have, it possible your DC to DC power supply could be causing these things they are unusual.?
Curt
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Re: QCX loud noise on power on
Hi,
I would check the front panel connection to the main board first, and if you have another QCX+ try that front panel. Check to make sure the IC's with the painted dots are in the correct places. I mention this first, from experience HiHi. Report back. You can also look at the audio potentiometer for good solder connection. Then look at IC 10 resistor values and solder bridges, before the investigation starts.?
73,
George
.?
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Mario:
?
Good suggestions, but no significant difference with different power
supplies (linear, lab, switching, no suitable 9V battery available) or computers
(desktop, notebook on battery, both Windows).? Also no difference between
WSJT-X and the QRP Labs test app.
?
As I mentioned to John, AE5X, privately, the +/1 MHz spurs are not single
bright lines but rather a cluster of components resembling a ¡°noise
pedestal¡±.? For the worst 20m ones on the low side, the strongest are
apparently exactly +/- 1 MHz from the carrier slightly below the ¨C43 dBc FCC
limit (typically ¨C45 dBc), with a pair of of other next strongest ones around
+/- 50 kHz on either side of that at around ¨C55 dBc.? See attached
pix.? So, depending on what bandwidth you measure the spurious energy in,
the QDX marginally complies.? But I wouldn¡¯t recommend using it with an
amplifier.? Greg, W7GRM, reported better results for his QDX using a
TinySA.? It would be nice to receive more observations from others.
?
73, Bill, K2HRT
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From: Mario Vano
AE0GL
Sent: Saturday, August 20, 2022 2:38 PM
Subject: Re: [QRPLabs] QDX 1 MHz Spurs
?
Just
a couple of thoughts:
???? 1. Try the test again with
the QDX powered from batteries with no regulator
????
2. Try the test with another computer running the QDX
I use some 1amp IC
regulators here that switch at 1mhz or higher!
M
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Re: Power Supply for QCX+
On Sat, Aug 20, 2022 at 07:07 AM, KK4ITX John wrote:
Don,
?
What rig are you powering with this battery ? ?The Specs indicate it will drive a QCXMini for quite a number of hours.
?
John
KK4ITX?
Visit: ?. ? ?
On Aug 20, 2022, at 08:28, Don Lee < wb4fas@...> wrote:
I have been using a Talentcell 12V battery for a couple of years now, including remote ops during field day for around $30:
--
73,
Don WB4FAS
?Hi John, I have used this battery to power both QCX + and QCXmini. -- 73, Don WB4FAS
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Re: QSX 4th birthday !!!
#qsx
The sBitx comes either fully assembled or as a "basic kit". The latter is almost fully assembled, but you supply the Raspberry Pi, the display, and the microphone (if you want one) yourself. The basic kit is $200 cheaper, so if you have a Raspberry Pi 4 that?you bought back when you could still get them at list price it's appealing. (You can still get the display for $60 from Sparkfun.) Putting in the Pi and the display is a quick job.
There is already a hardware mod on the way that replaces the linear 5V regulator with a switching buck regulator. That drastically cuts the receive power consumption from nearly 1.5A to about 500mA. (Still high for a field rig, but that's what basing it on a Raspberry Pi will do.) Exact numbers will depend on the voltage of your power supply; it will consume MORE current at lower voltages. New shipments will have the new regulator pre-installed. The mod isn't only to decrease power consumption, but also to improve the coupling of the PA transistors to the heat sink. In existing rigs, both the PA transistors and the regulator are attached to the heat sink, and the physical arrangement has been problematic because the thickness of the regulator and the transistors is not the same. Some users have blown the finals because of that.
The sBitx is BIG. (Well, not big like a high end Yaecomwood, but big compared to most QRP rigs.) It's not an ideal field radio. It's also not a QRP radio (output can go all the way to 40W on 80 and 40 meters), though it can be turned down to QRP if you like. All the software is open source, which will please people who want to experiment with that. The built-in Raspberry Pi means that you can also run flDigi on it (which is used for CW decoding, among other things) and its own FT8 software alongside the SDR software. (WSJT-X will run, but it isn't designed for a display as small as the one on the sBitx so it isn't usable.) It also has a built-in contact logger.
Its most direct competition is not the QSX, when and if we see that, but the T41-EP, which is not yet available as a complete kit. (4SQRP is working on that; we may or may not see it before the end of the year.) The T41-EP will be more of an actual kit because things are divided up among multiple boards (including a Teensy 4.1 microcontroller) that you have to connect. The prototype that was shown at Ozarkcon and FDIM is also large, so again it's not going to be an ideal field rig.
An SDR with a display big enough to be useful is not going to be as small as a QCX-mini. But if it's designed with a flat form factor like the Elecraft KX series or the Xiegu X6100, it could have a reasonable volume and still have enough screen real estate for all that SDR goodness. Alternatively, it could compromise on the display and just concentrate on being a good radio without a big waterfall or spectrum display.
I look forward to seeing what Hans comes up with. I see him concentrating on keeping the size down and making something better suited to SOTA ops and backpacking hams than the sBitx or T41-EP. Keeping the price down would also be nice; if he brings in something for under $200 (the?original target was even lower) it would be a game changer.?
On Sat, Aug 20, 2022 at 12:12 AM Chris Herd < zl2tch@...> wrote: Hi All
Have a look at HFsignals.com.
New shiny raspberry pi powered hf radio.
be cautious unless you dont mind solder smoke.
keep smiling
and I have every confidence that Hans will get it done.
All the best?
Chris
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Just a couple of thoughts:
? ? ?1. Try the test again with the QDX powered from batteries with no regulator
? ? ?2. Try the test with another computer running the QDX
I use some 1amp IC regulators here that switch at 1mhz or higher!
M
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QCX loud noise on power on
Hello all!
I've finished building my QCX+ kit, and I'm very excited to get on the air! The problem I'm noticing is that when I turn the radio on, I get a very, very loud tone through the headphones, not only while in the menu setup phase (although when I go to the menu item to calibrate the IQ balance, it does change to a different tone, at a slightly higher pitch. In addition, rotating the capacitors seems to do nothing to the bars in the menu they are supposed to change, and the "division factor" seems to be much higher for all of the test functions than is expected in the manual.
The only contingency is that I'm supplying power to the radio right now via a DC converter from an outlet in the wall, and I don't know if that would be excessively noisy.
Has anyone had a similar problem? I can send video evidence if necessary :)
- Nico, KC1PNP
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Re: Don't Look Back, Look Forward...FreeDV
Hi all,
I'm one of the maintainers on the FreeDV project. It's definitely worth a try, especially if you've tried it in the past (there have been a LOT of changes and improvements over the last few years, especially with application UX).
As for some sort of device that can handle FreeDV, there's the SM1000 handheld mic that uses an STM32F4 (out of stock due to the chip shortage, currently no ETA) as well as another project I'm working on called ezDV () that uses an ESP32-S3. Which reminds me, I think the actual module is in stock at JLCPCB now, so I should respin the board soon to have it soldered directly instead of using headers for an existing dev board.
Anyway, there's more discussion on the digitalvoice mailing list () too if you have questions or want to find out more.
Thanks,
-Mooneer K6AQ
On Sat, Aug 20, 2022 at 07:50 AM, Al Holt wrote:
The discussion about QSX development (and the lack thereof) got me thinking where Hans might want to go with his next public offering. The QDX has been such a big hit it seems like digital modes are the wave of the future...
So how about FreeDV?
There are a few new ICOM HF/VHF/UHF rigs, including the IC-705, that include D-STAR capability. The interesting thing is that D-STAR in these radios works on HF too so there is actually a small group of ICOM owners that do a regular band-hopping HF D-STAR net. If conditions are pretty good even QRP HF D-STAR works !?
Personally I have tried D-STAR on 6M with a couple of local friends (i.e. they live within a couple of miles of me) and the sound quality isn't pretty (i.e. sounds worse than C4FM and DMR) but if the signals are strong enough there is no background noise at all and it is perfectly intelligible.
Michael VE3WMB?
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Re: Don't pre-rinse your dishes (Was: Coffee Cup)
"David Wilcox K8WPE via groups.io" said: And those TV ads that say you don't have to pre rinse the very dirty
dishes are a lie! According to Consumer Reports you should not pre-rinse dishes before placing them in the dishwasher; just scrape the excess food off. Find-out the details at -- Steve K0STK // k0stk@...
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Re: Power Supply for QCX+
On Sat, Aug 20, 2022 at 10:19 AM, Bruce Prior wrote:
I'm working on a high school project centered around the QCX+. We need an economical 12 V power supply which is rechargeable. We need both the portable power source and an AC charger.? Any ideas?
So you've never heard of 12v gel cells or wall warts. Pathetic.
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Re: Power Supply for QCX+
POWER SONIC
Model PSC 12800A (Battery charger/Float charger)
12 volts 800 ma
to a sealed lead acid battery 5.5 AMPS
SIGMAS TEK SP12-5.5
Output voltage? 13.68 volts
Ken
N4SO
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Re: Don't Look Back, Look Forward...FreeDV
On Sat, Aug 20, 2022 at 07:50 AM, Al Holt wrote:
The discussion about QSX development (and the lack thereof) got me thinking where Hans might want to go with his next public offering. The QDX has been such a big hit it seems like digital modes are the wave of the future...
So how about FreeDV?
There are a few new ICOM HF/VHF/UHF rigs, including the IC-705, that include D-STAR capability. The interesting thing is that D-STAR in these radios works on HF too so there is actually a small group of ICOM owners that do a regular band-hopping HF D-STAR net. If conditions are pretty good even QRP HF D-STAR works !? Personally I have tried D-STAR on 6M with a couple of local friends (i.e. they live within a couple of miles of me) and the sound quality isn't pretty (i.e. sounds worse than C4FM and DMR) but if the signals are strong enough there is no background noise at all and it is perfectly intelligible. Michael VE3WMB?
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Hi,
My QDX Info: - What PC software you are using:?macOS 12.5.1, WSJT-X 2.5.4
- QDX firmware version you are running:?1_04
- Whether you built the QDX for 12V operation (output transformer 3:2) or for 9V operation (output transformer 3:3).? Built for 9 volts
- What power supply you are using: voltage, current capability, and whether it is a Linear or Switched Mode type.? 9 volt power supply,?2A capable,?don¡¯t know if it¡¯s linear or switched. Typical wall wart
- Please also state what PCB revision you have.? Rev 3
- Also, state any deviations you intentionally made from the manual. We may need to know about your deviations? :-/? No deviations from the instruction manual.
While my soldering skills leave a lot to be desired, I decided to try building the QDX. When I was done, the QDX did talk to my computer. When I hooked it up to an antenna, however, there was no receive or send according to WSJTX.
Since I am a relatively new ham, I have a more experienced ham helping me. He looked at my work and offered to clean up my cold solder joints and solder bridges. After he did that, the receive portion worked like a champ, pulling in a number of stations. Send didn¡¯t seem to work, and when we hooked up a watt meter, only .1 W was being generated.?
Looking again at the board, it appeared that there was discoloration around D7, which I¡¯m pretty sure hadn¡¯t been there when I finished my build. Looking more carefully at D7, it really looks like it has been damaged.
So, here are my questions. 1) is it possible a bad solder joint or bridge could have caused D7 to die? 2) Does it make sense that a dead D7 would cause the low transmit power? 3) would a dead D7 cause anything upstream of it it to also die? 4) Can D7 be replaced by an axial lead 1N4148? 5) Why does the schematic call out 12V on the cathode of D7 when the recommendation is to run the QDX off 9V (which is what I am doing)?
Thank you so much! 73 Don AJ6VU
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Inexpensive Chrome Laptop
I know some people have had success with Chrome or just re-installed a different OS.? These look like a killer deal.
Steve, KY4GX
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:14
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Re: It takes two PCs to operate four rigs ! OR, my ops desk is a mess !
One last photo and several comments.
Attached is a photo of the 3-position Vanco 'antenna' switch with coax for:
OA-50 in position 1;
80-meters-long end-fed wire in position 2;
Bird model 10A-MFB-10 'dummy load' in position 3.
The 'rig' switch is the Heathkit HD-1234 switch with connections for:
FT-450D in position 1;
Modified QCX-17 in position 2;
Modified QCX-80 in position 3;
QDX in position 4
Also shown are external 160m and 6m filters, used with the modified QCXs, and a 2-inch ID toroid, through which pass QDX's USB. power and antenna cabling.
I've ordered a backup battery for QDX - a US Battery model US 8VGCE XC2 - a bit of overkill since this battery is meant to power a golf cart !
72 / 73,
Bill, N4QA
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Like Dave, my wife has a dishwasher - me!
The machine version is the drying rack - after washing, set the clean, wet dishes in it to dry.? Thus, no need to clutter the counter with a drying rack.
So, we put clean dishes in our dishwasher - unless we have company!
Reminds me of a commercial herein? the U.S. with a line something like: "Why does mommy wash the dishes BEFORE putting them in the dishwasher - what does the dishwasher do?"
--
Rob KB8RCO
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Yes, as Jakob says It's really the open hardware that gets affected by the RF. I see it as WSJT-X software
acting up. Actually I did come up with a fix. I grounded the antenna tuner to ground rod
wire outside shack. The antenna is 35' EFHW sloper with UnUn and 25' of coax. The tuner is MFJ
16010 modified with SWR indicator LED. So, I can still use the open motherboard. Grounding is magic!
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DL2ARL
Shirley Dulcey KE1L
Steve K0STK
Tronald Dump
Don 3113E AJ6VU