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The assembly of my QMX Plus radio as nearing completion (board rev 2).? But I've run into a bit of a snag.

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I'm now in section 2.17 of the assembly manual (page 41) and I'm at the point where you solder the two 3.5 mm stereo jack sockets for the earphone and paddle on to the small "connectors" PC board.??

But my connectors PC board seems to be defective; it's not trimmed off on one of the sides (the inboard edge- the side near the front panel headers).? If I align the board under the pads where they're supposed to be soldered (with the capacitor trim wires), the edge of the board extends past the front panel male headers, and it won't fit into the "notch" that's in the front panel board.? There will be an interference with the connectors board when I try to plug in the front panel board.

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Here's a photo of the connectors board positioned under the main board, aligned with the solder pads.? The front panel board is laying on top of the main board, and it's aligned with the male headers that it eventually will plug into.

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The connectors board extends past the front panel board's "notch."

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The connectors board has a score along the one edge (right side in the above photo). The board is scored about 1/4 of the way through on both sides.? It looks like it was supposed to be cut through to trim off that extra piece.? Here's a closeup of the connectors board (leaning against a piece of foam so you can see the edge of the board):

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Has anyone encountered this before?? Rather than waiting for a replacement board to come from Turkey, it seems that I should just cut off the excess edge of the board; finish the trimming that the manufacturing process missed.? Any comments on how to trim this edge off?? I'm thinking I'll cut it through with a razor blade and snap it off in a vise.

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Comments?

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Thanks,

Larry (WA2VKG)

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That's excess trim from manufacturing.? A pair of flat nose pliers or your fingers and it will snap off with a little bit of pressure. It's already grooved for clean removal.?

Richard is correct.? Just snap it off.? They often come that way.

Stan

Richard / Stan-

Thanks for the "sanity check".? I cut the score deeper with my box cutter, and the excess piece didn't need much persuasion to snap off.? All is well, and my audio and keyer jacks are installed. Page 42 is finished.

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But when I moved on to page 43 (installing parts on the front panel board), I noticed I had the same problem with this PCB as I had with the Connectors Board.??

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There is excess board material on both edges of the front panel board (the top b/w image is the assembly manual):

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Here's what the right side looks like (the other side is similar):

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I'll do the same thing I did on my connectors board; deepen the scores on both edges and snap the extra material off.

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Just a heads-up to anyone else assembling a QMX plus.? I'm glad I spotted this defect before I started soldering components on to the Front Panel Board.??

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The assembly is nearing completion; looking forward to putting my new radio on the air!? And... pretty soon I'll reach page 50 and find out how steady my hand is when soldering in that header to the LCD board!? LOL

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Thanks again,

Larry (WA2VKG)

These boards get built up as dozens in one big board, with scored rails like that in between individual boards.

It's not unusual to see the extra material in kits like this, or in an electronics manufacturing environment for that matter.

Not a defect.

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If the scores aren't deep enough, or the top and bottom scores don't line up, then we can start calling it a defect.

Yours look fine.

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I couldn't tell you if my QMX+ had rails like that or not.

It would not have been something remarkable either way, see it all the time.

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Those grooves should be deep enough to snap off with your hands, no encouragement from any kind of knife.

If the rail is too small for your fingers, grab the rail with a pair of pliers.

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I'd avoid using pliers on the "good" part of the board, could rip up some traces.

If you need to use pliers there, cushion them with some thick cloth.

That (or even a knife) might be necessary if the fab house didn't go deep enough with the scoring.

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Jerry, KE7ER

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On Mon, Mar 10, 2025 at 03:42 PM, Larry- WA2VKG wrote:

Jerry and all- thanks for the feedback.

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On Mon, Mar 10, 2025 at 04:00 PM, Jerry Gaffke wrote:

I'd avoid using pliers on the "good" part of the board, could rip up some traces.

If you need to use pliers there, cushion them with some thick cloth.

That (or even a knife) might be necessary if the fab house didn't go deep enough with the scoring.

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The score wasn't deep enough to break off by hand (without pilers)? So I wrapped the "good" part of the board with some foam to protect the traces and to hold the board in place while I deepened the groove.? I could then break it off by hand.

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All is well now (hopefully...).? I've finished the front panel board and I'm moving on to the LCD display.

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