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QMX and power bank PD
43
Is the QMX itself in any way capable to negotiate the required voltage with the power bank PD? In other words is a 12V trigger cable required or not? I feel more comfy with a trigger cable as it steers away from any negotiating. 73 es dx
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On the WSJT-X I have birdies or whatever they are, which I don't have in CW mode I do have this continuous tone over the whole band as reported before. What can that be? -- Martin DK3UW
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QMX+ RF output fluctuates wildly
21
#QMXplus
#troubleshooting
Assembled my QMX+ and it's working. I had a couple of issues related to enameled wire not making good connections that were resolved. I know it's working, I've made contacts on several bands successfully, including some decent DX, all on FT8. What bothers me is that the output power seems to jump around wildly. If I go to the diagnostics screen and key the transmitter, the Bias SMPS shows fluctuations in current that correspond to the fluctuations in the output power. The Duty cycle on the Bias SMPS always shows 0%, even as the current jumps around in the red. I suspect I've managed to damage one (or more) of the surface mount semiconductors. At least that's what my reading on the subject would seem to suggest. What I need is a test that can be done with a multi-meter that would shed some light on the problem. I can probably resurrect an oscilloscope if I need it, but I'm hoping someone can lead me to a simple voltage or resistance test that could help isolate the problem. My last problem was related to soldering and enameled wire which was easily resolved. I'm hoping this issue can be resolved without major surgery as well. Thanks in advance for all of the good advice I'm about to receive. Andy WB9YXA
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Trying to capture 2x16 LCD signal...
3
I have been trying to capture the digital signals driving the 2x16 LCD on my fully functional QMX transceiver. I am using an application called Scopy and the ADALM2000 learning module hardware from Analog Devices. I don't understand the captured data. I am hoping someone on this forum is familiar with this protocol and can provide some insight. My two main questions I have are: 1) Should the Enable line go high when the microprocessor of the radio is writing to the screen? From what I have captured so far these does not seem to be the case. However the reference material I read on line about typical 2x16 LCD screens indicates the Enable signal means write to the screen. 2) Should the Register Select (RS) line go high when the microprocessor is writing an ASCII character and low when it is writing a screen command? My data collection shows that there seems to be far more RS pulses than Enable pulses, which I don't understand. Am am attaching a screen shot of the data collected when I power up the QMX receiver with the factory reset splash screen. I have the Enable pin tied to input bit 0, the RS pin tied to input bit 1 and LCD data bit 0 through 7 tied to input pins 2-9 respectively. Any info on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance Mike (KC2EHR)
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QMX+ kit build - RX birdies on Digi and loud wide tone on CW
Hi, I've just completed construction of a QMX+ for 9V, with a good inspection for dry joints and solder bridges. Things seem fine on TX - power varies from 5+ watts on lower bands to about 2.5 watts on higher ones. However, on RX on Digital mode there are birdies at 700, 1400, 2100 and 2800Hz on all bands, with 12m showing others at 1000, 1500, 2000 and 3000Hz but at lower level. I have made a couple of QSOs on FT8, so it is working, but I'm sure these tones will cause problems with received tones at these frequencies. On CW mode though, there is a wide range of audio tone from about 600 to 750Hz with a spike at 700Hz. On 15m it is really loud (WSJT-X waterfall shows it as bright red). I can include screenshots of the WSJT-X waterfall for all bands on each mode if that helps. Any ideas where I might start to look to solve it? I see there are numerous threads here about different tones being manifested, but I haven't found anything similar to my situation. I don't have the skills or equipment to replace the PC1804 chip which seems a possible solution to some of the audio anomalies. TIA, 73, Kev G0AKH
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Hello! I am trying to find right settings to start work with WinLink and VARA HF threw QMX. CAT connection is OK. The only problem here is that when I choose some Gateway channel QMX always switches to USB mode from DiGi. But it is not a big deal to return back to DiGi manually. The main problem is that when I start connection with the chosen channel QMX shows two dots as TX status. Which means that audio level from PC is too low. But I've put it to maximum. And everything works fine with WSJT-X and JS8Call. So problem is definitely with some WinLink VARA HF settings? Can smb help? Hans, did you try to use WinLink with QMX?
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QMX+ Just the Fax, Ma’am.
Oh emm gee, I just ordered a QMX+ kit. Yay! I haven’t found a rundown on the specs for the current QMX/+. Does the new SSB firmware beta change anything for the sdr as a receiver? I am about 95% a listener, ham bands and not. I enjoy getting radiofax, so if anyone has done that please let me know how it does? Tnx es 73, Aunty Bee
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Hello, I just completed a QMX build and had a power-up issue. I used a lab PSU at 7V initially; QMX draws ~150 mA right away - not proper. But at the same it did power-up and display lights up. So I tried USB connection and was able to flash the firmware successfully. - it self-turns on; - MCU probably thinks it is underpowered: as soon as it boots and displays normal view, it shows "Shut down!" and cycles; - display backlight blinks randomly - again, power stability issue? - draws too much power: I dared to try to turn it on with 9V and got almost 1A consumption. I double-checked all components, especially on power boards and found no fried parts or soldering issues. I also checked the 8-pin power board connector; it is the only board getting the incoming voltage, is this correct? I don't see constant grounding on PWR_ON pin (unless left knob is pressed). There's no measurable impedance between power and ground on the power connector if the power board is removed. I also checked for notorious Q103/Q104 short before building - not a known V4 problem, but just in case. What else I can check? I assume the problem is within 8-pin power board; could it be somewhere else? Thank you in advance.
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Original QCX
The QCX was returned to me as "Not Working." I set it up on a 12vDC battery and dummy load. Then used a signal generator and found that the QCX was receiving a signal. Also, using another radio (FT-891) I transmitted and the 891 received the QCX signal. Next I put in on the osciliscope and found that the output was 1V peak to peak. At this point I checked Q1, Q2 and Q3. All were functioning properly. Here I began checking the IC's. The pins I did not list here are within specs. The ones listed were not. IC5 pin 5 (2.28) is actually showing 12v IC5 pin 8 (11.67) is 2.55 IC6 pin 3 (1.63) is 2.66 IC6 pin 5 (1.55) is 11.67 IC6 pin 8 (11.67) is 2.66 IC7 pin 3 1.99) is 2.60 IC7 pin 5 (1.89) is 11.67 IC7 pin 8 (11.67) is 2.66 IC8 pin 3 (0.65) is 2.57 IC8 pin 5 (0.65) is 2.57 IC8 pin 8 (11.67) is 2.60 IC9 pin 3 (0.65) is 4.49 IC9 pin 5 (0.67) is 11.67 IC9 pin 8 (11.67) is 2.56 IC10 pin 5 (4.21) is 11.67 IC10 pin 6 (3.94) is 5.94 IC10 pin 8 (11.67) is 5.90 This is as far as I got. Sorry for the 1st email. I have torn the bicep in my left arm and probably took too many pain killer before I emailed.. Hi Hi Your help will be most appreciated... Thank You Ron Pearson KA5HZV
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Do any of the commercially available hand microphones for existing QRP radios work with the new QMX SSB? Or perhaps pre-wired adapters for those mics already in the marketplace? Bill W3WJ
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QMX Feature Request
17
#building
#qmx
#QMXplus
Gents, Just finished build of QMX+. Everything works perfectly from first power-up. Glad I watched Hans' video. The 6-layer board really does take a lot of heat to solder properly. Power is a little low - about 3W on most bands, compared to 4W from my QMX but that doesn't make much difference. One feature would be handy... I find that the QMX goes into SWR protection before my ATU10 has a chance to tune. I have to manually turn off protection when I want to tune a new antenna and/or band. How about when turning keyer speed to zero, in addition to going to straight key, set power to 50% and turn off SWR protection. 73, Glen W6GJB
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WSJT-X Download
11
2.6 on my Win 10 machine receives great with new QMX Plus but can’t get it past a hamlib error. Tried it with QDX that worked fine some months ago and it does the same error. Tried to download but link to Princeton.edu is broke. Looks as though only site is SourceForge. That requires some registration and other manipulation. That safe place for download or is there other programs for FT-8? Think I still have WSJT-X on a Linux machine but I’m not so good Linux. Just an old guy who started life with tubes but love this new fangled stuff! 72/73 Jim w0nkn
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My QMX+ is awesome!
2
I’ve had my QCX+ up and running for a couple of weeks now at home, and have made many QRP qso’s on it and a OCFD. I find the hobby so rewarding using a new language I learned recently, and using a rig that I built! Thanks goes out to QRP Labs for great kits! Anyone can build these kits with patience and a hot iron…if I can, you can! Can’t wait to get outside here in Northern Minnesota with the QMX, Spring is just springing up here. Thanks Hans! 72/73 -- Trevor (N0YMA)
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Hello, I recently just fished putting my QMX Rev 4 kit together with the windings necessary for 12v input. As I was going along I verified I all continuity checks as instructed and verified no pads were bridged. Upon attempting to power on the device, I connected my 12v power supply to the barrel connector. The screen immediately lit up and I had black rectangles across the top half of the screen. A second or two later I started seeing smoke, heard a pop, and the screen went dark. Upon further inspection, I was able to discern that the Q108 MOSFET on Plug-in PCB #1 blistered and exploded. The L101 inductor nearby also looks a little singed but the enamel coating does not appear to be compromised. I do not see any other areas of the device that appear to have been compromised or damaged. I was wondering if anyone may be able to assist with what actually went wrong here. I have ordered a new power supply board as well as a replacement MOSFET to try my hand and replacing the bad component. My current theories on what went wrong are: I am missing a bad solder joint somewhere that caused the issue, still attempting to find one if so. It's still unclear why the MOSFET would blow in this case as it's rated for 20V and my power supply used is only capable of 12V out. MOSFET AO0415A Data Sheet There is a step in the instructions that says to bend a tab of the LCD screen at about 45 degrees to clear the L101 inductor. I noticed that this appears to have been discolored possibly due to heat. There's a good chance that this tab was not bent quite enough and made contact with the top face of the L101 inductor, though I don't think the top face is conductive. This could have resulted in a short to ground? My winding on the RWTST Transformer is somehow incorrect. Image upon powering up. Seconds before smoke and pop. Note: I did not press the left dial in, the screen lit up as soon as power was supplied to the barrel connector.
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QMX 1_00_027 firmware WSJT-X would not work with the choice of the QMX as the transceiver. Kenwood 480 did work. CAT button works. I did select the QMX sound input and output in Ubuntu on my Dell. WSJT-X was set to full power as was the Ubuntu sound output. On TX there was a full bar under the A in the QMX display. The QMX was set to digital mode. I called CQ on 20 m, which was active at the time and also tried to answer CQs to no avail. I was using my EFHW in my shack. I have worked 131 countries with it and a Icom 7300. I thought maybe I might have blown my finals in some way. I connected to the QMX with Putty and went to the Hardware Test section. With supply voltage of 11.3V I tested every band by pressing the T key on my keyboard for TX and have the following results. A dummy load was attached. 15m 5.2w 17m 4.2w 20m 4.7w 30m 4.1w 40m 4.4w 60m 5.1w Since I have output on all bands with this test, I assume I didn't blow the finals. The QMX seems okay and I should just keep trying with WSJT-X. I do have a question about the display above. The status of the 3.3v SMPS says "SMPS" while the status of the 5v SMPS says "OK." Should the 3.3v status also say "OK?"
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QMX repair and diagnosis by W1NC
3
Shout out to Jeffrey Moore W1NC for the excellent service and quick turnaround on my problematic QMX build. He has it up and running and fixed all my build problems. Lessons learned. I can't say enough about how delighted I am. I didn't want to have to attempt to build a second kit to correct my mistakes. He had found my soldering issues plus replaced the blown CPU. I am looking forward to my first CW contact with 5W on this machine. Bill Buck, KJ5IVB
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QMX pre-build 97775 has arrived
2
Hooked up power, speaker, paddles and antenna. Powered it up, looked for and found the VOX and turned that on, looked for and found how to change from straight key to paddle, changed speed to 17 wpm, and we’re off to the races. 4.5 watts out on 40 meters with the 9V Bioenneo (9V build). What a blast. Worked N2TTL in Florida and was spotted by Germany from one of my CQ’s. I have not even opened the PDF for the manual, although I have downloaded it. So far, everything I have needed to change has been discovered by scrolling through the menus. Hans, you’re a genius. The user interface is fabulous and intuitive. I’m no rocket scientist…I am an engineer. And if I can get the hang of this without opening the manual, then you did it right! THANK YOU!! Mark Lunday, WD4ELG Greensboro, NC FM06be wd4elg@... http://wd4elg.blogspot.com SKCC #16439 FISTS #17972 QRP ARCI #16497
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Hey everyone, I recently bought a ready-assembled QMX after my DIY attempt didn’t quite work out (let’s call it a “successful failure” ?). Funny enough, I had no issues building the QMX+, QDX, or even the QCX Mini before. With the assembled QMX, I’m getting a continuous tone every 700Hz on the 40M, 17M, and 15M bands. All the other bands are working fine. Here’s what I’ve tried so far: Factory reset Upgraded to the latest beta firmware Tested with different batteries and power supplies Swapped USB cables Connected to both a laptop and an iPad running iFTX One key observation: these unwanted tones only appear when an antenna or dummy load is connected. Without any load, the issue disappears. That makes me lean toward a hardware issue—maybe something in the PA section or related to RF feedback. I’m attaching some test results in case anyone spots something I may have missed. The timeslots on the JTDX without noise is when I disconnected the dummy load. Any thoughts, suggestions, or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance! DL7EDU - LU5VQV
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QM
Stan, Thanks for the tip on using the QMX at 1/4 power to set the tuner after a band change. That works and now I don't get the dreaded "S" after the frequency. I don't intend to use the QMX in the shack but I wanted to do something to see if it worked before I introduce more variables in the field. Probably use a Wolf River Coil in the field. I also have an EFHW to try. I am learning more each day. Jim W0RLD
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QMX+ with 100 amp/hour lithium iron battery
26
Just about to finish my QMX+ build and I have a voltage question. The kit was built for 12 volts. I have a 100 amp/hour lithium iron battery for vhf base station emmcom backup. At full charge, its just north of 14 volts. Would it be wise to install a buck converter in the battery box to limit voltage out to 12 volts for the QMX+? Thanks in advance - I really don't want to fry this little gem. -- Jim, W7EZN 73!
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Image Name
Sat 8:39am
Sat 8:39am