Introducing the new monoband transceiver kit from QRP Labs. This is a high performance modern radio kit, easy to build, low cost but packed full of features. See qrp-labs.com/qcx
Got to be the best CW kit and the price point is huge value. Cheap enough to get a kid started, quality enough to satisfy an adult. This is going to be one of those historical must haves.
I purchased the qcx40 and assembled it over about two weeks of on and off again attempts. I learned pretty quick that i am getting too old and shakey and bad vision. I made a few mistakes and had to send it back to QCX for repairs. It was repaired at no cost, pretty quickly, and now works quite well. I would recommend it to anyone who wants only CW radios. The aluminum case is a MUST have to make it a all round nice radio.
Hans - I've been a great admirer of your kits since the first wspr beacon came out and have built all of the wspr beacons and operated them continually. Having started out in ham radio around 1983, a beginner had to spend a fortune to buy a new rig, or a smaller fortune to buy some old thing that had done the rounds for years and may well have been messed with by people who thought they could realign a rig without any equipment. Your work has transformed that situation, bringing ham radio with high quality to anyone who could be bothered to build it. I doubt anyone has done more for amateur radio than you have. Thank you for your innovative and eminently practical designs.
What a fantastic kit, and your video along with Roberto's really help explain all of the features that this kit has to offer. I believe, that what you have done here, Hans, is setting the bar for transceiver kits to come! Well done; I am awaiting for my 20m kit to arrive for this winters build! 73, de Karl, KO8S
Thank you for offering a wonderful kit. Purchased this after seeing QRP school's video. Can't wait for your new QSX TX...looks like it's going to be a lot of fun.
Very nice kit, I built my own during the spring! I had to do a bit of post-build troubleshooting and noticed that the Q7 transistor didn't function (likely too much heat when soldering). After replacing it, I was blown away by how well the QCX performs. I really love how easy it was to tune the filters and how selective it is.
Thank you for this helpful video, Mr. Summers! I have one of your QCX kit (and all your previous kits, Ultimate3S, QLG1 GPS receiver, Low Pass Filters, relay-switched LPF kit and several Si5351A synthesizer module kits that I'm using for other projects) and that is really amazing and very affordable for the cheap price! I will follow all your further products, since well designed and easy to build. I never seen more detailed instructions than yours one, on other kits on the market, and that is really an added value for me. Good luck for QRP Labs! 73 de IZ7VHF.
Very good quality board. Takes solder well. Excellent manual. I am almost finished assembling my 20 meter version. Amazing features for such a good price. Thank you for this kit. 73’s
Man! Is this the coolest thing since Heathkit, or what? This would be a worthwhile purchase just to get those testing functions. Plus I understand it's a radio as well. And all at 50 bucks. Freakin' miracle. I don't know if you guys are a CIA front or what, but this is seriously the most awesome thing I've seen in 25 years of hamming. Thanks for developing and marketing it!
I wish I’d seen this video before ordering, I didn’t realize the GPS kit would calibrate the crystal values. That is worth it for me as I don’t have the test equipment to do so. I will contact you directly about adding it as my order hasn’t shipped (my guess is I am about three weeks out SN: 3117) to see if I can modify my order to add the GPS. Is it possible to connect the GPS for calibration purposes only, and then remove it later? (I am interested in WSPR, it would be used in the future)?
I've been away from Ham for years. This has brought me back. For the price of a fancy lunch? QRP and CW here I come. Could NOT pass this up. Looking forward to the build and the qso. Hi
Hi Bry, I don't have any enclosure available for the QCX kit. Maybe in future. A suitable enclosure and the procedure to fit the parts into it, is being discussed on the QRP Labs group groups.io/g/qrplabs
I am going to try to use the U3 case for the time being. I just ordered the board and case, so it will be a while before it all arrives. The display should fit in the display opening with no problem, so I will have to create some extension cables from the LCD to the board and then mount the pots to the case instead of the board. I ordered the custom case option with a undrilled rear panel.
Peter Pauly Hi, I cannot remember where I got it! Sorry! It was part of a set of 6 ceramic screwdrivers. I have the others too. Some cross-head, some flat-head. The design intentionally makes sure that the metal screw of the trimmer capacitor is the ground side. BUT, despite this, if you use a metal screwdriver then there is slight detuning, when you adjust the trimmer capacitor. So a non-metal one is best. But not really crticial... if you don't have one, an ordinary metal screwdriver is almost as good. You can also pretty easily adjust it just a little bit past the peak, so when you take away the metal screwdriver it comes back to peak. It's quite easy, even with a metal screwdriver! 73 Hans G0UPL qrp-labs.com
Hey Hans I’m impressed. Seriously impressed. Also: Love the no frills production. Personally I find the multi camera angles and music somewhat of a distraction, usually because it’s done poorly Anyway, a quick question. You have a header for serial programming the chip. Is there a way of downloading and uploading the settings to the chip via the serial header ?? Stuff like channels, keyer settings etc That would be a nice feature This kit is definitely going on the Christmas list :-)
Hi Chris, you can read out the EEPROM contents via the programming header, which is where the settings are stored. This is a convenient way to make a backup etc. But it's just a memory dump, a file of numbers... not easily human readable or editable. The other way is CAT (Computer Aided Transceiver)... the QCX and QCX+ radios have a 38400 baud serial port for CAT control. With a connected computer terminal you can read and write all the settings in QCX and control it completely, via command strings (described in the manual). 73 Hans G0UPL
@@QRPLabs cheers for the prompt response. Out of curiosity, what emulation is the CAT control ? I tell you, I’m keen to get my hands on one (or two) of these kits. One for me, and one for my son. My son at age 8 showed an interest in Morse Code which prompted my to get a couple of pixie kits for less than $10 aussie. That in turn encouraged me to dig out all my old FT101B _where B is for boat anchor_ and get back on the air. It took a bit, but I finally got my CW up to speed and made a 559 QSO on one with a station 900Kms away :-) Fun for a toy, but these kits of yours are far more serious. It would be good for him to have a go at assembling one of these. Build a real radio. With guidance, he did an excellent job on the Pixie kits, I’m sure, he will get a real buzz out of one of these kits I have an idea of setting up another UA-cam channel called Bargains, Boat Anchors and Broken Radios. One for finding cheap ways to get on the air for a few $$. Much more acceptable than the senseless rubbish I have uploaded with this account :-) Thanks again for getting back to me 73s de Chris VK2NAP _ps the twitter feed isn’t much better_ :-)
@@MidlifeRenaissanceMan The CAT protocol was originally based on a subset of Kenwood TS-480 which is kind of a lowest common denominator, see www.kenwood.com/i/products/info/amateur/ts_480/pdf/ts_480_pc.pdf . Not all TS-480 commands are supported (or relevant!), and there are also some additional ones added that are specific to QCX, and some others that are compatible with Elecraft commands. You can see the full list in the QCX manual. By the way though you are commenting on the QCX video, you know this has now been replaced by QCX+ see qrp-labs.com/qcxp which is described in this UA-cam video ua-cam.com/video/jdnZsfU7r-s/v-deo.html which also has a nice enclosure option, Dev kit option, and TCXO option. And all good low prices :-) 73 Hans G0UPL
@@QRPLabs I realised that once I went to your online shop. Around $25-30 shipped to aus. So I’ll be grabbing the QCX+ or two, or three. Nice to have a choice of bands :-) First order of the day is to get a functional antenna set up. I’m on an inner city block, almost no back yard, power lines 5m off the side of the house. However, I have a flat steel roof, so a decent ground plane especially as we are one half of a semi detached pair of old corner shops with the residents behind built in the 1900s. Lots of fun. Tossing up between mag loops, one 3m wide for the lower bands, or a vertical and use the roof as a ground plane. Whatever it is, we’re on the top of a hill so it needs to cope with the wind......
An interesting use of this, once GPS trained, could be as a reference generator to help adjust other radios? Class E though, so I assume I have to transmit in the band it's build for? Even into dummy load? Would be tempting to, say, get it to transmit on 10MHz or if possible 50MHz if it is accurate thanks to GPS so it can be used to align a KX3. (Just seen the mention of the signal generator function. So maybe this is what I want)
Yes Richard, the QCX transceiver does have a signal generator function. But other QRP Labs also do this and for less money qrp-labs.com/vfo and qrp-labs.com/progrock and they are simpler to build. If all you want is a reasonably accurate GPSDO I'd use one of those. But if you want QCX for being a very nice CW transceiver then yes the signal generator function is a nice side benefit!
Yes, there is a rock-stable synthesized VFO. The tuning range is not limited. It covers the entire 40m band (and more). The practical limit is the band Pass filter. Which also covers the whole band (3dB bandwidth is about 700kHz on 40m band).
VE3EGA - Unbelievable Kit - The Build went smoothly, instruction manual was comprehensive. Slight hitch on Processor (boot) Start - but see: qrp-labs.com/qcx/qcxmods and you will be fine! An absolutely fantastic/fun kit to build, a joy to operate and kudos to Hans (THANK YOU!) for providing this level of quality to the ham community - buy one you will not be disappointed!
Yes. I don't work for them, but assuming you were honestly asking, this model is CW only. CW is "Morse Code" as it's been used for generations. (Although it has adapted to new technologies, influences and uses over the years, so if you were to time travel, it's not exactly the same thing Samuel Morse tapped out on the telegraph, but pretty close to what Titanic sent over wireless.) There are no dumb questions if you don't already know the answers. Hope I helped. Get a HAM license before you shop for a radio. It's not the ticket itself that's the big deal. It's the education that goes with it.
My hands shake, my eyesight is poor at 60 years of age. Where can I buy one of these already assembled and aligned? de N6MMA Any builders out there near Los Angeles?
I would have thought that the SSB Phasing Exciter (QSD) module would also been supplied as with out it you cannot use phone mode also They should have used heavy duty RF transistors like the VN66AF or VMP1 metal cased transistors as light weight transistors can self destruct if they get too hot.
DAVID GREGORY KERR I'm very happy if the kit encourages experimentation. If you undertake this modification please let me know how it goes, and share details, I would be very happy to publish them on QRP Labs' web site.
In Feld Hell, your data is not decoded as such, it's displayed on a ribbon. That would not work on a 4x16 display. Theres no reason why you couldn't add a raspberry pi to it with a 5 inch display and your choice of free viewer, like fldigi. That would make a nice project...J
Hi, antennas are a big topic. QCX has 50-ohm output as standard for amateur radio equipment. It will suit any 50-ohm antenna system. No antenna is supplied with the kit and no recommendations are provided. 73 Hans G0UPL
Just got my QCX completed and I listened to my first CW broadcasts last night! I tried to answer in my slow sending speed, however, my SWR shows 0watts, so I assume one of the torroids I wound isn't making adequate contact with the board, or that there is some other issue. ua-cam.com/video/cys-eb15KUk/v-deo.html
Got to be the best CW kit and the price point is huge value. Cheap enough to get a kid started, quality enough to satisfy an adult. This is going to be one of those historical must haves.
I purchased the qcx40 and assembled it over about two weeks of on and off again attempts. I learned pretty quick that i am getting too old and shakey and bad vision. I made a few mistakes and had to send it back to QCX for repairs. It was repaired at no cost, pretty quickly, and now works quite well. I would recommend it to anyone who wants only CW radios. The aluminum case is a MUST have to make it a all round nice radio.
Hans - I've been a great admirer of your kits since the first wspr beacon came out and have built all of the wspr beacons and operated them continually. Having started out in ham radio around 1983, a beginner had to spend a fortune to buy a new rig, or a smaller fortune to buy some old thing that had done the rounds for years and may well have been messed with by people who thought they could realign a rig without any equipment. Your work has transformed that situation, bringing ham radio with high quality to anyone who could be bothered to build it. I doubt anyone has done more for amateur radio than you have. Thank you for your innovative and eminently practical designs.
Blush... thanks Tony, for all your support over the years!
What a fantastic kit, and your video along with Roberto's really help explain all of the features that this kit has to offer. I believe, that what you have done here, Hans, is setting the bar for transceiver kits to come! Well done; I am awaiting for my 20m kit to arrive for this winters build! 73, de Karl, KO8S
Thank you for offering a wonderful kit. Purchased this after seeing QRP school's video. Can't wait for your new QSX TX...looks like it's going to be a lot of fun.
Very nice kit, I built my own during the spring!
I had to do a bit of post-build troubleshooting and noticed that the Q7 transistor didn't function (likely too much heat when soldering). After replacing it, I was blown away by how well the QCX performs. I really love how easy it was to tune the filters and how selective it is.
Thank you for this helpful video, Mr. Summers! I have one of your QCX kit (and all your previous kits, Ultimate3S, QLG1 GPS receiver, Low Pass Filters, relay-switched LPF kit and several Si5351A synthesizer module kits that I'm using for other projects) and that is really amazing and very affordable for the cheap price! I will follow all your further products, since well designed and easy to build. I never seen more detailed instructions than yours one, on other kits on the market, and that is really an added value for me. Good luck for QRP Labs! 73 de IZ7VHF.
Very good quality board. Takes solder well. Excellent manual. I am almost finished assembling my 20 meter version. Amazing features for such a good price. Thank you for this kit. 73’s
Beautifully delivered OM!
Thanks for the great video Hans. I should receive the first of my QCX kits any day now. I'm looking forward to it even more. 73 NE5U Mike
Thanks for showing this kit.
Very nicely done!
Man! Is this the coolest thing since Heathkit, or what? This would be a worthwhile purchase just to get those testing functions. Plus I understand it's a radio as well. And all at 50 bucks. Freakin' miracle. I don't know if you guys are a CIA front or what, but this is seriously the most awesome thing I've seen in 25 years of hamming. Thanks for developing and marketing it!
Excellent presentation.
What an excellent work you have done! Congratulations. 73 de OA4CKN
What a beautiful put together Manual.
@Zahir Kye FAKE
@Santana Edgar FAKE FAKE VIRUS
Impressive!
Well done, great design, great review of the design. Hard to believe it's price. thanks, WA6YPV
It's worth buying for the built in test and alignment features alone, apart from the transceiver!
excellent video thanks de ne4am
I wish I’d seen this video before ordering, I didn’t realize the GPS kit would calibrate the crystal values. That is worth it for me as I don’t have the test equipment to do so. I will contact you directly about adding it as my order hasn’t shipped (my guess is I am about three weeks out SN: 3117) to see if I can modify my order to add the GPS. Is it possible to connect the GPS for calibration purposes only, and then remove it later? (I am interested in WSPR, it would be used in the future)?
This could be the one I build, thanks for the great video. KK4QYN 73
Hans, i got got my kit faster than i thought. now we just need a cabinet
Hans compliments a nice kit QCX 73 ik1hgi Antonio
Is it possible to widen the filtering a little? How much control is there over that?
I've been away from Ham for years. This has brought me back. For the price of a fancy lunch? QRP and CW here I come.
Could NOT pass this up. Looking forward to the build and the qso. Hi
..or for the price of a cheap dinner as well.
I want to buy one of this qrp but assembled ( no tools ) if is it possible
Thanks for this very informative review! 73, VA3SHV
Looks great Hans!! Do you have any cases with knob plungers for the push buttons? That would be handy!!
I have no enclosure but there is a discussion going on about enclosures on the QRP Labs group see groups.io/g/qrplabs
Hi Bry, I don't have any enclosure available for the QCX kit. Maybe in future. A suitable enclosure and the procedure to fit the parts into it, is being discussed on the QRP Labs group groups.io/g/qrplabs
I am going to try to use the U3 case for the time being. I just ordered the board and case, so it will be a while before it all arrives. The display should fit in the display opening with no problem, so I will have to create some extension cables from the LCD to the board and then mount the pots to the case instead of the board. I ordered the custom case option with a undrilled rear panel.
I'm admiring that nice Draper alignment tool you were using in the video but I can't seem to find it for sale anywhere. Are they still in business?
Peter Pauly Hi, I cannot remember where I got it! Sorry! It was part of a set of 6 ceramic screwdrivers. I have the others too. Some cross-head, some flat-head.
The design intentionally makes sure that the metal screw of the trimmer capacitor is the ground side. BUT, despite this, if you use a metal screwdriver then there is slight detuning, when you adjust the trimmer capacitor. So a non-metal one is best. But not really crticial... if you don't have one, an ordinary metal screwdriver is almost as good. You can also pretty easily adjust it just a little bit past the peak, so when you take away the metal screwdriver it comes back to peak. It's quite easy, even with a metal screwdriver!
73 Hans G0UPL
qrp-labs.com
Hey Hans
I’m impressed. Seriously impressed.
Also: Love the no frills production. Personally I find the multi camera angles and music somewhat of a distraction, usually because it’s done poorly
Anyway, a quick question. You have a header for serial programming the chip. Is there a way of downloading and uploading the settings to the chip via the serial header ??
Stuff like channels, keyer settings etc
That would be a nice feature
This kit is definitely going on the Christmas list :-)
Hi Chris,
you can read out the EEPROM contents via the programming header, which is where the settings are stored. This is a convenient way to make a backup etc. But it's just a memory dump, a file of numbers... not easily human readable or editable.
The other way is CAT (Computer Aided Transceiver)... the QCX and QCX+ radios have a 38400 baud serial port for CAT control. With a connected computer terminal you can read and write all the settings in QCX and control it completely, via command strings (described in the manual).
73 Hans G0UPL
@@QRPLabs cheers for the prompt response. Out of curiosity, what emulation is the CAT control ?
I tell you, I’m keen to get my hands on one (or two) of these kits. One for me, and one for my son. My son at age 8 showed an interest in Morse Code which prompted my to get a couple of pixie kits for less than $10 aussie. That in turn encouraged me to dig out all my old FT101B _where B is for boat anchor_ and get back on the air.
It took a bit, but I finally got my CW up to speed and made a 559 QSO on one with a station 900Kms away :-) Fun for a toy, but these kits of yours are far more serious. It would be good for him to have a go at assembling one of these. Build a real radio. With guidance, he did an excellent job on the Pixie kits, I’m sure, he will get a real buzz out of one of these kits
I have an idea of setting up another UA-cam channel called Bargains, Boat Anchors and Broken Radios. One for finding cheap ways to get on the air for a few $$. Much more acceptable than the senseless rubbish I have uploaded with this account :-)
Thanks again for getting back to me
73s de Chris VK2NAP
_ps the twitter feed isn’t much better_ :-)
@@MidlifeRenaissanceMan The CAT protocol was originally based on a subset of Kenwood TS-480 which is kind of a lowest common denominator, see www.kenwood.com/i/products/info/amateur/ts_480/pdf/ts_480_pc.pdf . Not all TS-480 commands are supported (or relevant!), and there are also some additional ones added that are specific to QCX, and some others that are compatible with Elecraft commands. You can see the full list in the QCX manual.
By the way though you are commenting on the QCX video, you know this has now been replaced by QCX+ see qrp-labs.com/qcxp which is described in this UA-cam video ua-cam.com/video/jdnZsfU7r-s/v-deo.html which also has a nice enclosure option, Dev kit option, and TCXO option. And all good low prices :-)
73 Hans G0UPL
@@QRPLabs I realised that once I went to your online shop. Around $25-30 shipped to aus.
So I’ll be grabbing the QCX+ or two, or three. Nice to have a choice of bands :-)
First order of the day is to get a functional antenna set up. I’m on an inner city block, almost no back yard, power lines 5m off the side of the house.
However, I have a flat steel roof, so a decent ground plane especially as we are one half of a semi detached pair of old corner shops with the residents behind built in the 1900s. Lots of fun.
Tossing up between mag loops, one 3m wide for the lower bands, or a vertical and use the roof as a ground plane.
Whatever it is, we’re on the top of a hill so it needs to cope with the wind......
@@MidlifeRenaissanceMan cool good luck! Let me know if any other questions come up!
An interesting use of this, once GPS trained, could be as a reference generator to help adjust other radios? Class E though, so I assume I have to transmit in the band it's build for? Even into dummy load?
Would be tempting to, say, get it to transmit on 10MHz or if possible 50MHz if it is accurate thanks to GPS so it can be used to align a KX3.
(Just seen the mention of the signal generator function. So maybe this is what I want)
Yes Richard, the QCX transceiver does have a signal generator function. But other QRP Labs also do this and for less money qrp-labs.com/vfo and qrp-labs.com/progrock and they are simpler to build. If all you want is a reasonably accurate GPSDO I'd use one of those. But if you want QCX for being a very nice CW transceiver then yes the signal generator function is a nice side benefit!
1. Is there VFO capability, or are you limited to the memory positions for different freqs?
2. What is the tuning freq range in the 40M band?
Yes, there is a rock-stable synthesized VFO. The tuning range is not limited. It covers the entire 40m band (and more). The practical limit is the band Pass filter. Which also covers the whole band (3dB bandwidth is about 700kHz on 40m band).
@@QRPLabs i thought i saw on your website, that you're coming out with an ALL mode 80m - 10m? is this correct, as i may hold off and buy that instead.
VE3EGA - Unbelievable Kit - The Build went smoothly, instruction manual was comprehensive. Slight hitch on Processor (boot) Start - but see: qrp-labs.com/qcx/qcxmods and you will be fine!
An absolutely fantastic/fun kit to build, a joy to operate and kudos to Hans (THANK YOU!) for providing this level of quality to the ham community - buy one you will not be disappointed!
Do you need to know Morse code to use any of the kits from QRP?, I know it's a dumb question!
Yes. I don't work for them, but assuming you were honestly asking, this model is CW only. CW is "Morse Code" as it's been used for generations. (Although it has adapted to new technologies, influences and uses over the years, so if you were to time travel, it's not exactly the same thing Samuel Morse tapped out on the telegraph, but pretty close to what Titanic sent over wireless.)
There are no dumb questions if you don't already know the answers. Hope I helped. Get a HAM license before you shop for a radio. It's not the ticket itself that's the big deal. It's the education that goes with it.
The feature set is an embarrassment of riches!
My hands shake, my eyesight is poor at 60 years of age. Where can I buy one of these already assembled and aligned? de N6MMA Any builders out there near Los Angeles?
I would have thought that the SSB Phasing Exciter (QSD) module would also been supplied as with out it you cannot use phone mode also They should have used heavy duty RF transistors like the VN66AF or VMP1 metal cased transistors as light weight transistors can self destruct if they get too hot.
DAVID GREGORY KERR I think you have misunderstood. This is a CW transceiver. It is not intended for SSB. 73
OK Non Problemo but someone is going to build the add-on themselves as there is access to the two clock lines.
DAVID GREGORY KERR I'm very happy if the kit encourages experimentation. If you undertake this modification please let me know how it goes, and share details, I would be very happy to publish them on QRP Labs' web site.
Is there any possibility of adding FeldHell encode and decode to this firmware?
Tnx es 73 de Arnie W8DU
In Feld Hell, your data is not decoded as such, it's displayed on a ribbon. That would not work on a 4x16 display. Theres no reason why you couldn't add a raspberry pi to it with a 5 inch display and your choice of free viewer, like fldigi. That would make a nice project...J
does one need a shortwave OP permit to use this, I am in Canada ( Quebec)?
Yes. This is an amateur radio transceiver, so you need an Amateur Radio Operator license from Industry/Industrie Canada.
Hi good day. Can you tell me how is the subject with the antenna? What type of antenna does it carry?
Tks
LU1IAC 73
Hi, antennas are a big topic. QCX has 50-ohm output as standard for amateur radio equipment. It will suit any 50-ohm antenna system. No antenna is supplied with the kit and no recommendations are provided.
73 Hans G0UPL
@@QRPLabs That's right, that's my question I connect to a dipole of 40 traditional he?
A dipole is fine. Any antenna system having 50-ohm impedance and reasonable SWR is OK.
@@QRPLabs Do you have any reference such as the length of the rg58 or the diameter of the dipole cable?
This is antenna design. I don't design and produce antennas. I design and produce the radio transceiver.
73 Hans G0UPL
I thought it was CW only? Does it do SSB??? de AA9Gg
CW only, Paul
Wouldn't have been hard to make this a multiband radio.
Just wait a tad, old son, that's coming! Rumored to be 5 bands and on the order of US$180 or so.
Too bad this version is no longer available. The new version does not look trail friendly at all. :(
Just got my QCX completed and I listened to my first CW broadcasts last night! I tried to answer in my slow sending speed, however, my SWR shows 0watts, so I assume one of the torroids I wound isn't making adequate contact with the board, or that there is some other issue. ua-cam.com/video/cys-eb15KUk/v-deo.html
You will want a case for that:
forums.qrz.com/index.php?threads/qcx-clamshell-case.611695/#post-4689828
no music is gud
Background music is a curse. I understand you loud and cleaelr.