|
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
|
|
Hi all, someone stated elsewhere, that the QMX+ was a good rig for contest. Not really I think. I just used it in the CQWPX as well as my Flex 1500. Well the waterfall is a + for the flex ( I dont want tb buy more hardware to have one for the QMX) and changing the filters directly on the Hercules console is way quicker. I have not updated to the SSB software yet. The 300 hz filter is vy wide on the high side. Strong signals can be heard widely. Nothing after 0 beat. Also strong signals seem to saturate the rx and that was a problem especially on 40 m CW clicks are not nice but that is known. 160 m when the band is used above 1.840 is not workable as all stn from below have a similar signal there again. And then I have still to figure out how to set up the AGC. The hang time on strong signals is too long and that makes life difficult. On the positive side I prefer the audio sound of the QMX+ to the flex. I dont't want to be too critical and I never had a newer state of the art rig to compare. Years back I had a TS 830 and liked that. S next up is the region 1 FD for the QMX+ -- Martin DK3UW
|
|
QMX+ with Talent battery. ATU 10 for Sale
4
#antennatuner
#ATU
A factory assembled ( Nov 2024) QMX+ with GPS and case. Talent battery YB 1201100 connecting cable with diode for Voltage reduction to 12V and ATU 10 by N7DDC complete in ufb condition. Tested for FT8 successfully. N4AN@....
|
|
Firmware suggestion for QMX/+
6
Having just had a panic attack because I thought the LPF wasn't working on my newly constructed QMX+ I have a suggestion for an improvement. Would it be possible to add warnings or even totally disable diagnostic features when they are blocked from operating correctly? For example, on the LPF sweep screen when practice mode is turned on. Just in case anyone else is like me and can't spot the blindingly obvious - The LPF diagnostics can't work if the transmitter is disabled meaning that you just get a flat trace. In my case, I'd turned on practice mode because I was messing about with a plug-in GPS then spent some time trying to work out why my LPF traces were flat on all bands but everything else seemed to work. 73 Mark 2E0OIW (Apologies if there's already a thread somewhere that I've missed)
|
|
SSB Calibration killed output drivers?
4
Can the SSB calibration tool kill the output drivers? My newly built QMX+ was working perfectly until I ran the SSB calibration routine. After that, as soon as the main power regulator kicks in the transceiver pulls a lot of current before quickly locking up or shutting down. It didn't take much detective work to determine that the output drivers were the culprit and at least one of them had gone practically short circuit. Luckily I'd ordered some spare output transistors so I changed them all to be on the safe side which fixed the problem but now I'm slightly worried about trying the tuning again. (Hans - any chance you could work out a way of fitting those drivers on a satellite PCB? The ground pins are a real pain to clear properly and resolder) NB my QMX+ passed all the other tests and had a dummy load attached so should have been fine. I will admit to leaving it unattended though because it was taking ages! Has anyone else experienced anything similar? Mark 2E0OIW
|
|
Iam working on the 10 watt amp and I need a little better understanding of the power input it will need. I have a Smart Power Attenutator that will give me a 0 to 15 db reduction. I am not sure about the rquirement of the level of rf in watts (mili watts ?) for a drive level. My QMX+ shows average of 3 to 3.8 watts across the bands and I beleive this is just a little more than this little amp needs. Any help, thoughts, or other welcome, but be kind to an old gyser. Thanks all -- 73 ChuckR
|
|
QMX+ Rev3 SSB FW Unable to tune unless I set "Band Limits" to None or "RX outside band" to ON
4
#tune
#QMXp
#QMXplus
#troubleshoot
FW on radio: v1_02_000 I've run into a few issues with my QMX+. Initially, I had to repair some bad connections on T507 because I wasn’t getting a power reading. Before fixing the power issue, I was able to receive just fine and tune the VFO without any problems. However, after powering the unit down one night, I found that I could no longer tune beyond the lower bands. It typically gets stuck on 160M and won’t let me tune outside the 1.8–2 MHz range. The volume and tuning knobs show no unexpected activations in Diagnostic Mode via PuTTY. I can tune up and down within the 160M band reliably, and the encoder appears to function correctly—there’s no skipping, jumping, or erratic behavior. I can also scroll through the menus without any issues. Under the oscilloscope, the tuning knob generates a pair of clean quadrature square waves when turning left and a different set of waves when turning right, using two probes. Interestingly, if I enable Diagnostic Mode—either via the front panel or PuTTY—I can switch between bands and transmit. In this state, every PF (PF0–PF5) activates as expected, and I see a reasonable SWR (~1.10) and power output that matches what my Daiwa CH-501H meter shows when connected to a 100W 50Ω dummy load. So, the radio is clearly capable of tuning to other bands and transmitting on them—just not via normal VFO operation. I’ve tried multiple factory resets, making sure to select “QMX+ 160–6m” with the left gray button. I also tried downgrading from v1_02_000 to v1_00_27 and performed factory resets at each step. None of this has resolved the issue. Question: Is there any kind of feedback loop or protection mechanism that would prevent the processor from allowing band changes or tuning beyond 160M, except when in Diagnostic Mode? Thanks in advance for your help, -Juan
|
|
QMX+ Rev3 SSB FW Unable to tune unless I set "Band Limits" to None or "RX outside band" to ON
2
FW on radio: v1_02_000 I've run into a few issues with my QMX+. Initially, I had to repair some bad connections on T507 because I wasn’t getting a power reading. Before fixing the power issue, I was able to receive just fine and tune the VFO without any problems. However, after powering the unit down one night, I found that I could no longer tune beyond the lower bands. It typically gets stuck on 160M and won’t let me tune outside the 1.8–2 MHz range. The volume and tuning knobs show no unexpected activations in Diagnostic Mode via PuTTY. I can tune up and down within the 160M band reliably, and the encoder appears to function correctly—there’s no skipping, jumping, or erratic behavior. I can also scroll through the menus without any issues. Under the oscilloscope, the tuning knob generates a pair of clean quadrature square waves when turning left and a different set of waves when turning right, using two probes. Interestingly, if I enable Diagnostic Mode—either via the front panel or PuTTY—I can switch between bands and transmit. In this state, every PF (PF0–PF5) activates as expected, and I see a reasonable SWR (~1.10) and power output that matches what my Daiwa CH-501H meter shows when connected to a 100W 50Ω dummy load. So, the radio is clearly capable of tuning to other bands and transmitting on them—just not via normal VFO operation. I’ve tried multiple factory resets, making sure to select “QMX+ 160–6m” with the left gray button. I also tried downgrading from v1_02_000 to v1_00_27 and performed factory resets at each step. None of this has resolved the issue. Question: Is there any kind of feedback loop or protection mechanism that would prevent the processor from allowing band changes or tuning beyond 160M, except when in Diagnostic Mode? Thanks in advance for your help, -Juan
|
|
QDX Low Receive but Xmit fine with OSX
3
Thank you Nick. I saw that in some messages but didn’t know how to get in and gain access to change it. I wanted to use the terminal program you suggested but getting there was a yeoman’s feat. I first had to install a number of programs to even install PuTTY for OSX. The first one was Xcode which was almost 30GB only to find out I didn’t really need to. I really only needed to download Developer Tools for Xcode, then something called Quartz and then one called Maxports. Then it was just a matter of launching the PuTTY desktop icon on the Mac, fill in the proper blanks on the GUI (Quartz provided this for PuTTY) and away it went. There is a step by step tutorial on how to install PuTTY for OSX - https://phoenixnap.com/kb/install-putty-on-mac I raised every band to 70 from 54 and although it's still near the bottom of the range (about 1/3 scale) it's much much better. I’m sure folks a lot more familiar with using a Terminal program to make all kind of changes, would have breezed right through this. You pointed me in the right direction which I really appreciated. 73’s. John/K7RLD
|
|
I finally powered up my CMX+. On 60m and 30m, I get a full 5W output, but on the other bands (80m, 40m, 20m), there's barely any output. There are also some fairly loud birdies on 40m, mostly. I tried adjusting some of the toroid windings, but saw no difference in power output for 80m, 40m, or 20m. Any ideas where I should look first regarding the low power output levels? Should also mention the firmware update went smoothly no problems at all. Dave
|
|
My next CW practice session will be May 30 at 18:00 EDT / 22:00 UTC on 20 meters. 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. Details: Date - May 30 Time - 18:00 EDT / 22:00 UTC Band - 20 Meters 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 call sign. 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_._,_._,_
|
|
I have read every post I can find on this topic. Thank you Hans, Stan, Ludwig and others - your information has been very helpful. I am trying to pinpoint a Low power out or No power out problem and am pretty sure that it is a LPF problem, but before ripping out toroids (I glued them down with E600 adhesive), just need some confirmation I am on the correct path - Readings from the Hardware Test Page follows: Please note - all readings regarding input voltage (11.0 vdc), Idle Amps (.055A), 3V3, 5V and Bias are all in the green. SWR is into a 300 Watt Dummy Load. Band Watts SWR Amps 160m 5.7 1.08 30.4 mA 80m 0.0 1.7 30.4 mA 60m 0.0 1.7 30.4 mA 40m 2.0 1.06 30.4 mA 30m 0.4 1.15 30.4 mA 20m 3.1 1.09 30.4 mA 17m 2.8 1.11 30.4 mA 15m 4.8 1.05 30.4 mA 12m 2.7 1.12 30.4 mA 10m 3.2 1.11 30.4 mA 6m 0.0 1.74 30.4 mA I have verified the output wattage on an external meter and they are close. The regulated power supply shows 0.55A at idle and .639A on transmit. My plan is to (again) reflow the solder joints around L512 & L508, as well as around L514 & L507. Also do the same around L513, L510 & L509. Conduct the same procedure for L519, L523 and L520. The diodes have been verified as being placed in the proper direction & location. Is there anything else that I might be missing that should be checked. TIA -- Michael, KG5UMH
|
|
Classic QCX Transmitting 500hz below VFO on Receive
4
Good afternoon! Just as the title says - when my QCX is powered on and hooked to an antenna my other radios are picking up a tone 500hz below the VFO of the QCX. Can this be eliminated? I did try re-aligning.
|
|
Hello. I'm assembling a 50 watt power amplifier for use with a QCX+ that I assembled last month, for the 80 metre band. I have very high harmonics at the output of T3 - as a result, I get only about 9.3 watts out when running at 13.8 V. Output from the LPF looks OK on the 'scope. I found the excellent videos by NA5Y which shows the output of T3 should be much closer to a sinusoid than what I get. I also found the discussion with KO1KR in August of 2020, but unfortunately I can't see his scope photos so I don't know if he had the same problem. I've since skimmed through the many discussions on this forum but haven't found the same issue exactly, though I did check out some of the suggestions given here. I found the amplifier took 67 mA with R5 fully CCW - I adjusted R5 till the amplifier drew about 70 mA with the QCX+ key-down in practice mode. Here are my scope traces: 0092 is the gate drive, yellow is Q1 gate, purple is Q2 gate - all is well here. 0090 is the drain voltage, Q1 in yellow and Q2 in purple - these look like there is oscillation ? 0091 is the voltage at the output of T3. This has a lot of third harmonic and doesn't look like the waveform NA5Y showed at this point. (QCX+ was set for 3.520 MHZ , amplifier connected to a dummy load.) I thought that perhaps my bench power supply is doing something odd when the amp is drawing power, but I probed the 12 volt line right at the barrel connector and the 'scope showed almost no disturbance of the +12 v supply. In frustration, I observed the output of T3 with the 'scope set for a long capture - it almost looks as if the distortion grows with time, for the first few tens of microsceconds the scope showed a small but sine-ish waveform, which over the span of a few hundred microseconds got wigglier and wigglier till it developed into the mess seen in my scope capture 0091. I've checked DC continuity to the windings of all the transformers and coils. I did find a bad joint on the primary of T1 but I cleaned it up and can now get power out of the amplifier. I haven't yet checked bias on all the 1N4007 diodes but the input looks quite sinusoidal at R3 closest to the input. The few watts the amplifier does produce look OK at its output. The QCX+ makes about 4.3 wats into a dummy load (43 V peak to peak) at 13.8 V DC. I'm assembling these units for a friend, and I had really hoped to have them ready for Field Day this year. The instructions are excellent and I have followed them closely. What can I look at next? Bill VE4STW
|
|
43 or 61 mix on 6m QDX-M?
4
I'm going to be modifying a QDX-M that was "factory" built for 10m to be used on 6m. I plan to use QMX+ values for BPF and LPF. But I believe the existing T1 transformer is a 43 mix Binoc, and I know the QMX+ and most high band QDXs now use 61 mix. Thoughts on the mix for 6m? Should I leave the 43 as installed, or will I need 61 to get decent power and /or efficiency on 6m? I know a few have built QDX-Ms for 6m, but some have left out which mix binoc they used. I also see some posts about simulations done, but the associated pictures are long gone. Any data or thoughts are appreciated -Nate N8BTR
|
|
QMXP QMX+ device suddenly shut down and dont turn on
9
#QMXp
#QMXplus
Do not apply over 12.0 volts to the QMX+, that's what you should do. You blew the the SMBJ13A protection diode at D110, a big rectangular surface mount thing near the power connector. Shown in the lower left corner of the first page of the schematics. It starts conducting when it sees around 15 Volts. If you remove it from the board, the rig will probably start working again. But you won't have over-voltage protection, and must be very careful not to exceed 12.0 Volts. I recommend you order a replacement, Mouser has it, part number 652-SMBJ13A. Jerry, KE7ER On Fri, May 30, 2025 at 06:44 AM, Melih wrote:
|
|
QMX+ and DTR/RTS like CW keyering
6
Hello dear all and devs, Several hams on our side have equipped themselves with the QMX+. Some would like to know if it would be possible to add a few lines of code to the firmware so that when PTT is triggered—either via CAT or through DTR/RTS emulation—and the QMX+ is in CW mode, it would transmit a carrier. From our tests, this already works in Digi mode, where a tone is sent through the sound card emulation. However, in CW mode, when PTT is sent via CAT, the radio does switch to transmit, but no signal is actually emitted. It might work if the software sent a tone via the sound card, but most CW software assumes that PTT alone is sufficient. This request is therefore aligned with improving compatibility with most CW-capable software (e.g., fldigi in CW mode with PTT via CAT or RTS/DTR). One of the advantages of operating in CW with the QMX+ is also the ability to reduce receive bandwidth, onboard decoding, breakin etc. We believe only a small firmware adjustment would be needed to have the carrier generated automatically, since the radio already enters transmit mode via CAT PTT. Adding RTS/DTR handling would enable a simple and widespread configuration method for this kind of operation. Otherwise, some have considered building interfaces using FT232 chips and optocouplers, but it would be unfortunate to require extra hardware when just a few lines of code might suffice. Perhaps the addition of a CW submenu to automatically enable the carrier when PTT is activated? Thank you in advance.
|
|
as I was directly asked here are some pictures of what I used to make mine. -- Martin DK3UW
|
|
QMX Kit problems
7
My parents got me the QMX 80-20m kit as a present for getting my license in Australia. This is my first time doing something like this but the challenge was very fun here are my problems- 1. when the case is off, the radio will turn on but half the buttons don't work properly and the screen is so bright that I can hardly see the text. eg turning up or down the right-hand knob will always increase the frequency or setting number. The right-hand knob also won't click down and no settings are saved upon restarting the radio. 2. when the case is on, the radio draws power (about 0.3A at 12V) but only when pressing down the left-hand knob, after letting go no power is drawn and it stays off. I have looked over the instructions and schematics several times, just want some advice on how I can fix this. Thanks VK3AUN
|
|
QMX+ manual and/or a "cheat sheet"
5
I just got around to using it, it has sat on my desk for around a year. Maybe I am just overlooking it, but is there a manual for the QMX+? I can only find the one for the QMX and they are different. Also, is there a cheat sheet out there for it? -- Wayne S. KF7RCM
|
Image Name
Sat 8:39am
Sat 8:39am