I hope you and all the other builders have succes in finishing the Mini, this rig is so much fun.
I had another nice afternoon in the sun yesterday. There are no summits where I live, so I drove my e-Bike to a dune area nearby (= ONFF-0816), only taking the Mini 17m and my Fuchs antenna (with the 20m extension), a 12V Battery & the “clothespeg” paddle.
Can I make you “mountain people” jealous with the view I had all afternoon ?
Again, only one QSO on 17m (RA6AJ).
But after I switched to 20m, I worked 7 stations, including one DX (NT2A), that is 5800 km with only 4 Watts, amazing !
Dear Luc,
I am sure you know Peter, VK3YE. He also loves to try new equipment while enjoying the view to the ocean. I have watched his video “Amongst the kilowatts” so many times and still have to laugh when the Italian says: “5 watts qrp? IMPOSSIBLE!” [Amongst the kilowatts: 14 MHz SSB QRP DX with a delta loop - YouTube]. Enjoy!
73 de Peter, DO4TE
I have built already 2 QCX (old design) on 40 and 20 m. I have a lot of fun with them especially during contest.
I have built a new QCX mini at the end of 2020 (1st batch) on 17 m : no problem and the small size is really impressive : a wonderfull engineering effort from hans for assembling so many functions inside a so small box
but
I have received 2 new QCX mini kits for 40m and 20 m in february (2nd batch) … and I am stucked at the I-Q balance step (see PA9CW post dated 1st march). The TX are working fine (4.5 watts at 12v), BPF step ok with C1 at the middle position, but no effet from R27 for I-Q balance, and R17/R24 for phase LO/HI. The RX are working OK except that no side band rejection ; the CW filter is working well ; I have made some CW QSO on 20 m but no side band rejection.
I have now to follow the troubleshooting instructions, by following step by step the signals for the I and Q channels ; anyway a very instructive process !
In yestеrdаy SOTA activation LZ/RO-072, I used my qsx mini 20 again, at 30 and 20m. No problems 11 + 11qso, ant end fed ant .Now is my favorite portable radio
…and your xyl thought: - Hmmm, it’s a perfect weather for Martin to paint the appartment or assemble that piece of furniture we got from a well known Swedish company
You know my XYL?.. Clean clean bathroom siphon, learning for school with junior, furniture not Swedish - all homebrew but bed needs headrest to be mounted. And some overall tidy up is also quite urgent. Well, you have to set priorities,
73 Martin
I noticed an update on the qcx mini from Hans on youtube, talking about problems caused by the 5v sub regulator included with the first batch of kits. Worth viewing. QCX-mini update and test jig - YouTube
Just finished the mainboard today. Very low tolerances! (As I like it, customization of standard components included) When you solder with your kids, RTFM first!
To reposition the plug sockets is an ugly job. Make only one or two solder joints and check if the sockets fit the compartment.
Well, I’m quite happy that my first thread to reach 100 posts has been so interesting and informative. Thanks to everyone who posted their ideas, experiences and mods. I’ll let someone else decide if there needs to be a part 3. With the way the QCX Mini is selling, I wouldn’t be surprised.
73 de OE6FEG
Matt
