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Hi all SSB firmware was released into beta on 17-Mar-2025 after 9+ months of development. Many thanks to everyone who bravely helped test it and patiently provided their feedback and observations. There are now quite a few YouTube videos, forum reports and other social media mentions about on-air successes with QMX SSB. Now that it has been at least 6 weeks in beta and I believe most of the issues have been resolved, it's time to promote it to an official version. I have called this version 1_02_000 and published it on the QMX page http://qrp-labs.com/qmx where I have also published the updated operating manual, which grew from 111 pages to 134 pages. The main changes are: SSB (obviously!) including CESSB, TX Equalization, Mic AGC, VOX, Pre-distortion and and and... Addition of up to two more USB Virtual COM serial ports (up to three total). All of the hardware tests such as RF and SWR sweep, and Diagnostics, are now available on the LCD too. New CAT commands for LCD contents, S-meter, AGC-meter, Power meter, SWR meter, SSB source Complete list (relative to 1_00_027 the previous official version): SSB modes added (USB and LCB), with CESSB, TX Equalization, Mic AGC, VOX, Phase pre-distortion and more Rationalization of menus, grouped into CW, Digi and SSB submenus (now Keyer and Decoder are submenus of CW) Added up to two more USB Virtual COM serial ports (configurable) LCD versions of AF, RF, Image, LPF, Test ADC I/Q sweeps (miniature graph on LCD) New function PA mod. test to check operation of amplitude modulator Diagnostics screens are now available on the LCD interface too Now remembers previous menu location on ALL menus regardless of nesting level Add way of forcing factory reset, press Menu (left) button during power-up Change TX color in diagnostics screen from red to blue, to avoid confusion since red things are errors Added CAT LC command to retrieve LCD contents Added CAT commands SA (AGC meter), SM (S meter), PC (Power meter), SW (SWR meter) Added CAT command SS (get/set SSB input source) Bug fix: PTT P did not work properly Bug fix: Incorrect PA voltage display on the Diagnostics screen 73 Hans G0UPL http://qrp-labs.com https://www.buymeacoffee.com/g0upl
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The antenna connection was installed in line with the PCB, not at right angles to it. When outside within view of plenty of satellites, all LEDS are bright and not blinking. Inside, with no expectation of reception, all LEDS are bright and not blinking. The display always shows: 1_00b.QG2 Powered by STM32 There was no modification to the PCB other than adding a display, which works, and a 3.5mm jack. See photo. Any suggestions? Jim
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T507 and SSB SWR
8
Hello everyone, I've seen in different topics that T507 solder joints should be checked & reflowed in the event of a high SWR spike on SSB transmit... a problem that several of us have mentioned, and in my case, makes the rig completely unusable on SSB. I do understand, looking at the schematic, how this could cause the protection circuit to trigger. What I do not (yet) understand is why this would be a problem that I see on SSB only, and not on CW. I have not witnessed this on CW. A theory I have is that maybe if the joint is just on the edge of continuity, then a higher duty cycle CW signal would temporarily "anneal" the bad joint, but that on SSB you don't have that effect. I am a skeptic about my theory...in any case, I do plan on trying reflowing T507 and associated circuitry. This was a factory assembled unit so I was hoping to avoid this, but I appreciate all that Hans is doing. I'm not complaining at all... just looking for guidance and thoughts so I can get this amazing rig on SSB. God bless, Joel W9JFK
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On May 11 I had a CW practice / rag chew session on 17 meters. I worked two stations: Conditions were poor with heavy QSB. I heard several very weak stations calling but could not copy callsigns. If you were one of them maybe next time will be better. SSN = 70, SFI = 1134, A = 12, K = 2. I was using my Elecraft K3 at 100 watts with my 100 foot sloped doublet. Anyone and everyone is welcome. These practice sessions are intended for operators who are new to CW or they need some practice. IT DOES NOT MATTER HOW POOR YOUR CW IS. Mistakes are OK. Poor fists are OK. Slow speed is OK. Really slow speed is OK. This practice is meant for you to improve your CW. I will do my best to adjust to your skill level. Operate at any power level. If several stations show up, I will operate as a round-table control station. I will do it as a round-table so everyone gets a chance to transmit. Please listen to my directions. My next CW practice session will be TBD at TBD EDT / TBD UTC on TOD meters. I will be away attending FDIM and Hamvention. I will schedule the next session when I get back. I will be manning the Michigan QRP Club both at Club night. Please stop by and say Hi. Also we are offering a special FDIM discount for Michigan QRP Club memberships. Details: Date - TBD Time - TBD Band - TBD How to find me - I will find a clear frequency and call CQ. Go to the Reverse Beacon Network and search for my call sign AB8DF. That will tell you what frequency I am on. Tune your station to that frequency and if you hear me give me a call. If there is a QSO in progress, please wait for a break in the action. Then send your callsign. If I hear you, I will invite you to join the QSO and start a round-table QSO. Reply to this email if you have questions. IT DOES NOT MATTER HOW POOR CW IS Ed AB8DF
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QMX+ WSPR
24
Hi Wei, yes it might well be from the WSPRnet database, the full locator is in there under my registration. That still doesn¡¯t explain why JD38 is being decoded by some and IO91 by others! it does seem to end up as JD38, I take this from the WSPR rocks website which shares WSPRnet and it¡¯s there to behold if you search the last 24hrs with my call sign as the tx. I¡¯m running it into a 40M resonant 1/4wave with a return loss of >20db, 12V supply (real 12V!) and the output is circa 3.6W according to both my test set and vector power meter. At this time I can¡¯t really put my finger on anything outside of the QMX+ box as a suspect. 73 Clive, G4KCM
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Unable to buy a QMX+ on QRP Labs site
12
I have tried for two days to buy a QMX+ but forgot my password and could not log on. So I clicked the "forgot password" thing and the system asked for my email address, saying a link to change the password would be sent, but it was never sent (it was not in trash otSPAM folders!). Because it forgot my password I cannot complete my order!! What do I do now? EuGene Smith KA5NLY
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Feature Request
Hans: A couple of items for your feature request list: 1. (Probably already listed) Use an added USB port to allow PC to access internal QMX+ GPS receiver for time synchronization. 2. In CW mode, add zero-beat command to tune radio to exact frequency of chosen CW sidetone. This could, if enabled, perhaps replace the RIT function. 73, Bill, K2HRT
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Iq enable and demodulated audio both over USB
4
I am wondering if this would be possible with future firmware. Is it possible to have the demodulated audio sent over usb for digital modes (wsjtx, fldigi ect) and IQ output on a separate audio feed from qmx at the same time? Since we have a computer connection anyway it would be nice to have the panadapter open using the IQ feed and digi mode open on demodulated audio at the same time. They can all be linked together via hamlib. Ryan KK6DZB
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QMX+ with ~1000 tone on 12M & 6M: solved
2
Hello, starting from strange LO signal I de-solder one wire of trifilar T401 to IC408 pin 9. To verify I touch every pin of IC 403 and IC402 with the Ohm-meter. Power -on: LO-Signal at BNC vanished and wistles get weaker. Connecting wire of T401 again: Noisefloor at 6m reduces from 25 dB to 5 dB and wistles are reduced. Side-Band of LO at BNC vanished, only LO Signal is detectable. My conclusions: Either I have a fine closure in T401 or a cold soldering point at IC 403. I guess one pin of IC 403 was not connected properly, touching with the Ohm meter established connection. All pins of IC403 will be soldered in case wistles are remainig. vy 73 Michael
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QCX Classic Case WANTED
5
I post a message like this every 6months or so in hope... I'm looking for someone who has an original QCX Classic case they no longer want. This is the BaMa Tech case that was sold by QRP Labs for sometime. The case is not available new any more. If you have such a case or maybe a cased QCX Classic that is fried and dead and you want to sell, please contact me andy.mm0fmf AT gmail.com. I'm in the UK and Brexit etc. has made shipping to and from the UK much more "fun and challenging" now. But if you are in the EU or in the US I have friends/relatives in either that will handle shipping to me making it simple for you :-) Here's hoping. Thanks Andy, MM0FMF
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qmx|+
2
what are the connection to front panel i have lost track of the +12volts
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New QMX Build
2
Just finished my QMX Midband V4 build. I built it for 12 volts. The audio and RF sweeps are almost exactly as in the manual. Battery was at 11.2V Power from diagnostics as follows: 60 meter 5.3w 40 meter 4.3w 30 meter 4.3w 20 meter 4.2w 17 meter 3.8w 15 meter 4.9w I was using my QRPoMeter as the dummy load. Am I at risk if I run it at 12v. My pack is 3 cell Liion 5000mah (12.6 charged) with inline diode to bring it back to 12.0v. Thanks John KY4WW
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qmx+
5
i had a short between the two left front of jp110 i can't wait to see output of tx on a spectrum analzer im 84 this year an so be cool.
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QMX+ Morreitized
Big thank you to Jeff Moore. Fixed and set up my QMX Plus. Works great. Super-fast service. He's a tribute to the ham radio community. You're the best. Gary W0CKI -- Gary W0CKI
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Hello All, In an unfortunate accident, I dropped my QMX+ pcb that I was working on and broke few of the toroids. Visually, other toroid looks ok. Can these broken toroids be salvaged? I Is there any website/ store in US that I can buy the new ones in small quantities( like 2-3 ) instead of buying 25 pcs? What other alternatives can I try to substitute these components? Your help is appreciated. 73 Subash KE2BKS
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New QMX+ Calibration victim
6
Hi, I¡¯ve had my QMX+ for a number of months and had tested the then beta now regular SSB firmware with good results except pretty low output power in SSB. As I had never gotten around to fine tune the LPFs when building it I decided this was the logical next thing. So I fiddled with spreading and compressing turns on the toroids and managed to get all bands to between 4 and 5w output for CW except 160m that was already at 6w. Running 12.0v input and build for 12v Being happy with results I then first tested resetting to factory defaults, and then tested SSB output power. Still max 2-2.5w according to the Bird. I then decided to run the SSB calibration again. Worked fine til perhaps 12m or 10m phase. I then heard some terrible noise from the speaker and saw the QMX crashing with all blocks in the display and turning itself off. I tried powering on again, but won¡¯t start now. Just blank display and current protection on PSU kicks in due to over current. I suspect maybe finals are fried with internal short as result? Jonas 7 maj 2025 kl. 23:12 skrev Stan Dye via groups.io <standye@...>: ? On Wed, May 7, 2025 at 01:38 PM, Wiggle Pig wrote: It¡¯s D503 and D504 These are placeholders for diodes that could be placed across the BS170 outputs, as was commonly done with QDX. Hans included them in the design, but has not encouraged installing the diodes, which he believes are unnecessary for QMX. They may suppress spikes, but they also add additional capacitance to the PA, which may affect it adversely in other ways. There were many posts on this list regarding this topic a year or so ago. Stan KC7XE
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Onboard mic timeline?
4
Hey all! I¡¯m not saying it would be an ideal situation or anything, but does anyone know if/when we will be able to use the onboard mic for ssb operations? I really love the portable nature of my kit and don¡¯t mind using the onboard mic. Thanks! 73 Jeff KB3TVP
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QCX-mini LCD backlight not coming on
10
Just completed troubleshooting a couple of items on the QMX-mini build and the unit now up and appears in good shape except the backlight doesn't turn on. I've rotated the LCD pot all the way which changes character brightness but without the backlight illuminating. I have the backlight set to 'on' in the menu system. Is these somewhere obvious I can trace the issue ? I imagine the signal from the processor to the LCD to turn on the backlight is not getting through but I'm not sure where to start looking, which pin on the LCD is connected to which pin on the processor (IC2). Any help is appreciated.
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#qmx Don¡¯t Use USB-C PD to power your QMX?!
78
#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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Hi, I recently finished building my qmx and after checking for shorts and not finding any I plugged it in but it draws too much current (200mA when applying 7V (which drop to 3.7V)). I can connect to the device via the serial console where it outputs the following data: Supply Voltage: 3.7 V 5V SMPS Status: Error Voltage: 3.34 V Duty max: 85 % Duty cycle: 85 % The 3V3 SMPS is working fine. When testing the 5V SMPS board it seemed to work. Any ideas where I should start looking? Cheers Lieven DF1CN
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Image Name
Sat 8:39am
Sat 8:39am