QRP Labs QMX+
Ongoing reward for learning Morse code
Worthy of a name but so difficult
QuaMaX - Was the best I could come up with. May be read as Quality to the MaX +. Or maybe just QMaX or MaX Q.
With the QueMaX +Plus added to our QRP kit,
It has:
Quality
engineering for
Maximum usage from an
eXperienced radio designer
+Plus extra bands, features and space to develop.
Our built radio kit ordered has the following options
The built QMX+ kit itself 125 + $60 = $185 + A fine well supported bank for the buck radio
Enclosure ($25) 2.1 barrel plug ($1.00)= $21 The best protection insurance is a good case
2.1mm power plug with 20cm wire (+$1.00)= $211 To put on battery
QLG3 GPS/GNSS Receiver module (+$21.00) = $232 Optional GPS module for future digital option
50-ohm 20W Dummy Load kit (+$8.50) = $240.5 Dummy load for antenna work
QMX+ Dev kit (+$8.00) = $248.5 Board to add internal battery, amp/speaker, Tuner
CR-2032 memory backup battery Bought 9/27/24 and left in pkg until radio is received.
Postage $16 Fedex = $264.5 - To get it from there to here.
Adjustable and Self-Adhesive feet Third party leg to stand on
Third party leg stand
We made our QRP CW choice after much research
My hunt for a cw radio has been a long journey and has made a large and complicated spreadsheets. Radios I liked are the Xiegu G90($450), the Venus SW3B($188) and especially the LNR 2024 MTR-3B($350). But there is a new well reviewed kid on the block. The QRP-Labs QMX+ SDR($211 built board) radio has so many features for such a small price, its large set of band choices, adjustable filters, future ready features, room inside to add my battery, and later a amp/speaker, and a possible tuner. With our finances and full features of this well reviewed radio, I cannot ignore it. I could have gotten a QCX+ for a more than half the price, and it would do CW fine, but for a bit more a bit more than double the price of a already not bad price, I may possibly have access to SSB in the future for emergency use if it is ever needed.
It's has been especially fun to consider the 2024 LNR-3B because of its pure simplicity, fine features, expected band choices, and the quality, certainly a radio worth owning. The SW-3B even with its $188 price did not have the features to convince me to let go of considering the MTR-3B. But for a price of around $350 for the MTR-3B, it commands the look at other radios nearing this price point.
The price of the QMX+ with 12 bands for $211.00 built with the case and features and future expendability (Dev board, digital, ssb) options needed to be considered.
I could do well with one of the 5 band options QMX radios but to get a full 12 band QMX+ radio with a built price of $211 with its metal case,12 bands, adjustable filters, room for my battery on its developer board, is just incredible. Therefore, because of price versus features and future expandability and internal expandability we had to decide on the QMX+ as being the best choice for our household. Like the LNR-3B, there is also a wait for both the built QMX 5 band and 12 band models, perhaps around 3-4 months. But considering the months of research that I put into this decision it's worth the wait for us. It will be motivating to continue to practice as I wait. I hope to receive the build kit around December - January 2024.
Features
CW, Digital, Future SSB,
2 line x 50 char LCD, 12v, Receive current 80mA,
Transmit current 1.0-1.1A for 5W output with 9V supply (around 0.7A for 5W with 12V supply).,
12 Bands 160, 80, 60, 40, 30, 20, 17, 15, 12, 11, 10 and 6m , adjustable filter, GPS,
Room for internal Battery, Tuner, Speaker.
VFO A/B/Split, RIT, Message and Frequency memories, Beacon, Keyer
LINKS
QRP Labs QMX+ 12 band SDR radio About the radio designed by Hans Summers G0UPL Turkey - A personal site of his is Radio, Electronics and Computing Projects by Hans Summers
Shop.qrp-labs.com/QMXP shop page
Possible tuners
https://qrpguys.com/multi-tuner QRPGuys 40m-10m Multi-Z Tuner – $50 Avail in Dec
https://emtech-qrp.com/product/zm-2-bnc-connectors-kit/ $72.00 – $83.50 all bands from 80 to 10 meters. I do not need 80 for portable use.
Antenna Poles to help with a wire antenna if no tree available
https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/WMO-18333-6K WiMo Telescoping Fiberglass Masts 18333-6K Mast, Telescoping, Fiberglass, Portable, 19.69 ft. Max Height, 2.13 ft. Collapsed Length, 0.16 in. Top Tube O.D., 1.57 in. Bottom Tube O.D., Each $69.99
Unger Professional Connect & Clean 7’-24’ Aluminum Telescopic Extension Pole $54
Vertical Antennas - no need for a tree or antenna pole or a loose wire.
MA-12 7MHz~50MHz GP Antenna Shortwave Antenna for HAM SPACE Radio Accessory pe66 | eBay $169 ebay Frequency range: 7MHz (40m band) ~ 50MHz (6m band); You can only use one frequency band `for once time; It is compatible with 7MHz, 10MHz, 14MHz, 18MHz, 21MHz, 24MHz, 28MHz, 50MHz amateur frequency band and it can resonate in non-amateur frequency within the 7-50MHz range. (7MHz requires the installation of an induction coil, while other frequencies require adjusting the rod antenna.)
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review the PAC-12 portable antenna
Aliexpress New Original Pac-12 $113.72 The JPC-22 is $151.00US to me at Amazon Ali Express is "Pac-12" at $113.72US (each with shipping costs) True $43.28US savings at Aliexpress
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Clip of page 21 from: (see full document for history of all the QRP Labs Kits and there design growth. Was A good read if you want to see the design history of QRP Labs and electronics parts in general.
"By Hans Summers, G0UPL / AF7BF"
I’ll summarize it then let’s talk about what’s new in QMX.
The receiver has a double balanced Quadrature Sampling Detector (QSD, a.k.a. Tayloe detector) converting RF to I and Q baseband signals. These are amplified, sampled at 48ksps by a 24-bit ADC chip with very high performance, and the rest of the demodulation is done digitally in an embedded SDR on a 32-bit STM32F4 ARM processor, that implements a superhet receiver with 12kHz Intermediate Frequency. Ahead of the QSD is a simple series resonant tuned circuit as band pass filter, with capacitors and inductor taps selected by a CMOS switch under processor control. The transmit/receive switch can be simple and the Low Pass Filtering is shared between transmitter and receiver sections. The transmitter uses a push-pull power amplifier with two BS170’s on each side. This has the advantage of very low even-order harmonic content, simplifying the LPF design. There are three LPFs, each of which contains two toroidal inductors and four NP0 capacitors. These LPFs are PIN diode switched under control of the processor to select the band. The synthesized oscillator is our good old friend, the Si5351A; which in the transmit mode outputs 180-degree out of phase signals, and during receive provides quadrature output suitable for driving the QSD directly with no need for the old divide-by-4 circuit"
Other circuit points of interest are a 6 layer PC board good for circuit isolation and lower noise and to simplify and add circuit pathways between bottom and top of board. Very helpful and work in hand with SMD's. See more: Page 27
QMX, on the other hand, has several advantages: • Fast 180MHz 32-bit ARM Cortex M4 microcontroller with DSP and Floating Point units • High performance 48ksps 24-bit stereo ADC on receive, which results in a truly excellent performance SSB receiver (already in production in QDX for 18 months) – and should provide much improved performance on transmit • 12-bit DAC controlled AM power modulator. See more: Page 33
If your order is not in this list then it may have been built, calibrated and will be shipped in the next 1 day - so in this case please await the notification email with your tracking number. f your order ID for an assembled kit is before (smaller than) position 1 on the list, it means it has been assembled and tested
March 2024 statistic: we shipped 252 assembled/tested/calibrated transceivers in March, and 210 in April. So 8.13 a week in March and 6.77 weekly in April.
Month New Shipped - Groups.io QRP Labs Link
March 2024 170 252
April 2024 153 210
May 2024 236 154
June 2024 185 177
July 2024 157 286
Aug 2024 140 250
Sept 2024 127 149
Oct 2024 159 249
Nov 2024 158 183
See My Build Queue at spreadsheet below:
12/13/24 33 12/13 Position 33 now that 31 units have their new feet installed. Build avg. 8.93. Should not be hard to get feet installed into the rest on the back-log today and they are no doubt all tested. Average says finished 12/17 BUT based on backlog 12/16 is easy to be the finish date. Then perhaps shipping on 12/17 for an even 3 months completion.
12/16/24 0 More than 33 done. My order # 91594 is off the list and ready for shipping today. "NOTE: If your order ID for an assembled kit is before (smaller than) position 1 on the list, it means it has been assembled and tested. If you have not received a shipment notification email then you should do so in the next day or two; please regularly check your spam folder in case the email is mistakenly put there." My order #91595 is off the list along with MANY others.
Other Radios by QRP Labs
Deluxe 6-band U3S set - GPS-disciplined, 6-band QRSS/WSPR modes QRSS, Hell, Opera, PI4 and WSPR slow-signal modes on any LF, MF, HF or VHF band (all amateur bands from 2200m to 2m). Low pass filter kits for 10, 15, 20, 30, 40 and 80m
QDX-M monoband 5W Digi transceiver - The "QDX-M" (QRP Labs Digital Xcvr-Monoband) QDX-M will be available eventually for any single band from 2200m to 10m
QDX 5-band 5W Digi transceiver - The "QDX" (QRP Labs Digital Xcvr): a feature-packed, high performance, five-band 5W Digi-modes transceiver kit, including embedded SDR receiver, 24-bit 48 ksps USB sound card, CAT control, synthesized VFO with TCXO reference. QDX transmits a SINGLE SIGNAL, it is not an SSB modulator with associated unwanted sideband and residual carrier, or intermodulation due to amplifier non-linearity. QDX outputs a pure single signal. Also available as a 20, 17, 15, 12, 11 and 10m version which produces a little lower output power around 3.5 to 4 Watts at 10m.
QCX-mini 5W CW transceiver - The "QCX-mini" (QRP Labs Xcvr - mini): a feature-packed, high performance, single band 5W CW transceiver kit with WSPR beacon and built-in alignment and test equipment. It is designed specifically for portable operations where small size, weight and current consumption are all important (see Special portable-friendly features section, below). Available for one of 160, 80, 60, 40, 30, 20 or 17m band. Experimental use on 15, 12, 10 or 6m (lower power output and reduced sensitivity).
QCX+ 5W single band transceiver - larger box, easier to build than QCX Mini single band. Optional external only GPS connects to Paddle input for WSPR mode, CAT computer logging.
QMX 5-band 5W multi-mode transceiver - A real upgrade over QCX models adding of 5 bands in choice of 3 band groups with digital modes. Small case, harder to build. Beta firmware supports CW and Digi (all functionality of both QCX-mini and QDX). The "QMX" (QRP Labs Multi-mode Xcvr): a feature-packed, high performance, Band versions: Low; 80, 60, 40, 30 and 20m, OR Medium; 60, 40, 30, 20, 17 and 15m, OR High; 20, 17, 15, 12, 11 and 10m . CW and FSK Digi modes. Optional external GPS to paddle.
* QMX+ 160-6m, 5W multi-mode 12 band transceiver * - Beta firmware supports CW and Digi (all functionality of both QCX-mini and QDX). A another great upgrade with 12 bands, Digital modes, internal GPS option. Possible future SSB. The "QMX+" (QRP Labs Multi-mode Xcvr): a feature-packed, high performance, 12-band (160-6m) 5W multi-mode transceiver. Bands; 160, 80, 60, 40, 30, 20, 17, 15, 12, 11, 10 and 6m CW and FSK Digi modes.
QSX all-band all-mode transceiver - The original stretch kit that has not been made yet, these are the original ideas. The QMX already fills many of, and more of these original feature ideas. QSX (QRP Labs SSB Xcvr) is a 40m SSB transceiver. It will have an optional 10-band (160m-10m) filter module, and an optional extruded aluminium enclosure. This will make an all-band HF all-mode 10W High performance transceiver. The kit inherits all the functionality of the famous QCX single-band CW transceiver kit but adds SSB, AM, FM, PSK31 and RTTY. This will be the lowest cost all-HF radio available but also high performance and packed with features.
QRP Labs Group.io QMX SSB Update update post by Hans Summers to question:
"Chris KB1NLW - Will there actually be a difference between a QMX with SSB and a QSX?
That's a very interesting question. I had previously expected that the transmit performance on SSB for QMX would not be as good as SSB generated conventionally by a quadrature sampling exciter and linear driver/PA chain. This would mean QSX still had value though undoubtedly the gap would be narrow and perhaps indicate an upgrade in QSX spec would be desirable.
However now it seems that QMX SSB performance will exceed what was possible with QSX. Which is a very interesting concept to put it mildly (actually I find it mind-blowing). So what then IS the remaining point of QSX as it was originally planned? Almost all originally planned QSX features will have been delivered by a 160-6m QMX+. A remaining difference is that QSX has 10W output compared to 3-6W on a QMX+.....
I suspect in the end the answer will probably be, that QMX+ does indeed cover almost all of what QSX intended. So as often mentioned here and everywhere, though QSX was a lot slower than originally expected, and many other projects and products occurred in the interim, seemingly to some commentators as unwelcome interruptions, most of these actually became stepping stones towards QSX. And now we may have accidentally taken one stepping stone too far and achieved QSX before its time and name, in the form of QMX+. Apart from that 3dB output power, it's almost all in there, and more.
All of that still doesn't mean QSX has been or should be abandoned. It's not necessary to step down with any degree or sorrow, regret or remorse. On the contrary, QSX having been substantially delivered via QMX+, relieves the demand and pressure for launch of QSX. Which allows the imagination to run wild and free with a much more ambitious product. Which could be quietly developed to a much higher specification, to provide a more substantial differentiation to QMX+. "
To some up the QCX story:
https://www.qrp-labs.com/imitations.html Beware imitation products!
https://www.qrp-labs.com/usdx.html QCX - uSDX
QCX
The QCX transceiver is a high performance 5W single band CW transceiver, designed by Hans G0UPL and produced by QRP Labs. It is NOT open source. QRP Labs is a commercial venture and all software, designs and hardware are proprietary to QRP Labs. Copying in whole or in part is illegal. If you see any QCX clones anywhere (eBay, AliExpress etc) please inform us.
uSDX
uSDX is an SDR transceiver that was originally developed on the hardware of the original QCX http://qrp-labs.com/qcx by Guido PE1NNZ. Later work by Manuel DL2MAN encouraged more interest and the uSDX spun off into its own separate project, with its own discussion group at https://groups.io/g/ucx. uSDX is not affiliated with QRP Labs or supported by QRP Labs. uSDX is an independent open source project. The radios being sold on eBay, AliExpress etc are versions of uSDX. They aren't "clones" because uSDX is open source and any productions of the radio by anyone are legitimate. Having said that, you may question what quality and support you will get. If you look at the uSDX group https://groups.io/g/ucx you will see quite a bit of discussion about this recently including opinions on these particular radios you mention so please take a look there.
The uSDX project was originally called QCX-SSB by Guideo PE1NNZ because he made some hardware modifications to QCX and wrote his own firmware. His github page still has this "QCX-SSB" on it, and since some of these eBay sellers have ignorantly copy-and-pasted, "QCX" appears in the title... which does cause some considerable confusion... since they are not QCX. The word "QCX" should not appear in the title since it is totally inaccurate and misleading. But try telling eBay sellers that...
The uSDX, and particularly its eBay implementations, are not a high performance transceiver. It's very clever technical work by PE1NNZ and subsequent developers, but it has significant performance limitations due to the low CPU power available in the ATmega328 and the limited resolution of the 10-bit ADC in the ATmega328. The eBay implementations also often suffer inferior components and poor design choices which are not compatible with the original uSDX design.
Summery: The QCX is a high-performance proprietary closed-source project using off the shelf components to use software created by Hans G0UPL, the creator of the QCX. The QCX was copied by others and the uSDX community created its own software to use with it and modified it to join the "open source community". Not all open source projects start from open source hardware and software but sometimes come from protected projects. DL2MAN then made his (tr)uSDX version based on the uSDX project with basic but better quality components and software and sells it as the (tr)uSDX. The initial inspiration for the uSDX came from Hans QCX G0UPL of QRP Labs, and has evolved and now used by the community as an open project. Hans has continued to innovate new capabilities to his original QCX project using quality components to do Data and SSB modes in addition to the original CW mode.