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Folks, after having build at least three QMX rigs, three QMX+, and uncountable number of QCX+ and QDX, I thought I'd share with you a couple tricks / tips that have helped me save a bit of time.
?
First, winding T401, that trifilar toroid. You'll see that the instructions tell you to wind three lengths of the supplied wire together, then separate the ends, remove enamel insulation from the ends, and then identify which ones pair up on either side of the donut. Fairly easy to do, except that in the process of removing enough enamel from the ends to get a good solder joint you may find that you've mixed up the wires and have to get your multimeter out and check for pairs again. Make your life a little easier - use three different colors of enameled #28 wire. No need to worry about that pairing up process. No, Hans only supplies copper colored wire, but a spool of #28 or #26 wire on Amazon costs very little. And as a bonus, you'll have enough left on those spools to build a bazillion kits!
?
Second, why not make your enamel scraping / removing process on ALL of the toroids easier? I stopped using the supplied wire and use that colored stuff on ALL of my toroids. You'll still have to scrape it off, but it sure as heck is a lot easier to tell if you got the gold/red/green (or whatever color you bought) enamel off sufficiently as compared to removing copper colored enamel from copper wire!
?
Third, and this one is a trick I was tipped off to by Stan Dye. It is the use of lead cutoffs on transformers T501 and T507. These two guys have multiple leads to solder to the board. And believe me, if you've messed up either one of them and have to re-do it, you are not looking at a fun job. Removing one of the other components on the board is hard enough - usually only two leads to remove. These two dudes have five and six leads to solder, respectively. Mess up either one and you have multiple leads to try to unsolder and then figure out how to install the repaired component. Well, this trick (I hate using the word "hack" - that's what I do with my machete in the jungle) is to solder in a cutoff component lead in each of those 11 holes, rather then the leads from T501 and T507.? There is no enamel scraping to do or worry if you've got enough removed for a good solder joint. When you've wound your T501 and T507, simply scrape off enough enamel to solder to the appropriate cutoff lead that is now sticking out of the board, kinda like a porcupine quill. Should you have to re-do the winding on either of those two transformers, it is a simple matter to snip off its leads from the "quill", re-do your transformer, and then connect it to the quill. Two things to watch out for: be sure the quill is not too long - you don't want it sticking up so far that it hits the top of the case (or the bottom), and secondly, be sure it is not touching another component on the board.
?
Anyway, those tricks work well for me and have made my QMX+ kit building a lot easier.
--
Jim / K7TXA
Eagle, ID
SKCC 10447T
BUG 301
|
Thanks Jim for the Tips and Tricks!!!
Hacking reminds me of ‘Jim of the Jungle’ and now that tune is in my head!
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I tried the suggested porcupine method on T501 to see how I liked it. ?Works like a champ. I have a working QMX+ and yet it looks like a spider is in there on the PCB.
?
The tri-color tip worked well also. Green/Gold/Red makes that toroid look like Christmas!
?
Thanks for the tips and encouragement!
Mike
KK7MMN
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Watch out for that tree!!
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Does this wire look good to you? They don't sell multiple colors, but I should at least be able to tell if I removed the enamel.
?
Also, do you perhaps have a photo of what you mean with the transformers?
?
Thanks!
?
On Sun, Mar 16, 2025 at 07:56 PM, Jim Bennett / K7TXA wrote:
Folks, after having build at least three QMX rigs, three QMX+, and uncountable number of QCX+ and QDX, I thought I'd share with you a couple tricks / tips that have helped me save a bit of time.
?
First, winding T401, that trifilar toroid. You'll see that the instructions tell you to wind three lengths of the supplied wire together, then separate the ends, remove enamel insulation from the ends, and then identify which ones pair up on either side of the donut. Fairly easy to do, except that in the process of removing enough enamel from the ends to get a good solder joint you may find that you've mixed up the wires and have to get your multimeter out and check for pairs again. Make your life a little easier - use three different colors of enameled #28 wire. No need to worry about that pairing up process. No, Hans only supplies copper colored wire, but a spool of #28 or #26 wire on Amazon costs very little. And as a bonus, you'll have enough left on those spools to build a bazillion kits!
?
Second, why not make your enamel scraping / removing process on ALL of the toroids easier? I stopped using the supplied wire and use that colored stuff on ALL of my toroids. You'll still have to scrape it off, but it sure as heck is a lot easier to tell if you got the gold/red/green (or whatever color you bought) enamel off sufficiently as compared to removing copper colored enamel from copper wire!
?
Third, and this one is a trick I was tipped off to by Stan Dye. It is the use of lead cutoffs on transformers T501 and T507. These two guys have multiple leads to solder to the board. And believe me, if you've messed up either one of them and have to re-do it, you are not looking at a fun job. Removing one of the other components on the board is hard enough - usually only two leads to remove. These two dudes have five and six leads to solder, respectively. Mess up either one and you have multiple leads to try to unsolder and then figure out how to install the repaired component. Well, this trick (I hate using the word "hack" - that's what I do with my machete in the jungle) is to solder in a cutoff component lead in each of those 11 holes, rather then the leads from T501 and T507.? There is no enamel scraping to do or worry if you've got enough removed for a good solder joint. When you've wound your T501 and T507, simply scrape off enough enamel to solder to the appropriate cutoff lead that is now sticking out of the board, kinda like a porcupine quill. Should you have to re-do the winding on either of those two transformers, it is a simple matter to snip off its leads from the "quill", re-do your transformer, and then connect it to the quill. Two things to watch out for: be sure the quill is not too long - you don't want it sticking up so far that it hits the top of the case (or the bottom), and secondly, be sure it is not touching another component on the board.
?
Anyway, those tricks work well for me and have made my QMX+ kit building a lot easier.
--
Jim / K7TXA
Eagle, ID
SKCC 10447T
BUG 301
|
That is exactly what I’m using. They do have various colors, at least they did when I bought mine a year ago. I will try to post a picture later today - currently in the shop building a new QMX+.?
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On Mar 19, 2025, at 10:30?AM, avinoam83 via groups.io <avinoam83@...> wrote:
? Does this wire look good to you? They don't sell multiple colors, but I should at least be able to tell if I removed the enamel.
?
Also, do you perhaps have a photo of what you mean with the transformers?
?
Thanks!
?
On Sun, Mar 16, 2025 at 07:56 PM, Jim Bennett / K7TXA wrote:
Folks, after having build at least three QMX rigs, three QMX+, and uncountable number of QCX+ and QDX, I thought I'd share with you a couple tricks / tips that have helped me save a bit of time.
?
First, winding T401, that trifilar toroid. You'll see that the instructions tell you to wind three lengths of the supplied wire together, then separate the ends, remove enamel insulation from the ends, and then identify which ones pair up on either side of the donut. Fairly easy to do, except that in the process of removing enough enamel from the ends to get a good solder joint you may find that you've mixed up the wires and have to get your multimeter out and check for pairs again. Make your life a little easier - use three different colors of enameled #28 wire. No need to worry about that pairing up process. No, Hans only supplies copper colored wire, but a spool of #28 or #26 wire on Amazon costs very little. And as a bonus, you'll have enough left on those spools to build a bazillion kits!
?
Second, why not make your enamel scraping / removing process on ALL of the toroids easier? I stopped using the supplied wire and use that colored stuff on ALL of my toroids. You'll still have to scrape it off, but it sure as heck is a lot easier to tell if you got the gold/red/green (or whatever color you bought) enamel off sufficiently as compared to removing copper colored enamel from copper wire!
?
Third, and this one is a trick I was tipped off to by Stan Dye. It is the use of lead cutoffs on transformers T501 and T507. These two guys have multiple leads to solder to the board. And believe me, if you've messed up either one of them and have to re-do it, you are not looking at a fun job. Removing one of the other components on the board is hard enough - usually only two leads to remove. These two dudes have five and six leads to solder, respectively. Mess up either one and you have multiple leads to try to unsolder and then figure out how to install the repaired component. Well, this trick (I hate using the word "hack" - that's what I do with my machete in the jungle) is to solder in a cutoff component lead in each of those 11 holes, rather then the leads from T501 and T507.? There is no enamel scraping to do or worry if you've got enough removed for a good solder joint. When you've wound your T501 and T507, simply scrape off enough enamel to solder to the appropriate cutoff lead that is now sticking out of the board, kinda like a porcupine quill. Should you have to re-do the winding on either of those two transformers, it is a simple matter to snip off its leads from the "quill", re-do your transformer, and then connect it to the quill. Two things to watch out for: be sure the quill is not too long - you don't want it sticking up so far that it hits the top of the case (or the bottom), and secondly, be sure it is not touching another component on the board.
?
Anyway, those tricks work well for me and have made my QMX+ kit building a lot easier.
--
Jim / K7TXA
Eagle, ID
SKCC 10447T
BUG 301
-- Jim / K7TXA
Eagle, ID
SKCC 10447T
BUG 301
|
I've been using that wire for several builds. Easier to use than the wound-up stuff provided in the kits. Cheap and good investment.
Does this wire look good to you? They don't sell multiple colors, but I should at least be able to tell if I removed the enamel.
?
Also, do you perhaps have a photo of what you mean with the transformers?
?
Thanks!
?
On Sun, Mar 16, 2025 at 07:56 PM, Jim Bennett / K7TXA wrote:
Folks, after having build at least three QMX rigs, three QMX+, and uncountable number of QCX+ and QDX, I thought I'd share with you a couple tricks / tips that have helped me save a bit of time.
?
First, winding T401, that trifilar toroid. You'll see that the instructions tell you to wind three lengths of the supplied wire together, then separate the ends, remove enamel insulation from the ends, and then identify which ones pair up on either side of the donut. Fairly easy to do, except that in the process of removing enough enamel from the ends to get a good solder joint you may find that you've mixed up the wires and have to get your multimeter out and check for pairs again. Make your life a little easier - use three different colors of enameled #28 wire. No need to worry about that pairing up process. No, Hans only supplies copper colored wire, but a spool of #28 or #26 wire on Amazon costs very little. And as a bonus, you'll have enough left on those spools to build a bazillion kits!
?
Second, why not make your enamel scraping / removing process on ALL of the toroids easier? I stopped using the supplied wire and use that colored stuff on ALL of my toroids. You'll still have to scrape it off, but it sure as heck is a lot easier to tell if you got the gold/red/green (or whatever color you bought) enamel off sufficiently as compared to removing copper colored enamel from copper wire!
?
Third, and this one is a trick I was tipped off to by Stan Dye. It is the use of lead cutoffs on transformers T501 and T507. These two guys have multiple leads to solder to the board. And believe me, if you've messed up either one of them and have to re-do it, you are not looking at a fun job. Removing one of the other components on the board is hard enough - usually only two leads to remove. These two dudes have five and six leads to solder, respectively. Mess up either one and you have multiple leads to try to unsolder and then figure out how to install the repaired component. Well, this trick (I hate using the word "hack" - that's what I do with my machete in the jungle) is to solder in a cutoff component lead in each of those 11 holes, rather then the leads from T501 and T507.? There is no enamel scraping to do or worry if you've got enough removed for a good solder joint. When you've wound your T501 and T507, simply scrape off enough enamel to solder to the appropriate cutoff lead that is now sticking out of the board, kinda like a porcupine quill. Should you have to re-do the winding on either of those two transformers, it is a simple matter to snip off its leads from the "quill", re-do your transformer, and then connect it to the quill. Two things to watch out for: be sure the quill is not too long - you don't want it sticking up so far that it hits the top of the case (or the bottom), and secondly, be sure it is not touching another component on the board.
?
Anyway, those tricks work well for me and have made my QMX+ kit building a lot easier.
--
Jim / K7TXA
Eagle, ID
SKCC 10447T
BUG 301
--
Gary W0CKI
|
Here are four pix of what I'm talking about. Two were just taken on the QMX+ I'm building - they show the porcupine / stilts right after soldering them, top and bottom of the board. Obviously, they need to be trimmed off a bit after connecting the transformer leads. A third photo shows a transformer attached to the stilts, and trimmed down a little. And the fourth photo shows my multi-colored trifilar wound donut. In looking back at my stuff, it turns out that the green wire I used was #26 and the red was #28. The third color was gold. No issue using the different gauges of wires - this rig performs very well.
?
?
--
Jim / K7TXA
Eagle, ID
SKCC 10447T
BUG 301
|
Again, the reason I use these "stilts" for those two transformers is the I've previously had to remove and re-wind those two components on other rigs, and it is not a lot of fun doing so if they are soldered directly to the board...
--
Jim / K7TXA
Eagle, ID
SKCC 10447T
BUG 301
|
I have found 26awg in three colors that I use on anything trifilar.? It heat strips but lea  ves crusty black gunk that easily scrapes off with an exacto type knife.? I usually re- tin after scraping. ?
There are lots of Etsy sellers with enameled copper craft wire in 10 colors and many guages.? 28awg or the metric equivalent are available.
?
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I've used the different color wires on all of my QRP Labs builds (and other kits with similar toroids) and it works great. A few other kits actually give you different colored wires for that purpose.?
--
73, Dan? NM3A
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Why not use different lengths of wire?
73 - Pierre - FK8IH
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Brilliant. Practical. Do-able. Wish I'd thought of that. Really!!
Filed away for future use, for sure :)?
On Wed, Mar 19, 2025 at 8:24 PM, Pierre - FK8IH via groups.io <jb.gallauziaux@...> wrote: Why not use different lengths of wire?
73 - Pierre - FK8IH
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I color my T401 wires with sharpies. It rubs off, though, so you have to mark a fair length of it to make sure there's still enough by the time you get around to soldering it.
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On Wed, Mar 19, 2025 at 05:24 PM, Pierre - FK8IH wrote:
Why not use different lengths of wire?
73 - Pierre - FK8IH
Good idea!
--
73, Dan? NM3A
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I finally bit... Ordered some .3mm (28awg) colored copper craft wire from Etsy.? Shipping included, it was under $10 for 100 meters of wire.? On a per inch basis it is 4x more than a quarter pound of one color from Amazon but 100 meters of wire will wind more? toroids than I am likely to need for the next few years...? (I tried using sharpies to color the wire, but it was hard to see and made a mess on my fingers)  ?
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Mike KK7MMN
Chuck KB3ASW
Tom Clifton
Pierre - FK8IH