We know that Hans Summers of QRP Labs has been working hard on the QSX for many months. Hans unfortunately had to deal with some rather worrisome health issues. Those are handled now and he’s back in action, and work on the QSX is progressing steadily.
On Wednesday 9, 2019 he did a presentation for the Norfolk Amateur Radio Club in the UK, and he revealed some exciting details about the QSX!
One thing is certain: The QSX is definitely going to be worth the wait. You’ve heard the old adage “Performance, Price, or Features. Pick Two”? Hans isn’t having any of it! He’s working tirelessly to squeeze every last bit of performance out of the QSX and and refuses to back down until he’s delivered on Features, Performance, and Price.
Oh, and if you’re not sure what the QSX is, see This Post as well as This Post.
On to the New Features
Lets get into some of the new features that Hans talked about in his presentation. We’re going to focus just on new information so be sure to read the previous posts if your’e unfamiliar. You’ll be able to download all of the slides from his presentation further below. Facebook users can watch the entire presentation, and the link is also further down.
- SWR Bridge- This will be useful for not just measuring SWR, but also for initial alignment of the radio.
- 12kHz IF to decrease 50/60hz hum and background noise at audio levels.
- There will be three boards: Front Panel, Rear board, PA board.
- Solid State Transmit/Receive Switching. No relays in the Transmit/Receive circuit means quiet, fast, and reliable T/R switching which will especially shine in CW QSK.
- Built in Test Equipment: Signal Generator, Frequency Counter, DVM, Inductance Meter, RF Power Meter, SWR Meter, Spectrum Analyzer
- ALL the functionality of the QCX and U3S kits, including optional GPS discipline
- Beacons on the following modes: WSPR, CW, RTTY, PSK31, FT8, QRSS, Opera, Pi4, JT4, JT9, JT65, ISCAT (A/B)
- QSX Scripting: All QSX functionality can be scripted in scripts entered over a serial terminal (or via USB keyboard, or via CW entry) and stored in EEPROM.
- Front panel can be reassigned as desired
Links!
The full talk: https://www.facebook.com/norfolkamateurradioclub/videos/337759140153280/?fref=gs&dti=880603148788169&hc_location=group
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Can’t wait for that one to come on the market. I have a case ready for it to be build in 🙂
Another fine Blog post Ryan. Thank you.
Me too. I have two QCX for 20 and 40.
See page 16 of the slides for the talk: “RTTY and PSK31 supported natively (no PC required). USB keyboard text entry. CW to RTTY/PSK31 translator. RTTY and PSK31 decoding on-screen.” So sounds like you can enter text with either a CW paddle or using a USB keyboard. All very cool!
It would be so cool if he provides an API to be able to tie into his system. Fingers crossed!
[…] JS8Call, WSPR, and FT8. I’m quite happy with 40m and I’ll go multi-band again when the QRP Labs QSX comes out […]