The best solution I've found so far for feeding good power to the QMX (which really is quite finicky): get a cable that is USB-C + Power Delivery on one side, specifically labeled for 12V 5A; and barrel connector on the other side. Then, any USB-PD power bank, like you'd use for your phone, will deliver that solid 12V power that makes the QMX happy! If you want to back it with a more traditional radio battery like a Bioenno LiFePO4 instead, Tufteln sells powerpole to USB-C PD output that will also work with that 12V/5A USB-C cable. There are lots of ways to solve this, of course, but so far, those are the ones that kept me from having to mod a cable!
Thanks for this info ! Just took mine portable in a park nearby worked New Zealand from Oz. Just using a couple of diodes to drop my battery Voltage…. But your arrangement would be much more stable ! 73 de VK2AOE
@@TheArtofEngineering Honestly, I wish it was as easy to power my larger radios from a USB-C power bank, but there are, as yet, almost no power banks or even laptop USB-C PD power supplies putting out the necessary amperage at 12V to power, say, an FT-710 at full power. But the fact that I can easily power my QMX, future QMX+, and Hermes Lite 2 this way is pretty nifty.
I built my QMX kit last Spring. I had built the QDX-mini a few years back, so I thought "it should be pretty similar". I was wrong to some degree as I found it a fair bit more challenging than the QDX-mini. Things are a bit more crammed on the main board, and you really have to be careful with the approach position/angle of the soldering iron to avoid other SMT parts. I think the most pain involved some of the toroidal transformers as the color of the enamel wire coating used is almost the same as copper making it really hard to determine if it was all scraped off. I had a few bad connections I had to troubleshoot my way through. I did eventually get it working, but the SWR/Power bridge is not that accurate and gets worse on the higher bands. At present I'm not going to mess with it as it has the ears and is putting out 4.2 watts or better running on 12VDC. All I need is to get my antenna up so I can use it as I'm locked on 30 meters at present with a dipole. 73
My QMX was DOA but my QMX plus mostly ok (bar the odd quirky behaviour!). With scraping I now hack it with a blade and sandpaper …. Then for thinner stuff count to ten! 😂 Thanks for the comment. I built my QCX MINI for 40m twice…. Second time lucky. So maybe will give QMX another go? 73 de VK2AOE
Don’t tempt me with another build! Ah man what a sweet rig! Nothing better than seeing that LCD screen flash on after the firmware install. Congrats on the successful build. Did I understand correctly that you don’t have 10 meters in Australia? 73 de KI7QCF.
We have 10m but not 27megs…. It went into 27 (11m band?) first boot up ?? Now it is behaving itself after factory reset and reload of firmware. Worked CW last night Sydney to Adelaide 1000 km plus and very nice receive on 40m (signal RST 579). 73 and thanks for the comment. As for buying rigs…. I buy kits and have avoided the BIG shiny expensive rig in favour of buying boat anchors, kits, parts and test gear…. To “save” money 😂😂😂😂😂 …
@@MidlifeRenaissanceMan he he he…. How you been?? I have been building and nerding it hard…. Alas domestic realities have been ruining my commitment to ham and poor personal hygiene 😝😝. About to start the QRP linear amp now 73 Mr CW.
![Gunna - HIM ALL ALONG [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/w7Wf0h1Q8a4/mqdefault.jpg)
You had me at "Who needs a microphone when you have a morse key". 73 de AI5DD.
Hi hi!! Yes I have no filter on phone so better to keep it narrowed down ! 😝😝 73 OM
The best solution I've found so far for feeding good power to the QMX (which really is quite finicky): get a cable that is USB-C + Power Delivery on one side, specifically labeled for 12V 5A; and barrel connector on the other side. Then, any USB-PD power bank, like you'd use for your phone, will deliver that solid 12V power that makes the QMX happy!
If you want to back it with a more traditional radio battery like a Bioenno LiFePO4 instead, Tufteln sells powerpole to USB-C PD output that will also work with that 12V/5A USB-C cable.
There are lots of ways to solve this, of course, but so far, those are the ones that kept me from having to mod a cable!
Thanks for this info ! Just took mine portable in a park nearby worked New Zealand from Oz. Just using a couple of diodes to drop my battery Voltage…. But your arrangement would be much more stable ! 73 de VK2AOE
@@TheArtofEngineering Honestly, I wish it was as easy to power my larger radios from a USB-C power bank, but there are, as yet, almost no power banks or even laptop USB-C PD power supplies putting out the necessary amperage at 12V to power, say, an FT-710 at full power.
But the fact that I can easily power my QMX, future QMX+, and Hermes Lite 2 this way is pretty nifty.
I built my QMX kit last Spring. I had built the QDX-mini a few years back, so I thought "it should be pretty similar". I was wrong to some degree as I found it a fair bit more challenging than the QDX-mini. Things are a bit more crammed on the main board, and you really have to be careful with the approach position/angle of the soldering iron to avoid other SMT parts. I think the most pain involved some of the toroidal transformers as the color of the enamel wire coating used is almost the same as copper making it really hard to determine if it was all scraped off. I had a few bad connections I had to troubleshoot my way through. I did eventually get it working, but the SWR/Power bridge is not that accurate and gets worse on the higher bands. At present I'm not going to mess with it as it has the ears and is putting out 4.2 watts or better running on 12VDC. All I need is to get my antenna up so I can use it as I'm locked on 30 meters at present with a dipole. 73
My QMX was DOA but my QMX plus mostly ok (bar the odd quirky behaviour!). With scraping I now hack it with a blade and sandpaper …. Then for thinner stuff count to ten! 😂 Thanks for the comment. I built my QCX MINI for 40m twice…. Second time lucky. So maybe will give QMX another go? 73 de VK2AOE
Don’t tempt me with another build! Ah man what a sweet rig! Nothing better than seeing that LCD screen flash on after the firmware install. Congrats on the successful build. Did I understand correctly that you don’t have 10 meters in Australia? 73 de KI7QCF.
We have 10m but not 27megs…. It went into 27 (11m band?) first boot up ?? Now it is behaving itself after factory reset and reload of firmware. Worked CW last night Sydney to Adelaide 1000 km plus and very nice receive on 40m (signal RST 579). 73 and thanks for the comment. As for buying rigs…. I buy kits and have avoided the BIG shiny expensive rig in favour of buying boat anchors, kits, parts and test gear…. To “save” money 😂😂😂😂😂 …
11m used to be a ham band once upon a time….it still is according to my FT101B where _B is for Boat anchor_
@@MidlifeRenaissanceMan he he he…. How you been?? I have been building and nerding it hard…. Alas domestic realities have been ruining my commitment to ham and poor personal hygiene 😝😝. About to start the QRP linear amp now 73 Mr CW.
Try building a flowerpot 6m antenna, simple to build and cheap too. Have used flowerpot 6m for years and work great. Cheers Adam VK2YK & VK5GA
Great idea....I did one for 2m and 70cm so might give that a crack. 73 de VK2AOE