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Hans,
Received message my QMX shipped today. Thought I would be excited. But instead, I am reaching panic stage. With all the misery I have read in the last week, I figure my chance of ever getting it to work is somewhat less than zero. Guess I am looking for a little assurance.
-- Billy (N5SE)
N5SE
Billy Wayne Moore
7066 Shady Knoll Ln
Willis, TX 77318-6324
Phone: 936-537-2975???
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Hello Billy
1) You're reading the wrong messages. There have also been several nice reports of success stories.?
2) You also need to remember that all mailing lists have an inherent negative?bias, in so far as people are far more likely to post about a problem they are looking?for help solving, than they are when everything is fine. And rightly so, since?with 7,541 members here on this group, if everyone posted something when they were successful, and the fact we shipped an average 800+?orders per month in the last 6 months, many of which contain multiple kits, we'd soon be overloaded with emails. So keep the misery posts in perspective.?
3) Bear in mind the only known issue is that the Q103/Q104 transistors on the 5V SMPS board are a little close together and due to manufacturing tolerances, a proportion of boards have unfortunately got a solder bridge between the two drains; HOWEVER, we are already testing all shipped boards for this fault and correcting it pre-shipment if we find it.?
4) Watch my "52-tips" video? while waiting for your QMX to arrive.?
5) If you take care and observe all the precautions mentioned, there is a VERY high probability of success. Remember, component and manufacturing failures are rare. It's largely in your hands!
6) You're a Texan. Texan's can deal with anything.?
On Thu, Aug 31, 2023 at 4:48?PM N5SE < bwmoore@...> wrote: Hans,
Received message my QMX shipped today. Thought I would be excited. But instead, I am reaching panic stage. With all the misery I have read in the last week, I figure my chance of ever getting it to work is somewhat less than zero. Guess I am looking for a little assurance.
-- Billy (N5SE)
N5SE
Billy Wayne Moore
7066 Shady Knoll Ln
Willis, TX 77318-6324
Phone: 936-537-2975???
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Hans,
Well, you did it.
- I will carefully read the messages from now on - many have some germ of good info.
- Right, why waste time posting when you have better things to do.
- Telling my self about that repeatedly.
- Watched it three times already. Read assembly instructions three times. Read operating manual twice.
- Right, it is my baby! And i will take good care of it.
- How in the world could I forget that. I AM A TEXAN - enuf said.
Thank you very much, Sotty I bothered you with this.
Billy (N5SE)
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Hello Billy
1) You're reading the wrong messages. There have also been several nice reports of success stories.?
2) You also need to remember that all mailing lists have an inherent negative?bias, in so far as people are far more likely to post about a problem they are looking?for help solving, than they are when everything is fine. And rightly so, since?with 7,541
members here on this group, if everyone posted something when they were successful, and the fact we shipped an average 800+?orders per month in the last 6 months, many of which contain multiple kits, we'd soon be overloaded with emails. So keep the misery
posts in perspective.?
3) Bear in mind the only known issue is that the Q103/Q104 transistors on the 5V SMPS board are a little close together and due to manufacturing tolerances, a proportion of boards have unfortunately got a solder bridge between the two drains; HOWEVER,
we are already testing all shipped boards for this fault and correcting it pre-shipment if we find it.?
4) Watch my "52-tips" video? while waiting for your QMX to arrive.?
5) If you take care and observe all the precautions mentioned, there is a VERY high probability of success. Remember, component and manufacturing failures are rare. It's largely in your hands!
6) You're a Texan. Texan's can deal with anything.?
On Thu, Aug 31, 2023 at 4:48?PM N5SE < bwmoore@...> wrote:
Hans,
Received message my QMX shipped today. Thought I would be excited. But instead, I am reaching panic stage. With all the misery I have read in the last week, I figure my chance of ever getting it to work is somewhat less than zero. Guess I am looking for a little
assurance.
-- Billy (N5SE)
N5SE
Billy Wayne Moore
7066 Shady Knoll Ln
Willis, TX 77318-6324
Phone: 936-537-2975???
-- N5SE
Billy Wayne Moore
7066 Shady Knoll Ln
Willis, TX 77318-6324
Phone: 936-537-2975???
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Billy, my QMX worked properly from the moment I fired it up. 100% smoke free! Just some minor screen issue that was my fault, and I soon corrected. One of my friends, who ordered a QMX kit two or three weeks ago, got his assembled and running last week, enjoying every step of the process.
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Just take your time Billy.? I spent about an hour a night for nearly a week.? QMX #332 worked right off the bench with no problems. Go slow and double check everything as you go so there is no doubt.? ?I have made many CW contacts with it since late July including every contact for the NAQCC letter challenge, and the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt this past Sunday.? Chased lots of POTA and SOTA and had some ragchews with it in the meantime.? Great radio, and I can't wait to hit the summits with it as the wx cools down.? Good luck with yours.
73 Billy, and many thanks to Hans!!
Ken, W4KAC
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Hi Billy, my QMX worked just fine from the first power up.! There are still a few bugs that Hans will smooth out over the next firmware updates.? AGC, eratic volume control...to mention a few..? ?but the rigi is a great piece of engineering,? fully useable. and will only get better. best regards Scotty
On Thursday, 31 August 2023 at 16:05:53 BST, Ken W4KAC <oldjoeclark@...> wrote:
Just take your time Billy.? I spent about an hour a night for nearly a week.? QMX #332 worked right off the bench with no problems. Go slow and double check everything as you go so there is no doubt.? ?I have made many CW contacts with it since late July including every contact for the NAQCC letter challenge, and the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt this past Sunday.? Chased lots of POTA and SOTA and had some ragchews with it in the meantime.? Great radio, and I can't wait to hit the summits with it as the wx cools down.? Good luck with yours.
73 Billy, and many thanks to Hans!!
Ken, W4KAC
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Billy,
You can do this!? Just be careful during assembly to 1) remove all the enamel from the toroid wires before soldering, 2) check the continuity between VCC, VDD, and +12 against ground prior to first power up, and 3) use a current limited supply until you're up to full voltage (9 or 12 volts).? Also, be careful when trimming wires on the bottom of the board.? I accidentally nicked C526 when trimming enameled wires from T507, and had to find and replace this capacitor.?
Enjoy this build, and take your time.
73,
Walt - KK4DF?
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On 31 Aug 2023 at 6:48, N5SE wrote: Guess I am looking for a little assurance. -- Well, you had at least two VERY HAPPY builders reporting in the emails today ... don't be so negative !! Follow the instructions carefully and either use a ZM-2 or equivalent manual tuner to tune the antenna before going full power and many, many people have had good results ... remember, a chat group like this draws more calls for HELP than praise for success. Jim w2jc
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Billy,
as well as watching Hans' video, maybe look for the pinned comment that lists all the tips and what time they appear on the video.
I plan to have this list handy when I start my build.
73, Steve.
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Billy,
stay brave...
... take your time and you will get it done...
I am one of those who? - read the manual twice - took my time to build - did it step by step and everything went well!
No surprise with Hans excellent Manual and additional hints from this Forum...
There are to many reports about Problems, but you probably know: "A bad message is told/forwarded 7 time more offen as a good one"
(Hopefully understandable as i am not a native english speaker)
Take your time and enjoy the build...
73 Alex, DK4FT?
Billy,
You can do this!? Just be careful during assembly to 1) remove all the enamel from the toroid wires before soldering, 2) check the continuity between VCC, VDD, and +12 against ground prior to first power up, and 3) use a current limited supply until you're up to full voltage (9 or 12 volts).? Also, be careful when trimming wires on the bottom of the board.? I accidentally nicked C526 when trimming enameled wires from T507, and had to find and replace this capacitor.?
Enjoy this build, and take your time.
73,
Walt - KK4DF?
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I'll add that past the Q103/Q104 short, I directly contributed to
the eventual failure of my QMX.
When I fixed the short, the hot air gun dislodged a couple of
other parts, leaving my QMX turning on, but "strangely". While
fixing that "strangely", something else happened that might have
taken out the CPU (maybe an errant clipping stuck to the mother
board.)
That problem has to be classed as my error, not a
problem with the design!
As Hans says, "You can do it!" Proceed with requisite care!
73, Paul -- AI7JR
On 8/31/23 07:14, Hans Summers wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Hello Billy
1) You're reading the wrong messages. There have also been
several nice reports of success stories.?
2) You also need to remember that all mailing lists have an
inherent negative?bias, in so far as people are far more
likely to post about a problem they are looking?for help
solving, than they are when everything is fine. And rightly
so, since?with 7,541 members here on this group, if everyone
posted something when they were successful, and the fact we
shipped an average 800+?orders per month in the last 6 months,
many of which contain multiple kits, we'd soon be overloaded
with emails. So keep the misery posts in perspective.?
3) Bear in mind the only known issue is that the Q103/Q104
transistors on the 5V SMPS board are a little close together
and due to manufacturing tolerances, a proportion of boards
have unfortunately got a solder bridge between the two drains;
HOWEVER, we are already testing all shipped boards for this
fault and correcting it pre-shipment if we find it.?
4) Watch my "52-tips" video?
while waiting for your QMX to arrive.?
5) If you take care and observe all the precautions
mentioned, there is a VERY high probability of success.
Remember, component and manufacturing failures are rare. It's
largely in your hands!
6) You're a Texan. Texan's can deal with anything.?
On Thu, Aug 31, 2023 at
4:48?PM N5SE < bwmoore@...>
wrote:
Hans,
Received message my QMX shipped today. Thought I would be
excited. But instead, I am reaching panic stage. With all the
misery I have read in the last week, I figure my chance of
ever getting it to work is somewhat less than zero. Guess I am
looking for a little assurance.
-- Billy (N5SE)
N5SE
Billy Wayne Moore
7066 Shady Knoll Ln
Willis, TX 77318-6324
Phone: 936-537-2975???
|
Billy, Just as additional reassurance, I built mine carefully, following the assembly manual literally. Mine powered up and worked fine the first time. I love this radio.
-- 73 Michael N6QP Up in Thin R
-- 73 Michael N6QP Up in Thin R
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As someone who is responsible for many of the negative messages -
People who are having no trouble with their radio are out there making contacts with it rather than logging into a forum and talking about it. I bought my kit on the strength of a recommendation from a friend who has never posted here. He's having a great time with his kit and I can't wait to get mine on the air with his, and when that happens I'll be too busy operating to post here too. Any forum is going to contain a disproportionately high number of people having problems, because those are the people who are going to have the spare time to go post in the forums about it.
Even though I feel some design decisions could have been made differently, the reason I even feel the desire to express that here is because I believe it is a fundamentally good, and worthwhile, product with one or two things that can be improved, rather than a lost cause. I'm sorry to have contributed to any perception otherwise.
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Billy,
There is bias in the list.? People that have problems make noise those that succeed can't be bothered.
So you see the disaster stories even if its a low percentage of the actual builds..
Do you self a favor, read the assembly manual before you get it. read it carefully?
and understand the assembly procedure.
--
Allison
------------------
Post online only, please no email.
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As far as assembly goes - Yes, it is a challenging build. It's by far the densest PCB I have ever populated. You will need to be extremely diligent about avoiding solder bridges. Keep solder wick handy. Inspect all of your joints with a microscope or loupe. Many pads sink into a massive thermally conductive ground plane and you will need a hot, powerful iron with plenty of thermal mass to make good joints in them. Know how to identify a cold solder joint. The enamel on the thinner magnet wire used for filter toroids burns off just fine but the thicker magnet wire used for power magnetics will need to be sanded off. The assembly manual recommends installing through-hole caps/diodes/inductors before toroids, but I think I'm going to do the opposite with my second build attempt, I'll report how it goes. I think the density of that area will make it easier to put the big things in first, then work the smaller things in around them.
Optional steps not mentioned in the manual:
Add thermal paste between BS170 output transistors and the ground plane underneath.
Some builders of the previous generation QDX put a flyback diode across the equivalent of L502 in that product.
If you set a current limit on your power supply the first time you power up your QMX, don't forget to turn the current limit off before you transmit. :)
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I'm not sure I see negativity.
I see people reporting problems, people
with concerns about the design. But everything done in a rational,
intelligent, adult way.? People prepared to listen to other's
opinions, discuss their differences, and if necessary agree
amicably to differ.
Practically unique on the internet.
Thanks to everyone, particularly Hans.
Chris, G5CTH
On 31/08/2023 19:44, Stephan Ahonen
KE0WVA wrote:
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Show quoted text
As someone who is responsible for many of the negative messages -
People who are having no trouble with their radio are out there
making contacts with it rather than logging into a forum and
talking about it. I bought my kit on the strength of a
recommendation from a friend who has never posted here. He's
having a great time with his kit and I can't wait to get mine on
the air with his, and when that happens I'll be too busy operating
to post here too. Any forum is going to contain a
disproportionately high number of people having problems, because
those are the people who are going to have the spare time to go
post in the forums about it.
Even though I feel some design decisions could have been made
differently, the reason I even feel the desire to express that
here is because I believe it is a fundamentally good, and
worthwhile, product with one or two things that can be improved,
rather than a lost cause. I'm sorry to have contributed to any
perception otherwise.
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Hans Summers <hans.summers@...> wrote: 2) You also need to remember that all mailing lists have an inherent
negative bias, in so far as people are far more likely to post about a
problem they are looking for help solving, than they are when everything is
fine. This is true. Let me tell you that I already managed to make some contacts with the new QMX. I just don't post, because it works :) Firmware still has some bugs (both in UX and in CAT control), but basic functionality works, so I'm happy and (although after only a copule of days) I don't regret buying QMX. My only concern is if I wound the SWR transformer correctly, but if I didn't, then I guess I'll find out after you add support for SWR in the firmware. 5) If you take care and observe all the precautions mentioned, there is a
VERY high probability of success. Remember, component and manufacturing
failures are rare. It's largely in your hands! True. QMX is very tightly packed, maybe even too tightly, but I didn't observe any manufacturing failures. I must've been lucky.
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Stephan Ahonen KE0WVA <stephan.ahonen@...> wrote: you will need a hot, powerful iron with plenty of thermal mass to make
good joints in them. This is a good advice. My 40 W soldering station was too weak (even with the slightly larger tip than I usually use) and I had to use my stronger (100 W) transformer gun for some joints. Hans recommends 60 W iron and I think it should be fine. enamel on the thinner magnet wire used for filter toroids burns off just
fine but the thicker magnet wire used for power magnetics will need to
be sanded off. I just used a knife.
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There were so many post answering my message that I could not reply to each one. I thank each poster; past, present and future that tack another idea for the first QMX builder. All of the post back to me could become a wealth of information for the new QMX
builder. I know that I will compile them for use as I build mine. Let it be known that the panic stage was very short lived.
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Show quoted text
Stephan Ahonen KE0WVA <stephan.ahonen@...> wrote:
> you will need a hot, powerful iron with plenty of thermal mass to make
> good joints in them.
This is a good advice. My 40 W soldering station was too weak (even with
the slightly larger tip than I usually use) and I had to use my stronger
(100 W) transformer gun for some joints.
Hans recommends 60 W iron and I think it should be fine.
> enamel on the thinner magnet wire used for filter toroids burns off just
> fine but the thicker magnet wire used for power magnetics will need to
> be sanded off.
I just used a knife.
-- N5SE
Billy Wayne Moore
7066 Shady Knoll Ln
Willis, TX 77318-6324
Phone: 936-537-2975???
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Billy,
Have you downloaded, printed, punched three holes and put in binder yet? No? Well, don't! I did when I first ordered the radio and built it WRONG!
Do print the most recent build instructions when you actually get the kit. Then print the operating instructions when you finish and know it works.
This? is the most challenging an satisfying kit I ever built. It has the best instructions I have ever seen. These are pretty tall observations after experiencing Heathkits in the 50's and 70's and the Elecraft K2.
I have no idea how Hans keeps up? with his creations and remains accessible to all of? us but he does, somehow. This appears to be the most active forum anywhere on the internet. Welcome to the zoo!
--
73
Karl
KI4ZUQ
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N5SE
GM0HUU Steve
Paul - AI7JR
Michael N6QP
Karl