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QMX SSB low output
5
Greetings to the brain trust. I have a kit built QMX which is awesome and works great on CW. I have upgraded to the 1.02.000 ( the latest firmware) and added a QRP GUYS mic. Everything seems to check out in the hardware tests, but it seems very low output on SSB. I've set the mic. gain to 75 which seems to help, some. Any ideas on trouble shooting? Thanks in advance. WX7J Doug
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QMX+ damaged internal microphone?
3
#QMXp
#QMXplus
Hey there! I am coming to the end of constructing my QMX+ and assembling the display board. I've got to the point of soldering the internal microphone and when I have got it out of the bag of remaining parts, I have found that the positive lead out of the body of the microphone is loose. I guess this is the best description of it. The lead can go into the microphone body a little bit, but doesn't come right out of the body and it doesn't seem to be attached to anything internally. Have I got a damaged microphone? If so, can someone advise me if I can source a replacement? 73s Glenn VK2AXV
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#qmx Don¡¯t Use USB-C PD to power your QMX?!
87
#qmx
My QMX released the magic smoke yesterday and I quickly traced the smoke to a crater in D108, the 5.6V zener on the 5V PSU board. Having recently read Hans¡¯ excellent SMPS analysis (http://qrp-labs.com/qmx/smpsstep.html ) it got me wondering what could have caused the fault. I had been powering my QMX from a USB-C battery and this 12v cable (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09ZL1WZ4G). I then remembered that USB-C PD adapters typically start with the output at 5V and then shortly afterwards increase the voltage to that negotiated by the device (in this case 12V). This would generate exactly the voltage pattern Hans has told us to AVOID. I took a trace of the voltage power-up sequence, and this is the result (no QMX¡¯s were harmed in creating this trace). Output power starts at 5V for 120ms before increasing to 12V, perfectly creating Hans¡¯ disaster scenario and causing D108 to sacrifice itself to protect the rest of the QMX. Thankfully the rest of my QMX appears to have survived unharmed, thanks to D108. Conclusion: don¡¯t use a USB-C battery to power your QMX, unless you¡¯ve confirmed your adapter behaves differently! Cheers, Dave M0JTS
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#qmx #problem #troubleshooting
2
#troubleshooting
#qmx
#problem
Hi everyone, I've been using my QMX for about an year with great joy and happiness when suddenly my QMX stopped receiving or transmitting. I'm fairly new to radio and i am struggling to find the problem. The sweeps are all garbage on all freqs: RF filter sweep, Audio Filter Sweep, everything but the LPF sweeps. The Voltages seem good although when I press "T", the transmitter voltage shows 9.8v in red. My QMX is 12V. I have little knowledge and i need a hand from you guys, to know where to start. I zipped and attached the image sweeps. 73 Pedro - CR7BJL
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Hi, I have released a version 1.2 of the solution. Please refer to the readme front page file at the git repository with details: https://github.com/AC8L/QMX_Plus_Autotuner_Internal_Battery_Speaker/ While I am writing this note - a group buy with 35+ participants is happening for this same version 1.2 - organized by Cal (AD8Q) and Stan (KC7XE). -- 73, Sardar (AC8L, 4K6SA, VA3DUA).
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QMX with Pactor
I read the good news that the QMX supports SSB operations. I see information about people using VARA-HF. Has anyone attempted to connect it to an SCS PACTOR Modem? Via mic and audio out with the PTT? I know that is a bit crazy, but why not.
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I purchased the development kit with my QMX+ because I thought maybe I'd install a tuner. I did and although I can't drill a hole in the right location to save my life, out of laziness for sure, I was able to do it this way. I decided not to make it totally internal as I run an amplifier sometimes. This way, it's just a tuner that uses internal power so it comes on with the radio. Pretty handy, too. It works just like I hoped and it's one less thing I have to pack. Given the choice of an internal power source or this, personally, I think this is more convenient. It make look trashy but I also added a high quality speaker. The holes looked fine but given the conditions I will likely use the radio in, I decided to keep dirt out. 73 Frank
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While building my QCX mini, I damaged my R47 variable resistor while trying to remove it, because I forgot to cut off the feet before soldering it in. I finished the rest of the build a few days ago, and discovered when I powered it on that the display contrast was set well enough that I could use it before the potentiometer came in. However, while I was unplugging a paddle, the screen suddenly went blank and hasn't displayed anything since, even after installing the replacement potentiometer today. I suppose it's possible I shorted something with my finger? I have an enclosure on the way to prevent further incidents, if so. After reading through the manual, I decided to take a reading on the pins of the display module, and they don't match very well with the expected values. With R47 turned 50%, the voltages I read on pins 1-16, respectively, were: 0, 4.7, 1.5, 0.1, 0, 0, 4.7, 4.7, 4.7, 4.7, 2.6, 1.8, 4.7, 4.7, 4.4, 0. I'm not sure if that's useful information or enough to help you debug it, but I'm happy to provide further detail or information you might need to help me get this fully working. While the screen was working, I was able to get it set up and tuned, and listened in on a few frequencies and it seemed to be working fine. TU es 73 de W5JIA
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Howdy all, I finally was able to get the QMX on the air last night since having it for over several months now. Mine is setup for 9v and I¡¯m using a wall wart tO power it at the moment. It worked well on CW, making a nice contact and qso to KS from NV, and then several Digi contacts to China, Argentina, NV, Japan and New Zealand, using the iPhone iFTx app. I didn¡¯t see any output from anything in the screen but still need to play with the settings. Thanks Hans for a great little rig. -- Jason- Wv3v Las Vegas, NV.
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#qmx #troubleshooting
10
#troubleshooting
#qmx
Hello everyone. My name is Jesus. I recently purchased a QMX multi-band multi-mode transceiver with the 80/60/40/30/20 version. I assembled the radio and made sure to perform checks to ensure there was no shorts to ground. I proceeded to power up the radio and the radio did not power up. There was no power consumption. A quick inspection showed the D103 on one of the SMPS boards was sheared off possibly during shipping, maybe on assembly? Regardless I ordered 2 sets just to be safe. I installed the new set of SMPS and attempted to power the QMX on again. The transceiver still does not show signs of life. No power consumption showed on the meter. I did some checks with my limited knowledge. Power seems to be getting to the SMPS. Ground is in tact. There is no 3v or 5v output from the SMPS. The board does not power on or register as a device via my PC. I wanted to reach out for some guidance on any additional checks I can perform? I double checked all the solder joints with a microscope and can¡¯t see any bridging that could short anything out. So I¡¯m suspecting there¡¯s an open somewhere I¡¯m not seeing.
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QCX Mini Displaying //???/??/
7
New QCX Mini (20m) build and everything seems to be working except for the screen will go blank and/or display a mix of /'s and ?'s after the initial boot screen. Boot screen always displays both lines of text and then roughly half the time I get the random mix of ?//? on just the top line or a single black character on the top right. The other half of the time the screen displays the frequency on the top line and I'll get a few button presses before it again falls back to the ?/???? junk. Pushing any of the buttons updates the line but never goes back to anything other than a single black box or the junk characters. I've inspected the board pretty closely, re soldered pretty much everything on the board at this point, and checked continuity between the screen and IC2 pins which all seems to check out. I've also checked the voltage on all the screen pins with a multimeter and while they aren't exactly what is in the build guide they seem to be within the expected operating range. That about hits the limit of what I know to do for troubleshooting, any advice would be more than welcome.
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A completely different approach to the HTML console published on this forum but as I use Flrig to control my rigs and flrig does not support Hans' excellent recent additions to the CAT codes, I am developing a widget which supplements flrig. Currently, this allows for the selection of new modes, indicates the LCD contents on your PC, and has meters for signal, SWR, and power. This can be seen in operation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr-OomSTS7U Anyone wishing to try this out, then it can be found here: https://github.com/sipsmi/qmxwidget It's just proof of concept at the moment, and I will get around to tidying it up, but it works and I find it useful. 73 Simon G0FOZ
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Jeff Moore
2
Another QMX quickly repaired by Jeff. It is a mid-band version. always good to know that if you build one of these and it doesn¡¯t work there¡¯s support from this group and hands on support from Jeff. thanks Hans, Jeff and all those on line helpers. phil K3UT
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Errata for Rev 3 QMX+ Assembly Manual
4
Not intended as a prompt for actual updates to the excellent manual, more for information purposes in case someone is compiling a list for when Hans accidentally falls into a cloning machine and can spend time updating manuals instead of the important stuff like bug fixing and adding new features. Also, apologies if this has already been posted but the search facility doesn't work well for me unless I guess exactly the right search terms. The warning at the bottom of page 54 about power supplies is duplicated at the bottom of page 55 and then again on page 56. Given the critical nature of this warning, and that 99% of us would assume that the device would work safely on a standard bench supply or battery, repeating the warning may not actually be a bad thing so maybe it would be better not to fix it! On second thoughts, given the humorous writing style of the instructions, this may be actually be a deliberate ploy on the part of Hans to make sure we get how critical this is. In which case, well played sir - you got me!
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#QMX Glitchy encoders? Not any more ?
26
#qmx
My V1 80-20m QMX has had issues with a glitchy VFO encoder. It would often skip in the opposite direction to which it was being turned which made tuning a bit awkward and menu selection even more so. After taking the encoder out, dismantling it and cleaning the contacts, the issue was much better but still not great. I tried replacing the encoder with an AliExpress part that was linked in another thread but the A/B switch contacts were reversed on that one, requiring short jumpers to be run from the two outside encoder pins to the pads on the opposite side. Even then, those encoders were a bit pants (I tried a couple). On a hunch, I re-fitted the original encoder and soldered a 10nF SM capacitor from each of the two outer pins to the common ground pin. This has now completely cured the glitches and the encoder works smoothly and accurately. I can now tune accurately and step through menus in the order they're meant to appear. Happy Days ?? I've attached a photo of the bodge in case anyone else is having similar issues and wants to give it a try. If the photo doesn't appear, here's a link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/RT9evC3BRUaaDSKe6 Cheers, Ronan MM0IVR
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Newly assembled QMX+ for sale
Hi, I received my QMX+ kit two weeks ago. I carefully constructed and tested it. It works perfectly on CW, on all bands. I don't operate digital modes or SSB so I haven't tested those modes. I've been building homemade, KD1JV and Elecraft QRP radios for decades so I am an experienced builder. This was a build project for me as I already have an earlier QMX. I just enjoy building projects. Price is $175 + shipping. The total I spent for it. I accept a personal check, or money order. Contact me at my QRZ email address for more info. Tnx, Thomas - ac7a
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#firmware #qmx
3
#qmx
#firmware
Greetings all, So yes a firmware upgrade issue. But I have not seen this particular issue or this process described. Fully updated windows 10 Tried all 6 USB ports on my PC Rebooted multiple times. Win10 either see QMX as an audio device or says the did not give a proper driver ID and win10 disabled the device. Now wait! With everything connected and QMX NOT recognized by Win10 I went: QMX, Menu/firmware/sure?/ yes And THEN a popup window on my PC came up, QMX shut itself down and the Popup (in my case i:/) was QMX with firmware 1.00.027. I opened the folder on my D:/ containing the new 1.02.000, dragged it into i:/ immediately that popup window closed itself and a second later QMX came back alive, on its own, with the new firmware installed. Yeah! But... With that done QMX has again disappeared from my win10 PC? Is that the way it is suppose to be? Should I be able to see QMX whenever I plug it in my PC or does it just briefly appears during the firmware update process? Cheers, a.
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Internal battery for QMX+
11
Has anyone installed a rechargeable battery in the QMX+? If so, would you share the details, such as what brand of battery and how you wired it inside the QMX+ case? Thanks. Hiroki AH6CY
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I designed and printed a small stand for my QMX mid-band TRX. It has a built in Li-Ion battery powered amplifier and speaker with a charging unit and USB-C port on the back. Sounds very good and the battery lasts 12+ hours (I never ran it until it died). A short video can bee seen here: QMX Speaker Stand I also made a small 3D printed enclosure for the DROK 3-15VDC adjustable Buck/Boost converter (very RF-quiet) and used Anderson Power Poles for the connections. The Anderson PPs fit into small chassis mount holders I designed and 3D printed. I've used these on many other projects. I set the DROK to 12.0VDC. I've used these DROK devices in several projects and they work very well indeed. Now, just waiting for the small hand mic which Erik (AD7OV) is kitting and I'm all set for POTA/SOTA... Great little rig and the new FW seems to work very well. 73, Robert VE7ZN PS: If anyone wants the .stl or .f3d files send me an email (good on QRZ)
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USB C on QDX
2
Has anyone tried replacing the USB B connector on the QDX (or any of the other Q*X radios) with A USB C breakout board like this one: https://www.adafruit.com/product/5807 Either with or without using the USB C for power delivery? Thanks, Nate KV4RD *** Nathaniel Drexler
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Image Name
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