Building the new QMX+ 12 Band QRP Transceiver by

[@martinevans3863]

Veilen dank für alles Hannes. Sehr gut ! I have a QMX plus on the way to me so I really needed and enjoyed watching your video. 73 Martin GW4TPG

[@petrok1rp254]

Yes, that is the goal of this new radio! Plenty of room for ATU, Battery pack, Speaker or what you want to add. Also more easier for building. Good luck with kit!

[@miket7184]

I just finished building this kit. Yes, it was fun soldering those 16 pins housed between the small gap of the front chassis plate and PCB board! I have a fixed table clamp mounted 5x lighted magnifying glass which can be positioned to allow light in that tight place and frees up your hands to hold the solder and soldering iron. It actually helps a lot and I'd recommend this rather than a loupe you need to hold by hand. Or at least a head mounted loupe like dentists use. Anyway aside from the tedious job of winding all those toroids, it was a fun project! Now I just need to keep working on learning my CW and makes some contacts. Mike ND7E.

[@TheBluesMothers-gn5nl]

Great, thanks for your report Mike! Have fun with your radio!

[@kuyakano8976]

Had no idea this was in the making. Just ordered one and looking forward building it. In the past I succesfully completed some of Hans's products. They work great and are fun to use. Thank you for posting this build.

[@Bluesmother]

Thank you! Yes, Hans always develops unique products that are very clever designed...and always fun to build!

[@KD9ZHF]

I didn't either. I also just ordered it. Looks daunting. I do wish there was a way to hook up an autotuner to this.

[@webanon]

Thanks for taking the time to make this video. I've never built a radio before and I don't have an HF rig. This layout seems to have some elbow room. The possibility of SSB with future firmware is also exciting. I'm thinking about buying this kit along with some good building tools (soldering iron, magnifying glass, et cetera). It looks like Hans' waiting list for built units is months long... I'm open to input if you have any!

[@Bluesmother]

Building this radio requires tools like a good soldering station, players, tweezers etc. If you really follow the instructions step by step, building this radio successfully is possible with a little building experience. I would still recommend you build an easier kit to get a feeling for soldering etc. firstly, then go for the QMX with good self-confidence and a little bit of experience. Just my thoughts...

[@KG6YJ]

Thanks for the great video, it looks like an "expanded" QMX with space inside which can be used for a antenna tuner board that may be the next natural and very useful option to QMX+. 73 de KG6YJ.

[@Bluesmother]

Thanks a lot, there is indeed a lot of space inside, and a "Dev" board is also available for own creativity...be it a battery pack, an antenna tuner or other additions. I am sure this radio will be a winner!

[@labcat73]

Awesome video. Very nicely done! The video and the build. 👍👏 This looks much easier than the QMX to assemble. More space for hamfisted hams 😂. This should be doable by anybody with a medium level of kit building experience, a good soldering iron and some patience.

[@ingwahang]

Great video, just ordered my QMX+ kit today. After an unsuccessful QMX build earlier, I am looking forward to build the QMX+ and hope to get it working first time (fingers crossed). Your video shows how spacious it is to work compared to the compact QMX and will definitely be coming back to watch this video once I start building mine.

[@Bluesmother]

Thank you very much! Meanwhile I have fired it up and made the first 4 QSOs 🙂 The QMX is a great radio, but as you mentioned the QMX+ offers more space and is definitely easier to build. You should have no problems building it, the manual from QRPLabs is very comprehensive!

[@TheArtofEngineering]

Yes my first build of a QCX mini (similar "cram" factor) went very bad (put T1 in wrong holes, then mangled PCB getting it out!). Just had my second go....it just worked NZ! :))))). I didn't read the instructions carefully enough and also I needed to solder T1 again as the rig fired up but was deaf (as evidenced by low BPF level). Good luck with your next build. I built a QCX plus for 160m ....much easier, so should go well for you!! 73 de VK2 AOE

[@barrybogart5436]

Can't wait to hear it in operation! 72

[@redtide08]

I got my regular QMX mid band kit recently but haven't had time to build yet. Love the look of Hans' designs, looking forward to some field work with it.

[@Bluesmother]

Hope you enjoy it! I built one too, which was great fun. However, it is definitely not a project for the inexperienced builder. I think it is great that the qmx+ is available now so even more hams can benefit from this great QRP radio!

[@Kinetic79]

The mid band kit seems to be performing well for people, as far as I can tell. I think it’s performance on RX sensitivity and TX power is higher than the HB unit on average. Of course this is just my qualitative judgment based on my own HB build experiendw and reading the forums. HB unit is working, just not as sensitive or as high-powered as my LB unit (and apparently the first MB units built).

[@_droid]

They already put all the fun stuff on the boards, haha

[@AE5X]

I'm looking forward to your next video, Hannes - of the QMX+ in action... :-)

[@Bluesmother]

Hi John, already working on it, I took a clip during some of the first QSOs...I hope to get it done ths weekend :-)

[@Bluesmother]

...and here it is John, as requested, I just posted it 😎

[@AE5X]

Danke Hannes!

[@rogerinwales]

Great video, thanks for sharing. 73, MW0IDX

[@Bluesmother]

Thanks a lot Roger, I am glad that you like it. Feedback like yours is always a nice reward for the effort of making a video!

[@jamesbaggech4127]

Thanks for the great video!

[@Bluesmother]

Thank you very much! I am glad that you liked it and appreciate that you have left your comment - best 73s from Germany!

[@f6dhd]

Hi, great video. Did you need some mesuring equipment to adjust things? what's holding me back is wiring the toroids ..... Can be a project for next winter evenings HI! 73's

[@Bluesmother]

Hi, thank you very much for your comment! All measuring equipment is integrated into the QMX transceivers, you only need a dummy load (QRPLabs sell a nice one, too!) to terminate the unit during some measurements. A Wattmeter or an oscilloscope parallel to the dummy load can be helpful to check on the output power later on. Wiring the toriods is easier than you think - one time through the core counts as one turn, and just observe the winding direction so not much can go wrong here. The only "challenge" is the trifilar would toroid, but the excellent manual describes everything very clearly. The new QMX+ is MUCH easier to build than the QMX was!

[@f6dhd]

@@Bluesmother Thanks a lot for the answer. I think I'm going to take the plunge !!! 73's de Chris F6DHD

[@webanon]

That clarification on counting turns really helped. I was counting revolutions in your video and couldn't reconcile that with the number of turns you stated. 👍

[@f6dhd]

@@Bluesmother Get one in HamRadio 2024 in FN !! I hope to meet you on air with the QMX+ in a few weeks !!!!

[@JonathanAdami]

Hey, honest question, if they can machine solder some parts why dont they machine solder all parts? the windy things might be tricky, but the rest seem to be "put it there and solder it" the same as the surface mounted chips right?

[@stevec5000]

Aren't you going to check the band pass filters with a nanoVNA or something to see if the coils are tuned properly?

[@Bluesmother]

I intentionally built it strictly following the assembly manual. One certainly could check the band pass filters beforehand, but the diagnosis tool through the terminal programm will later show you exactly what's going on...so tweaking the toroids by manipulating the distance between the turns can be checked with everything soldered directly into the circuit. This is one of the outstanding features of this rig, that is Hans' super creative engineering at it's best!

[@barrybogart5436]

@@Bluesmother When I built my K2 with 17 toroids, I bought an LCR meter to check them all. Later I bought two more kits, one with SMDs. So I think I'll retire! But I would like a SSB QMX.

[@robertallbright]

Yes Building my K2 I used an Atlas LCR bridge and measured every component before fitting 73 Rob G3RCE

[@stevec5000]

@@Bluesmother What diagnosis tool through the terminal programm are you referring to? Is that something that comes with the kit?

[@TrimeshSZ]

@@stevec5000 Assuming it's like the original QMX there is a function built into the firmware that allows you to sweep all the filters and check their adjustment using a serial terminal connected to the rig. There is a similar feature for checking the response of the LPFs on the transmitter output.

[@Kinetic79]

You didn’t film it as far as I can tell, but looks like the rotary encoders are easier to do than they are on the QMX (where you have to bend the pins almost 180° usually resulting in at least one break)? That was an error-prone part for people and kind of a stretch in the design - though after having done it once, it isnt really that hard the second time around. The other piece that’s a pain are the power boards… and the way the pins and headers work. That seems to be almost identical to the QMX. It’s a nice product, though, but it would’ve been nice if there were a dedicated firmware developer.

[@Bluesmother]

Installing the rotary encoders is easier then on the QMX, really no big deal. The SMPS boards are identical to the QMX, thus some care needs to be taken to install them correctly. But if one follows the instructions, it is no big deal at all, it just requires a certain amount of caution and understanding when you are building the unit.

[@Bluesmother]

I don't actually get the point about the firmware developer...Hans is a great firmware developer, I have no doubts about that!

[@rrittenhouse]

I'm heading to hamvention tomorrow, don't tell me this LMAO. I have been avoiding putting the QMX together since last year though...

[@billryland6199]

Hans said in 2017 he was developing the QSX SSB 10 watt transceiver. He never did release it. I built the 10 watt PA for it but the main unit was not sold. I am done with QRP Labs. I built the original QCX but do not use it. We have been waiting for the SSB rig but he never released it.

[@henrikfredskild3803]

7 years ago….. if this is be biggest disappointment you have suffered during that time, you are lucky. Better to abandon an ongoing development than to release something that won’t work. Bigger companies than QRPlabs has abandoned bigger projects. And the QMX has the potential for future upgrades, including SSB and seems worth waiting for.

[@barrybogart5436]

@@henrikfredskild3803 Reminds me of the upper band TruSDX wired version. You can only buy the kit, I expect there is an issue getting up to spec, and they want to transfer responsibility to the builder. I really do not understand the need to make them so small, just because they can!