wythall radio club

Earlier this year Ian M0IDR reviewed the original QCX kit from QRP Labs.  Now it’s been redesigned as the QCX+, which Chris G3YHF reviews here. 

I have added comments from Hans G0UPL of QRPLabs to my original post – these are in italics.

QRP Labs have recently started shipping the new QCX+, a single band CW/WSPR transceiver kit.  Mine arrived carefully packed along with the additional metal enclosure.  

Although the QCX+ as delivered is CW only, the original QCX has been modified by experimenters to enable SSB and digital modes.  The QCX+ is likewise a rig designed for modification – with lots of spare pin headers and a separate development board.  

I built the 30m version, pictured above. 

There is an impressive downloadable manual running to almost 200 pages, covering the build, alignment, operating features, fault finding, facilities for experimenting and more! 

The build instructions are very detailed and easy to follow, with a large diagram illustrating each step.  The proof is that my rig worked first time!!  That was a relief!

I initially checked and sorted all the components, putting them in labelled envelopes to make them easier to find. 

The trickiest part – winding the four section RX transformer (centre top of picture) – is the first task and gets this job out of the way.  Then each type of component is installed in turn.

The silk-screen printed PCB is a delight to work on.  My trusty 25 watt Antex iron was just right for soldering the components to the 2 PCBs.  Although there is more room on these PCBs than on the original QCX, a small tip is required to keep the solder points neat and avoid problems. 

Thanks to Ian M0IDR for advice on this, as the QCX+ was the most complex build I have attempted.

The manual emphasises that the enamelling on the wire used for toroid windings needs to be burnt off during soldering, and that failure to achieve this is the most common reason for a QCX build to be unsuccessful first time. This requires the soldering iron to be applied longer than normal.  Continuity testing for zero ohms across the winding is recommended.  I had a couple of instances where I needed to resolder to completely burn off the enamelling.

In fact, I continuity tested each component before triming any loose wires.  I find my analogue multimeter is better to use for this than a digital one, as the needle flicking right across the scale clearly indicates a good connection.

Alignment is simple process using the rig’s inbuilt test equipment, which includes a signal generator. 

I had two small self-inflicted problems in the build. 

I discovered that I had soldered the ends of one of the RX transformer windings the wrong way round, having already trimmed off the wire.  Luckily, I also found that I had wound one too many turns.  I managed to unwind the extra turn without having to desolder the other 6 connections on this toroid, and then had enough spare wire to solder this winding back on to the PCB.  Phew!

This error arose because I wanted to finish installing the transformer even though it was late in the evening.  The moral is: stop before you get tired!

The second problem was that when I switched the rig on, the LCD lit up but didn’t show the initial ‘choose band’ screen.  A quick check and I discovered I’d omitted to install the microcontroller into its socket. 

The rig in test mode is shown above, before fitting in to the enclosure.  This is a sturdy 4mm/2mm thick with laser etched lettering.  The 2 PCBs – one holding the LCD – join at right angles and slide easily into the enclosure. 

It’s easy to remove the top of the enclosure or slide the PCBs out to make mods to the rig.

The rig is easy and intuitive to use.  As a 99% CW op, I was impressed at how clear the CW signals were in such a small rig.  The 200hz filter must help in this regard, and although it’s a sharp filter there is no ringing. 

With masses of audio gain available, and no RF control, I found winding the ‘VOL’ control back helped bring any weak signals out of the noise.  There is full QSK, although this can be switched off.

Tuning rates are 1kHz, 500Hz, 100Hz and 10Hz – selected by depressing the tuning knob.  This scrolls in a loop – so from 10Hz it goes round to 1kHz.  A long hold on the tuning knob is supposed to enable the cursor to move to the left, i.e. from 10Hz to 50Hz.  However I found it difficult to avoid starting my stored CQ message, which is also activated by depressing the same knob.  

Hans G0UPL: Have a look at menu “7.1 Dbl. click” which defaults to 300 milliseconds; this is the length of time that you must hold a button, in order for it to be recognized as a long press.  If you are having difficulty making the SHORT press that is necessary to move the cursor, then you can increase this value beyond 300 milliseconds, so that the threshold for identifying it as a LONG press, is slower. 

Keyer speed and RIT are available with one and two presses of a button.  There are twin VFOs and memory functions, as well as a message facility and CW decoder.  Many other functions are available and adjustable.

There are sockets to enable CAT control and to connect an external GPS RX to the rig’s GPS interface. 

The rig is specified to deliver up to 5 watts depending on supply voltage.  Using a 13.5v PSU, my QRP power meter read 3.5 watts out (normal power meters don’t give accurate readings at QRP levels).  As I don’t have a variable power supply, I tried the rig connected to a SLAB measuring 12.3v and it delivered 2.75 watts out. 

According to the data sheets in the manual, it should deliver 4 watts at 13.5 volts.  The manual – and discussion on the QCX forum – advise taking a turn off each of the low pass filter torroids in case the cut-off frequency is too low.

Hans G0UPL: About power output… since writing the manual, there have been improvements to the technique of optimizing power output.  It is not merely a matter of lowering inductance so as to increase the cut-off frequency.  It is also necessary to match to the Class-E PA output impedance which is evidently not precisely 50-ohms.  This is a process of trial and error as it can be different in each case.  I recorded a YouTube video on this topic, see https://youtu.be/eN7wER05T-c

Overall, I’m delighted with successfully building this kit and with it’s performance on air.  My first 3 qsos received reports of 549 from Italy and 559 from Germany (another QRP op) – both in response to my CQs – and 569 from Norway.  Later in the evening I worked east coast USA, receiving 559.  I heard a VK, although only S3.  The RBN for my CQ calls gave very good SNR reports.  The antenna was a dipole at about 25 feet.

So I’m looking forward to having some fun on 30 meters with this QRP rig! 

The kit is suitable for someone who has undertaken some basic constructional projects, can solder effectively and wants to move on to something more complicated.  It certainly left me feeling much more confident about tackling an advanced project.

New Foundation licence holders will hopefully soon be on the air, reports Chris G0EYO, our Training Coordinator.

“In our last on-line Foundation course, which finished in May, 9 students completed the course. 

Seven have let us know their results, and 5 passed – the youngest was 10 and the oldest was 80.   Most of our candidates were Midlands based.

We send our congratulations and hope to contact you ‘on the air’ with your new call signs!”

Our next online Foundation Course will start in August 2021.

Please contact Chris G0EYO at  g0eyo@blueyonder.co.uk  if you would like to take the course – more details on our Training pages.

Stuart M0SRZ is the 2021 recipient of Wythall Radio Club’s Lew Williams Shield.

This annual award recognises a member’s progress with CW (Morse Code), and is in memory of Wythall Radio Club’s former CW tutor and President. 

Stuart obtained his Foundation Licence in 2016, followed by Intermediate and Full in the same year.  He took the CW Academy Beginner Course in spring 2019, and has been making great progress ever since. 

Stuart won the Lew Williams Shield in 2020, but his commitment to continuing with the CW Academy course since then means he holds the award for another year.

Stuart tells us: “The CW Academy courses have been instrumental in my progress. However, the vital element is the support, encouragement and example of a club such as our own.

The gentle introduction to the mysteries of Morse, and the inspiring, consistent example of John 2E0XET, began my present endeavour to learn and, hopefully, attain some degree of proficiency.  And that banner is now carried on by the Club’s current CW tutor David G0HVN.  

A history of CW teaching that started with Lew Williams, long before I joined this Club, continues to this day. 

Reading about the CW exploits of many club members provides further encouragement.

I shall try to earn that honour during this year by taking the CW Academy Intermediate course during September/October – and that is going to demand a lot of practice between now and then! ” 

Stuart commends the free CW Academy courses: “They are quite intensive – two online hour-long sessions each week – and you really have to put in the practice every day. If you’re interested take a look at https://cwops.org/cw-academy/“

Latest News from Training Co-ordinator, Chris G0EYO is that the next on-line Intermediate Course is planned for a 28^th June 2021 start and will last for 10 weeks and the next on-line Foundation course is expected to start in August.

Please register your interest now with Chris G0EYO at g0eyo@blueyonder.co.uk

The Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) is now offering remote invigilation in people’s own home for online examinations at Foundation, Intermediate and Full Licence level. You can read further information on the RSGB website here. 

We are not yet in a position to offer paper examinations at the Radio Club.

The RSGB have also permanently removed the need for practical assessments for the Foundation course at this time. Practical assessments at Intermediate level are currently suspended until such time as the Covid lockdown regulations permit their resumption. We hope that they will remain suspended for the duration of the next Intermediate course.

CURRENT COURSES

ONLINE INTERMEDIATE COURSE starting 28^TH JUNE 2021 TAKING NAMES NOW

FUTURE COURSES PLANNED

ONLINE FOUNDATION COURSE starting AUGUST 2021 TAKING NAMES NOW

ONLINE FULL LICENCE COURSE.  We will not be running our own Wythall Radio Club online Full Licence course but I am a tutor on the Bath Based Distance Learning Group’s Full licence course, run by Steve Hartley. Steve will run two courses per year, March and September. Contact me Chris G0EYO on g0eyo@blueyonder.co.uk for up-to-date training news

Wythall Radio Club member Clive M7OCB has been making the most of his new call while out portable on the high ground!

My wife, Penny and I have a static caravan in Cumbria on the edge of the Lake District and spend a good deal of time in the area throughout the year.

We enjoy walking the Fells and sometimes the lower Peaks with our two dogs. Following on from the restrictions due to Covid being lifted we were keen to visit the van for the first time this year.

Keen too to give my trusty Baofeng handheld a chance at some high level QSOs in the outdoor environment!

So to the Lakes at the end of April for 2 weeks. I have become more confident in using my radio and keen to add more QSOs to my Log Book and this trip seemed to be the ideal means to do this.

On the first day we were doing some minor maintenance on the van.  I had the radio on the van decking and overheard a SOTA activator calling CQ SOTA on Coniston Old Man. Didn’t manage to get back to him but it inspired me to actively listen out for CQs.

Over the next few days I had SOTA contact from a High Fell Whitbarrow (a QSO of 31 miles) which further inspired me.  

On Black Crag (323m) I called CQ and had a number of QSOs. 

At this point I learned the importance of a note book as I was unable to Log these contacts! Another successful session on Birkrigg Fell (116m) furthest QSO to mobile at 33 miles.

I have now registered myself on the SOTA web site and plan to do some Activation during the summer when we visit again.

Big scores were reported in Wythall Radio Club’s April DX challenge – but it was a two-horse race!

With warm Spring weather tempting members’ activities outside the shack, it was left to Chris G0EYO and Lee G0MTN to chase the DX.

Using the 80 and 20 meter bands, all continents were contacted except Australia/Oceania and Antarctica (always a challenge!). 

Well done Chris on 126 countries worked using a long wire and FT8.  And even though the nights are getting shorter, 80 meters still produced 42 countries!

The countries that Chris and Lee contacted in the other 5 continents included Hong Kong, Venezuela, Mozambique, Canada and Albania.

In addition, Lee worked 10 countries on 6 meters.

For a full list of countries, click here

“How low can you go?” was a theme of Wythall Radio Club’s Easter Contest 2021.

Chris G7DDN made his 37 contacts with other Club members using his trusty FT817 running 5 watts into a 2m/70cm collinear, and achieved 3rd place in the VHF/UHF category.

Not to be outdone, Allen M0PPX made a 0.3 watt QSO with Kev 2E0NCO whilst en route to the Lickey Hills using his new Yaesu FT3D.

Meanwhile, Lee G0MTN connected his Kenwood handheld to his EME antennas (normally used for moon-bounce contacts), wound the power down to 50 milliwatts, and also made a contact with Kev 2E0NCO!

On the space theme, Chris G3YHF send a greetings message via the International Space Station digipeater – 00:00:01:40 : G3YHF]CQ,NA1SS*,qAR,CT1EBQ3::NWS :Happy contest Wythall RC g3yhf via ISS 

This didn’t count for the contest, which requires QSOs with any of the Club’s 80 or so members, but is in the spirit of our motto – ‘Having fun with RF!’.

John 2E0XET also tried some novel QSOs.  Normally found on CW and often using QRP, he was tempted to have an HF SSB QSO and also try out his new Baufeng handheld on 2m to have his first contact with Kev 2E0NCO!

First place in the 2m/70cm section was Kev, 2E0NCO. 

Although a big signal from home, he also spent several afternoons on the Lickey Hills and managed a contact with Rob 2W0MEX in South Wales – one of several members spread across the UK and abroad.  This was no mean feat on 2m FM!

Kev wins the Colin Baker G6ZDQ Shield.

Miles 2E0YZW was a close second and Tim M6OTN and Clive M7OCB tied for the highest placed foundation licencee in this category.

In the ‘all modes and bands’ category, David G7IBO amassed a huge lead over second and third placed Chris G3YHF and Lee G0MTN.  He made 71 contacts over the 5 days of the contest and worked 28 members for a score of 1344, more than double the second place score!  He wins the David Dawkes G0ICJ Shield.

Juliet M6RSC was the highest placed Foundation licencee in this category.

With May approaching, Club members now turn their attention to their annual More Appreciation Month and the Lew Williams Shield.

Warwick G4WMH offers his reminiscences following the RSGB President’s comments on the passing of its Patron HRH, The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, particularly with reference to his support for the Society’s 75th Anniversary Convention in 1988.

GB75AC was a Super Station to celebrate the RSGB’s 75th Anniversary Convention.  We operated for 10 days from a temporary “cottage” located next to Pendigo Lake in front of the NEC. 

The station was supported by all of the major importers and many UK manufacturers with peripherels and amplifiers etc.  We also had Icom, Kenwood and Yaesu rooms.

The station had the capability of “all HF bands plus 2m & 70cm” and many mode operation for 24 hours a day.  There was a very impressive antenna farm with 100′, 80′ and 60 ‘ towers and lots of wires. 

We waved some 2m & 70cm satellite antennas, but lacked the manpower to make any satellite contacts.

The camera shot was not wide enough to pick up all the antennas, some of which were quite a distance from the station including the verticals and wires.  

The signal flags in the outside shot spell out GB75AC – they were full size navy flags – very heavy with lots of windage so we did not fly them high.

We were inundated with visitors, including foreign royalty, government representatives, presidents and officials from many overseas societies, some celebrities and at least one astronaut, not to mention many DXers from around the world, many of whom wanted to operate the station. 

This was a time when RSGB Conventions were huge.  In those days we knew the NEC well and amateur radio operation was common from a wide variety of public and trade shows.

There was great teamwork.  Working closely with the RSGB, the station and the Prince’s broadcast was pulled together by an enthusiastic team from midlands clubs – Bromsgrove, Midland, Solihull, South Birmingham, Sutton Coldfield, Wythall and others. 

Guest operators from around the country signed-up to join the team, bringing amateur and professional expertise and borrowed kit to the station. 

One thing was definitely missing – there was no computer logging in those days.  Despite valiant efforts from team members we never got a stable network (or data).  However, conditions were pretty good at the time and we really did work the world!

A great challenge was the planned live broadcast of the Patron’s speech which we actually achieved on time – simultaneous transmission which we broadcast to the world on 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 2 and 70cm.  What a pile up of call-ins once it was finished! 

To make the broadcast we required a high qualty cable link from the centre of the NEC, running through underground passages and under road culverts to get from the exhibition to the station.  And we had to get the very expensive cable undamaged back to the contractor who loaned it, ready for their professional installation just a few days later!

The next challenge (soon after the broadcast) was to exchange grettings messages between the Duke and Windsor Castle.  We had media pressure for this to be an exchange between His and Her Royal Majesties.  It seemed like a good idea at the time!!

We considered all sorts of options, including some fancy encryption technology, which was great fun to play with but even the professionals could not guarantee that it would work on the day.  We considered that it would be a nice thing to do but we only needed a nutter or two to ruin everything! 

The solution was two fold: 1. The Duke would pass greetings with a representative of the Society who would be located at Windsor Castle and who would return the greetings and thanks for his patronage. 

We were still concerned about unwanted interuptions and hit upon solution 2: We would not use an amateur band – we selected an “obscure” military frequency.

The Duke was standing in front of the then latest Yaesu showing a 40m frequency, whilst the microphone was actually connected to my trusty FT902DM in another room, with a separate antenna on the roof and controlled by me using a hand PTT and prompting the overs. 

It all went very smoothly with a nod of approval from the Duke!