Sticky
#qmx #SSB Firmware beta 1_01_003 release
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#qmx
#ssb
Hi all I updated the SSB beta testing webpage of the brave, here: https://qrp-labs.com/qmxp/ssbbeta.html and released firmware version 1_01_003 to it. These are the changes: Bug fix: Initial value for noise gate samples was 100 (should be max 99) - makes no real difference but it needed to be fixed Added TX indication underlining the A character when transmitting from USB sound card in SSB mode. Note that the two possible states for this indication are a single dot (indicating PTT has been applied and now the radio is in TX mode) and the solid bar (indicating audio is being received from the PC and transmitted). There is no double-dot like there is in Digi mode indicating insufficient volume, because in SSB mode the radio transmits whatever you give it, even if the volume is low. Bug fix: CAT command TQ1; did not cause transmit when in SSB mode. Now TQ1; and TQ0; work properly in SSB mode. Bug fix: Prevent button presses from accidentally activating VOX, which was happening due to sound picked up from the internal (cancellation reference channel) microphone when you pressed buttons right next to it, and that prevented band change because the second click of the double click was ignored because by then the radio was in transmit mode. All fixed! Now you can click buttons however you like and when button clicks are done, VOX is temporarily disabled until your button pushing frenzy is over. Power meter now reads Peak Envelope Power (PEP) when in SSB mode. Previously it was just reading a sampled value (NOT an average); so if the power meter was updated 10x a second, the updates would just randomly pick a value from the SSB amplitude envelope, which was most unlikely to be its peak value. Bug fixL Calibration hung at DAC 1300 when run on LCD. Now the calibration completes properly when run from the LCD. Many thanks for all the feedback so far, SSB in QMX is getting better and better! 73 Hans G0UPL http://qrp-labs.com https://www.buymeacoffee.com/g0upl
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QMX real RTC
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#qmx
Hello OGs, YLs, Question, actually it could be a feature request.. The stm32 chip has an internal real time clock. Wouldn't it be nice to make usable? Currently the clock may be shown on the display ant it starts counting - starting from zero on power-on. Two things would be needed: - software - a settigs menu where the user would be able to set current time without a need of playing with gps - hardware... the diagram shows that cpu's vbat leg is connected right to the gnd... adding small battery there would be required to persist the time on power off. And since stm32's rtc draws some microAmps, some small button battery should suffice. What do you think?
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Mid Band QMX
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#calibration
#firmware
#fldigi
#putty
I just completed loading the new firmware using Putty on my Win11 laptop, I also did the calibration. I took my time and made sure the QMX didn't get too warm, all seems like a success. I have tried BPSK31 and FSQ, it is working well and now to try WSJTX. I have not tried SSB voice as I don't have a suitable mic yet. Randy VE3JO
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Gibberish characters appended onto end of Message 1
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I have programmed my first message into the qmx+, but when I play it back on the air, it appends lots of extra characters at the end. The characters do not appear in the message memory when you view or edit it.
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Tariffs?
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Will USA tariff laws affect the import pricing of Hans’ great radios/kits into the USA?
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New Chat: beta firmware 1_01_003 and PD parameters
#chat-notice
A new chat has been created: Hello Hans, hello guys, I designed my QRX+ for a supply voltage of 9V by appropriately designing the output transformers. I have now also tested the current beta firmware 1_01_003. I assume that the choice of operating voltage is irrelevant for the firmware. Of course, the required calibration was also performed before the tests. Optimal parameters were found in all individual calibration runs. During testing, however, I noticed that the PD parameters on my QRX+ behave differently. The effect of the software switch for phase pre-distortion is reversed, i.e., the ID3 spacing improves when phase pre-distortion = OFF. The CESSB and amplitude pre-distortion parameters have no effect. I also noticed that with a drive level of 900, in addition to the highest output power, the best ID3 spacing is also achieved. Reducing the drive level steadily worsens both parameters. A dependency of the curves as shown in the diagram could not be observed. Any speculation as to why the firmware on my QMX+ exhibits this behavior? vy 73 Juergen dl9jgo By: Goeckeritz Juergen <groups@...> View/Join This Chat Do not reply to this message to post to the chat. You can participate in chats only through the group's website.
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For Sale
I have a nice QMX+ and QDX for sale. The QMX+ has a case and GPS unit installed. Work good. Typical power outputs. It has the SSB software but has nor been calibrated. $185 shipped to CONUS (Lower 48) The QDX has the case as well and also has the typical Power outputs. $90 Shipped to CONUS Email markf1952 at hotmail dot com N5MF
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Message from Jack W8TEE about T41 book
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(For some reason Jack has a problem accessing this group) ======================== All: Al and I have just updated the 3rd edition T41 book. We moved the calibration info from Appendix C to its own chapter (20). The expanded instructions and new software make T41 calibration much easier. We have also updated the narrative in numerous places and have concentrated discussions on the V12.6 release where those changes are important. Some of you are asking yourself: Do I need to buy this update. Truthfully, if you already own the 3rd edition, we would say no. Most of the important changes are discussed on the web site and photos and schematics are available there, too. On the other hand, this is the last change we will be making to this book. Al and I have been at this for almost 7 years now and we're getting a little burned out. For that reason, we are turning this site over to Oliver King, KI3P, and Dr. Bill Schmidt, K9HZ. Al and I will continue to be active relative to the T41, but will leave the details to Oliver and Bill. If you do want the final version of the book, its new cover looks like this: The book is actually available now, but the Amazon ad will not reflect the new cover for about 10 more days. (If you order now, it will be the new version.) If you are attending the FDIM conference this May (coincides with Dayton Hamvention and the conference hotel is about 10 miles away), Al and I will be selling autographed copies on Thursday night (May 15th) at the conference hotel starting around 8PM. We have reduced the price of the autographed copies from $12,500 to $40...which is a deal and less than the Amazon price! If you have a previous copy of the book, bring it along and we will be happy to sign it. This has been a fun project and we want to thanks the hundreds of people have contributed to its improvement over time. We hope that continues long after Al and I are gone. 72, Jack Purdum, W8TEE Al Peter, AC8GY
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Another QMX+ became SSB capable
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Kudos to Hans - the beta was well worth the wait! Thanks again to the folks that helped me earlier this year locate and replace the bad switch. I had not used the little beast that much after confirming the repair, mostly due to time commitments. Did get some good reports on CW, then shelved it until firmware beta 1-01-003 that covered SSB was dropped. The firmware upgrade was straight forward. I constructed two Mic adapters, one for a spare ICOM HM-219 and one for a Heil ProSet Elite iC. Both worked well without adjustments of any kind. First voice QSO was this afternoon on 40M with VA3XV up in Ontario (about 400+ miles). He reported the audio to be as very nice, as good as my 7610. The QMX+ even received a 54 sig report when the QSB and adjacent frequency QRM was not present. Next up configuring it for fldigi - FSQ and other digital modes... and of course portable ops. So far this has proved an excellent and surprisingly full featured little rig. -- Jack Spitznagel KD4IZ FM19oo Parkton, MD
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VarAC V11 is here! (Timing is super)
https://varac-hamradio.com/so/08PO64Srp 73 DE muhsin TA1MHS
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Updated Wiki Page: QMX External Microphone Options
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#wiki-notice
The wiki page QMX External Microphone Options has been updated by Chris <chris.rowland@...>. Reason: Add Headset-Mic with Heil or PC Plugs Compare Revisions
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QMX(+) Build experience, Poor Audio Filter Sweep/RF Filter Sweep/Image Sweep/ADC IQ test and resolution with new PCM1804
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Good evening! Big thank you to Hans and everyone else in this forum! I had a lot of fun building these kits and I couldn’t have successfully completed them without the folks who ask and answer questions here. I wanted to make this post to thank everyone but also to detail some of the problems I encountered, the equipment I used, and also how I resolved them. This is a long post for anyone who’s interested but TLDR: I built 2 QMX+s and 1 QMX and all three needed new PCM1804s. I purchased a QMX+ in May and a couple weeks later got to work. I had built a couple other kits and antennas previously but this was the most involved so far. I was able to make it through the build and load firmware but I couldn’t run all of the self-tests and the audio was loud static. I didn’t have enough experience or equipment to troubleshoot myself but luckily Jeff Moor W1NC reached out and offered to help. See /g/QRPLabs/message/126274 for my original post. I mailed him my QMX+ and he got it back to me in about a week with several fixes. It had several bad joints, insufficiently scraped enamel, a bad PCM1804, and a bad inductor. Thanks Jeff for your knowledge, experience, and willingness to help the community with your excellent service! I’m extremely pleased with the outcome and my QMX+. I used: A Weller 70W digital soldering iron 63/37 Kester .20 solder 30X/60X loupe https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078N34WZR/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 LED Head Magnifier https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07T4KPYN2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Crescent shear cutter/pliers set from Home Depot A couple of different helping hands type devices Solder wick & plunger type desolderer Flux paste I primarily used the conical soldering iron tip with success but in retrospect, I should have primarily used the wedge tip. The head magnifier with 3x magnification, plenty of light, solder wick, flux, and desoldering tool were critical. The loupe was ok but the head magnifier would have been enough. I ruined the side-cutters on solder wick. Pleased but not content apparently because in July, I purchased another QMX+ so that I could use the lessons learned from the first unit and hopefully successfully build another myself. The kit stayed in the box until my wife & kids went on vacation for about a week. Over a couple of evenings, I had a great time building the kit, using all my new knowledge and experience, but when running the terminal tests, I had bad results on Audio Filter Sweep/RF Filter Sweep/Image Sweep/ADC IQ test. I reworked some of my joints but to no avail. Some example scans, before and after 1804 replacement, are attached. With bad PCM1804 I started diving into groups.io posts and determined that maybe I should invest in more test equipment and that I might have a bad PCM1804 chip. I ordered two more PCM1804 chips (just in case I ruined one). I also ordered a QMX because I was more confident in my kit building skills. In the mean time, I also purchased an LCR meter, a TinySA Ultra (for its signal generator), and an oscilloscope. Probably overkill but I had my eye on them for a while. Over the winter holiday break, I built the QMX. I enjoyed and had more confidence in my build but I had very similar problems to my 2nd QMX+ build during self-tests. During this build, I used a grounding strap/bracelet the entire time so I was pretty sure it wasn’t static discharge related. What are the odds I’d have the same problem twice? I found this post /g/QRPLabs/topic/109639794#msg133769, indicating the PCM1804. I did the diagnostic tests from /g/QRPLabs/wiki/37111 and determined that replacing the PCM1804 was my next step. Luckily I had two new PCM1804’s in stock although I previously intended on only needing one. After doing research here and on youtube for replacing SMDs, I got a ChipQuik kit and a hot air rework station. After doing some tests, I decided I would just use the ChipQuik, which is basically easy-mode for low-skill chip removal. My process was basically, remove the c
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Wiki Page: QMX External Microphone Options
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#wiki-notice
The wiki page QMX External Microphone Options has been created by Andreas DM7AK <mail2dm7ak@...>.
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CW Practice / Rag Chew
On 4/04/25 I had a CW practice / rag chew session on 20 meters. I worked two stations and had long chats with them: Date / Time Call Bnd Frequency Mode Power Rec Snt Name SPC# Comments Off 4/4/2025 14:12 K0DCR 20 14.04 CW 100 578 569 Dennis CO K3 at 100 watts 100 ft sloper doublet 14:33 4/4/2025 13:12 WB5UTM 20 14.04 CW 100 599 579 Scot LA K3 at 100 watts 100 ft sloper doublet 14:01 Conditions were OK. SSN = 124, SFI = 178, A = 26, K = 4. My next CW practice session will be April 07 at 09:00 EDT / 13:00 UTC on 20 meters. Anyone and everyone is welcome. This practice is 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 - April 07 2025 Time - 09:00 EDT 13:00 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 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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Swr meter in SSB mode
When I use SSB mode do the 2 m by the USB icon change? Because I'm on an antenna with 1.3 SWR but it's showing much higher when I use SSB mode.
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SWR and PWR does not show lcd
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Hi, I've just finished my QMX+ rev.3 (firmware 1_00_027). Everything seems to be working correctly, except for the SWR and PWR does not show. They don't appear on the LCD, even though I have them enabled ON in the setup. The LCD display is working properly, showing the battery icon and clock, frequency, etc. Any advice would be welcome Thank you so much! 73 Miguel
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ProgRock2 programming??
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I am a newbie and have purchased three of the ProgRock2 units and planned to use them as crystal substitutes for some HC6/U crystals I’m unable to obtain (without waiting a long time for these to be built). Frequencies between 8 and 20 mhz are needed for a WWV receiver I’m restoring. I’ve gone to the QRPLabs site for instructions but unable to follow what I need to do. I’m using a Windows 10 desktop computer and have the USB cable with the proper connector to plug into the ProgRock2 connection. The online instructions appear to be using a Linux app that I can’t find on my Windows computer. What I need is a “cookbook” process for programming the ProgRock2 to the frequencies I need. I realize the output is a square wave and this may be a problem but first I would like to get them set up for my needed frequency before dealing with any square issues. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. Tom N5AMA
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shorted PA on TX, dead SMPSU?
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Hi I built a QMX mid-band, it started up first time and everything seemed pretty normal except for low power output. tx into a dummy load with a 11.9v supply: 60m 9.5v(red) 1.7w 1.04swr 40m 9.5v 2.4w 1.05swr 30m 9.5v 2.4w 1.05swr 20m 9.5v 1.8w 1.10swr 17m 9.5v 1.5w 1.14swr 15m 9.6v 1.3w 1.2swr Thinking the RF out was low, and seeing the low voltage on the transmit diagnostics, I looked at the 4 output transistors, without the washer heatsink. After a few of seconds of tx, 3 transistors were hot to the touch, and one was cool (Q504). I visually checked again for problems around the PA, nothing visible. I was attempting to measure the ground to gate voltage, my hand slipped and the DMM probe shorted something near the PA, my (non-current-limited PSU) made a nice high-current humming sound and now QMX won't switch on, no terminal on USB, nothing. I'm hoping that all I've done is cook one or both SMPSUs? or will it be worse than that? I found a guide to testing the SMPSUs, do we think I should start with that? /g/QRPLabs/topic/qmx_troubleshooting_help/100642561 I'm seeing 12.06v in and 11.30v at the pins of one SMPSU board but nothing else. Any tips or pointers would be appreciated. Hopefully its not just"buy a current limited psu and a new kit". Cheers Dan G7NNZ
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QMX and power bank PD
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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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QMX output is always 2W on all bands
4
Hi everyone, I built the QMX kit configured for 12V operation (the kit was ordered on 13/04/2024), and while everything appears to be functioning correctly, I'm only seeing about 2W of output power across all bands. Here are some data points and measurements I’ve taken: Input voltage to QMX: 11.2V (measured with a Fluke DMM), very stable with minimal drop during TX. Antenna/dummy load: SWR monitor seems to be functional and correspond to nanoVNA measurments. Power display: Only 1 bar (4–5 dots) shows on the PWR display while connected to QRPLabs' 20W dummy load. Measured voltage: The DMM reads ~11V across the dummy load during TX. QMX Console app: Shows 9.5V and between 1.8W to 2W output during TX across all bands. I’m not sure where to start troubleshooting this issue. What would be the best way to begin isolating the cause? For context, I have the following test equipment available: oscilloscope, multimeter, bench power supply and another working QRP radio for reference/testing. Please let me know if there’s any other information I can provide to help identify the problem. I’d be very grateful for any suggestions or guidance you can offer. Thanks in advance for your help! Best regards, Igor — W6ETA 73
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