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New QDX complete - no work.

 

Lest anyone misunderstand, "no work" does not imply that there was no effort to construct this little jewel.? And it surely is cute, what with its little LED and all!? Got the package on the 29th (it shipped on the 28th!) of October and began working on it as soon as feasible.? Of course, I did everything right, incurred no solder bridges nor voids, every step went smoothly, all parts fit, the new grab-bag of toroid construction variety was thrilling and educational.? Just utter perfection!? Note: parts of the preceding might be fiction or fiction-related.

All did go smoothly, and all the checks along the way went as they should have, as far as my limited skills permitted.? The little red light did light up as hoped/expected.? Unfortunately, my Windows 10 computer tells me it does not recognize the new device and refuses to communicate with it.? Microsoft says I have all the drivers available and all my updates are complete, not to mention (thank goodness) that my machine is not eligible for upgrade to Win 11.
So, here I sit, unable to continue or to troubleshoot.

Anyone else having comms trouble?? Is there a special driver out there that I can get?

I noted that my cheap bench power supply failed at some time since last use and could only offer me about .2V out.? Time to get a new one, I reckon.? I'll check its internal fuse first, of course.? My backup-battery provided a solid 12.8 V for my testing but my computer refused to cooperate.

I hope others are having better results, although I must say that this was in fact the best construction job I have done.? It remains to be seen where I screwed things up.

Thanks for all help, as usual.

73, Tony N0BPA
 

If you go into device manager, what do you see for the driverless devices?? The fact that it showed up at all means that USB was talking on the unit.? Maybe not correctly but not dead.? ?But I expect that you might see information there about the devices that are missing drivers.? You might be able to find compatible ones at St Microelectronics.?

Do you have ANY sort of Linux?device?? Like a Raspberry?Pi perhaps?? Maybe try it over there.? It's easy from Linux to get the USB ID for a device. You could then compare it with what virtual devices are supposed to be there.?

I don't have mine done yet but am on the way.? I decided to build it for 9V though and still need to work out the details of what I am going to use for a supply still... So it may be a week?or two before I attempt to hook up to a Windows machine.

Did you try both USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports on the computer?? Through a hub?? Through different USB A-B cables?

Sometimes some USB 2 devices don't work correctly in a USB 3 port. Don't know if that is the case here but might be worth verifying.?

Just throwing out ideas.?

Good luck,?

Fred W0FMS?


On Sat, Oct 30, 2021, 10:29 PM Tony McUmber <1tonymc@...> wrote:
Lest anyone misunderstand, "no work" does not imply that there was no effort to construct this little jewel.? And it surely is cute, what with its little LED and all!? Got the package on the 29th (it shipped on the 28th!) of October and began working on it as soon as feasible.? Of course, I did everything right, incurred no solder bridges nor voids, every step went smoothly, all parts fit, the new grab-bag of toroid construction variety was thrilling and educational.? Just utter perfection!? Note: parts of the preceding might be fiction or fiction-related.

All did go smoothly, and all the checks along the way went as they should have, as far as my limited skills permitted.? The little red light did light up as hoped/expected.? Unfortunately, my Windows 10 computer tells me it does not recognize the new device and refuses to communicate with it.? Microsoft says I have all the drivers available and all my updates are complete, not to mention (thank goodness) that my machine is not eligible for upgrade to Win 11.
So, here I sit, unable to continue or to troubleshoot.

Anyone else having comms trouble?? Is there a special driver out there that I can get?

I noted that my cheap bench power supply failed at some time since last use and could only offer me about .2V out.? Time to get a new one, I reckon.? I'll check its internal fuse first, of course.? My backup-battery provided a solid 12.8 V for my testing but my computer refused to cooperate.

I hope others are having better results, although I must say that this was in fact the best construction job I have done.? It remains to be seen where I screwed things up.

Thanks for all help, as usual.

73, Tony N0BPA

 

Anyone else having comms trouble?? Is there a special driver out
there that I can get?
Tony

Do you see it in Device Manager?

My QLG2 shows as COM 12 "USB Serial Device" it is the same processor as the QDX so should be the same. See screenshot.

Windows should install the driver. Try all available USB ports, they are often different even on the same computer.

If not follow the driver link in the manual and try installing that.

73 Alan G4ZFQ
 

The QDX is a composite USB device that contains two USB devices: a USB serial virtual port for CAT control, and an audio interface for the digital mode data. All of those should appear in their appropriate places in the Device Manager. It will also be recognized as multiple devices in Linux; check the system log when you plug it in and you should see them recognized.

If NO new USB devices appear when you plug in the QDX, your computer isn't seeing it at all. Make sure your USB cable is good; substitute another cable if you have one handy. Aside from that, it indicates?a problem somewhere in the QDX, which could be anything from a problem with the microcontroller to a badly soldered USB port. (The power light is turning on so at least you know the board is getting power.)

Windows 10 should automatically load all the necessary drivers if you are connected to the?internet. If you are running a really early build of Windows 10 that might not work. For earlier versions of Windows you need to download a driver from the ST Microelectronics website. If you see any new devices with an exclamation point next to them in Device Manager you have a driver issue. On the Linux side, any distro with a reasonably current Linux kernel should have support built in and recognize everything automatically.


On Sun, Oct 31, 2021 at 2:21 AM Alan G4ZFQ <alan4alan@...> wrote:

>? ? ?Anyone else having comms trouble?? Is there a special driver out
>? ? ?there that I can get?

Tony

Do you see it in Device Manager?

My QLG2 shows as COM 12 "USB Serial Device" it is the same processor as
the QDX so should be the same. See screenshot.

Windows should install the driver. Try all available USB ports, they are
often different even on the same computer.

If not follow the driver link in the manual and try installing that.

73 Alan G4ZFQ
 

Note also that QDX must have a working 25MHz clock (the TCXO module). If this is not the case then the microcontroller chip would use its own internal 8MHz oscillator. The microcontroller would work... But it would not correctly synthesize the correct internal 48 MHz oscillator needed for the USB peripheral. So that would result in no USB devices showing up.?

QDX has even tested on Linux (XUbuntu 18.04 and I have had reports of success with RPi and other Linux flavours), Apple Mac, and Windows 10. As described in the manual, earlier windows versions need a driver installation for the Virtual COM serial driver... Though not the Audio and the firmware update (USB Flash drive), which work on any Windows version without driver installations.?

73 Hans G0UPL
http://qrp-labs.com


-------- Original message --------
From: Shirley Dulcey KE1L <mark@...>
Date: Sun, Oct 31, 2021, 10:08 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [QRPLabs] New QDX complete - no work.
The QDX is a composite USB device that contains two USB devices: a USB serial virtual port for CAT control, and an audio interface for the digital mode data. All of those should appear in their appropriate places in the Device Manager. It will also be recognized as multiple devices in Linux; check the system log when you plug it in and you should see them recognized.

If NO new USB devices appear when you plug in the QDX, your computer isn't seeing it at all. Make sure your USB cable is good; substitute another cable if you have one handy. Aside from that, it indicates?a problem somewhere in the QDX, which could be anything from a problem with the microcontroller to a badly soldered USB port. (The power light is turning on so at least you know the board is getting power.)

Windows 10 should automatically load all the necessary drivers if you are connected to the?internet. If you are running a really early build of Windows 10 that might not work. For earlier versions of Windows you need to download a driver from the ST Microelectronics website. If you see any new devices with an exclamation point next to them in Device Manager you have a driver issue. On the Linux side, any distro with a reasonably current Linux kernel should have support built in and recognize everything automatically.


On Sun, Oct 31, 2021 at 2:21 AM Alan G4ZFQ <alan4alan@...> wrote:

>? ? ?Anyone else having comms trouble?? Is there a special driver out
>? ? ?there that I can get?

Tony

Do you see it in Device Manager?

My QLG2 shows as COM 12 "USB Serial Device" it is the same processor as
the QDX so should be the same. See screenshot.

Windows should install the driver. Try all available USB ports, they are
often different even on the same computer.

If not follow the driver link in the manual and try installing that.

73 Alan G4ZFQ
 

Hans:
Is the 25Mhz clock standard or is it an option for the QDX?
Tnx de Arnie W8DU
 

Hi Arnie

The TCXO module is supplied as standard.?

There was originally a 25 MHz crystal but during testing I wasn't happy with the frequency stability. So I designed the little TCXO daughter card... A modification of which is the option for the QCX+ and Si5351A.?

73 Hans G0UPL
http://qrp-labs.com


-------- Original message --------
From: W8DU_Arnie <mdjdmi@...>
Date: Sun, Oct 31, 2021, 4:48 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [QRPLabs] New QDX complete - no work.
Hans:
Is the 25Mhz clock standard or is it an option for the QDX?
Tnx de Arnie W8DU

 

As suggested, I connected QDX through another USB port on my laptop.? This one recognizes the QDX as a generic sound card with no problem.? I am confident that I have not made an error in construction (first time among all my QRP Labs kits!).

When I ran the CAT test after setting up WSJT-X per Hans' suggestion, I got the green light all right, but nothing shows on any of the displays that information is being received from QDX.? Checking the troubleshooting info on WSJT-X, this indicates that the program is looking for 16-bit, 48000Hz signal from QDX.? I cannot find anything referring to this value on the Win10 Sound Card configuration pages.? The QDX shows as the default card now, but I see no way to check or to adjust the information that WSJT-X is looking for.? I have a couple of other HAM logging programs with CAT control features, but they also ignore it.

Also, I have absolutely 0 (zero) prior experience with digital or SDR communication, so this is all new to me -- I don't even know what I should see on the screen, but I'm pretty sure it should not be blank.

More hints, please?

Thanks!

Tony N0BPA
 

Oh, yes - when I try to access the QDX, the error msg from WSJT-X is "Error in Sound Input"

Tony N0BPA
 

You are also getting the USB serial port as well, right?? Can you use something like PUTTY to talk to the CAT control and monitor software?? ?Look in the Windows device manager to see if a COM port shows up for the QDX under "serial ports".? Then find Putty on the web, install it, run it, select serial, enter that COM number and connect to it.? Baud rate doesn't matter for an emulated USB serial.? Follow the manual for commands to that virtual terminal.?

You might be able to look at the sound mixer, etc. and verify that the card otherwise looks like it is working.? 16 bit 48k is a standard sound card rate.? Maybe try another program like FLDigi to see if the emulated card is functioning.?

Did you set up the soundcard in the configuration of WSJT-X?? The program I don't think does that by default, just like the CAT setup isn't by default either.? ?It's different from Hans' manual written for Linux when running on Windows and I have had to play with the mixer settings on both Windows and Linux with WSJT-X every time I have set?it up.?

Again just throwing out ideas.? Glad that changing ports got you farther along.?

If you are seeing the sound card and have working virtual serial with PUTTY, then it has to be configuration.? Have you tried the emulated USB drive mode used for firmware updates?? Not saying to attempt doing an upgrade until you know the rig works, but that also would verify working USB and processor.?


Fred W0FMS?


On Sun, Oct 31, 2021, 6:56 PM Tony McUmber <1tonymc@...> wrote:
Oh, yes - when I try to access the QDX, the error msg from WSJT-X is "Error in Sound Input"

Tony N0BPA

 

On 01/11/2021 01:56, Tony McUmber wrote:
Oh, yes - when I try to access the QDX, the error msg from WSJT-X is "Error in Sound Input"
Tony

Have you enabled the "microphone" of the QCX in Windows Microphone Privacy settings?

73 Alan G4ZFQ
 

On 01/11/2021 06:22, Alan G4ZFQ via groups.io wrote:
Have you enabled the "microphone" of the QCX in Windows Microphone Privacy settings?
QDX:-)

Hans does not seem to have covered Windows settings.
In my W10 I can enter "microphone privacy" in the Search box to get a link to those settings.

Right click your speaker icon and select "Sounds" to get to your sound device properties. Right click a Playback or Recording device to set "Properties"
Ideally the QDX should not be set as "default", your on-board card is usually the one to set as default. This stops any Windows noises being sent to the QDX. Windows has an annoying way of setting any USB device as default whenever it is plugged in so this may need doing regularly. Turning off Windows sounds may only be a partial alternative, sounds can come from many sources.

"Windows key + X" opens a menu where you may select Device Manager to see the various places the QDX shows up.

WSJT-X can be confusing depending on the mode you want to try. There is an extensive indexed manual on the download page. A group for help and clarification

And a new soundcard SDR chapter starts with the IQ output option..

73 Alan G4ZFQ

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