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Tnx Todd,
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I¡¯ve checked the soldering after I fitted the coils very carefully because I knew those are delicate.?
Interesting is the fact that the sound coming out of the little guy doesn¡¯t change at all whether there is an antenna connected or not.?
But since I¡¯m not good in electronics I¡¯ve got no idea what to look at.? ?
73 and merry Christmas
Rico, DG5BQ? |
You might consider posting high-resolution images of your board here on the groups reflector. I've watched the experts offer specific advice about which solder joints to particularly examine.
Also, the theme that repeats over and over here on the list is to check that your coils actually make good connections to the board. It is common to need to remove them and scrape the enamel off the ends of the wire using a blade of some sort. Good luck, Rico: you can do this! 73 de Todd W2TEF |
Re: Qmx+ 3D printed case
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýCorey,?It would just shut down. I would have to disconnect the power to get it to reset. ?In the case no problem. I was testing the RF power output on all bands. Just the normal cables connected between the rig and various RF output meters with a dummy load attached to it, morse key, battery and Drok voltage controller set at 11.9 v. In the case it seems to work as the manual says. Power out was between 4 w on 40 meters and 5 w on other bands. 6 w on 160 and 80 meters.? Be the REASON someone smiles today. Dave K8WPE On Dec 23, 2024, at 9:58?AM, Corey M via groups.io <coreyclacct@...> wrote:
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Re: Ultimate 3S overvoltage damage!
Hi John,
Glad you're nearly sorted. I don't use sma fittings on the relay board, I just solder coax direct, there are 3 large pads next to the sma placement. It also allows plenty of clearance should a gps board be fitted to the stack.
Andy
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The universe is made up of Protons, Neutrons, Electrons but contains only one M0RON. |
On 24/12/2024 08:34, Rico Abagnale via groups.io wrote:
Measuring the board I figured that I have a short over all contacts of the antenna jack.Rico, This is normal. DC current flows through the inductors (transformers). The most common problem is bad soldering, carefully check the quality of all joints. 73 Alan G4ZFQ |
Hello experts ? I just finished my build of the QMX 10-20m. During the first tests I found that the device is absolutely deaf on all bands. Measuring the board I figured that I have a short over all contacts of the antenna jack. I removed the jack. But still I do have continuity over all connection point. Does anyone have an idea where to look next? ? Vy73 de Rico, DG5BQ |
Hi Roland, Is the resistance between R2/R3 and D1 still ¡°zero¡± after you have reinstalled C3? If so, as suggested by Evan, please check if there is any solder bridge/whisker. Please check both sides of the PCB. A whisker can be very thin. ? There should not be a short there. If no bridge/whisker, then (1) either R2 and or R3, and (2) BS170 at Q6 need to fail as short circuit to create that status, I think. Is the resistance from R2/R3 to GND about 21.0 ohms? ? Hi Evan, Thank you for stepping in. I really appreciate it. This gentleman¡¯s amp worked fine one day (25W at 14V), but no output the next. His troubleshooting found incorrect voltages at L10, R13, the first step after checking of supply and 5V regulator voltages in the NA5Y¡¯s video. We traced it to abnormal resistance at C3 and are stuck there now. ? 73 de Aki, JO4MTH |
Re: Ultimate 3S overvoltage damage!
Thanks Nick. How many PA transistors do you have? I thought I'd fitted three in mine but I see there's only one. I bought extra BS170s at the time.
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I'm now looking at housing the transmitter. I fitted a right-angle SMA socket last night so now it won't fit the original box. If I'm changing to a bigger box it opens up more possibilities; antenna switching relay, relay-switched attenuator, bigger front panel and so on. I'll feed the box from the station power supply or its own 12v supply and have linear regulators in the box for 5v and perhaps 8v or 9v for the PA.
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Turning the assembly over (yet again) last night I ripped the ground pad off the board. The corner mounting holes are plated through and at ground, so I'll use one of those in future.
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73,
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John G4EDX |
Re: QMX and power bank PD
Bruce, the topic is using PD power banks. Not wall chargers. I've been doing it for years myself. I even wrote an article for QRP Quarterly on the subject back in mid 2020. Wall chargers are indeed potentially subject to the condition of the power served to your wall socket. This much is true. Personally, I'd rather plug a radio into a regulated source when operating on AC, or worse, on a generator. When I go to Field Day and operate QRP, I do low-power battery powered as the category, and I only use PD battery banks. The ones I've tried that actually supported the voltage/amperage my trigger cable is negotiating have worked just fine. In fact, the original 2020 article involved using an original QCX with the BaMaTech enclosure.? Lots of other people have replicated my results, including one person from my local club that had a friend operate using the same trigger board I did, with a power bank that I suggested in a presentation I did for my club, the Phil-Mont Mobile Radio Club in Philadelphia. This person had no trouble operating all weekend with a decent power bank, and even charged his phone at night from the same bank. I'd have to say it's a mature methodology at this point. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 73, Gwen, NG3P |
Re: QMX Mid Band Rx issue
I had a similar temperature-related issue with my QMX.? It would have loud 'digital' noise for several seconds, then be perfect.? And I took it out on a POTA activation, and the noise lasted longer at startup, then was fine.? But after the sun went down and it got cold outside, the noise returned and didn't go away, and I had to qrt.
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Such noise can be caused by a cold solder joint somewhere.? So at home I took the bottom cover off, and turned it on and let it warm up to proper operation.? Then I tested it a bit by using canned air to briefly spray different parts of the bottom of the circuit card, hoping to find the location of a cold solder joint by getting it cold. [Canned air is very cold when it first comes out; at work we used to use a freeze spray for this purpose].? When I sprayed the PCM1804 chip, the noise immediately returned, and it would go away quickly if I warmed it up with a hot air gun (set to a moderately low heat).? I repeated this several times, trying to reduce the area I was cooling/heating to determine the source of the error.?? After a few tests, I could cause the noise to come with a short blast of air right on the PCM1804, and it would go away again if I touched the chip with my finger for a few seconds to warm it back up.? So in this case indeed it was the PCM1804 chip.? I replaced it, and the problem completely disappeared.
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After I replaced the chip, I realized that I never tried to just reflow the solder on it, in case one of the pins had a cold solder joint.? I should have done that, so I don't really know whether it was a failed chip or a soldering issue.? Could have been either thing.
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Stan KC7XE |