Saturday, February 1, 2025
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Saturday, March 1, 2025
9:00 am – 11:00 am
Ham Radio Outlet Training Room – 5730 W Good Hope Rd
(please park away from the showroom doors)
The QDX Digital Transceiver is a moderate level build and will take two workshop sessions to complete, plus some additional personal time. QRPLabs is the supplier: The “QDX” (QRP Labs Digital Xcvr): a feature-packed, high performance, five-band (80, 60, 40, 30 and 20m) or six high-HF band (20, 17, 15, 12, 11 and 10m) 5W Digi-modes transceiver kit, including embedded SDR receiver, 24-bit 48 ksps USB sound card, CAT control, synthesized VFO with TCXO reference. QDX is suitable only for single tone FSK modes, which covers the majority of digital modes in use today. This includes everything in WSJT-X, JS8Call, some fldigi modes e.g. RTTY, Olivia and more. QDX is not suitable for on/off keyed modes such as CW because it does not have click-reducing RF envelope shaping; furthermore it is not suitable for phase shift keyed modes such as PSK31 or modes involving multiple concurrent tones such as WinLink. Please visit their website for a more complete description of the QDX transceiver and ordering. We strongly recommend purchasing the optional case.
A note from Dean: “All SMD components are already populated on the board. You will wind the toroids and all soldering is “through hole” connections. Don’t be intimidated by winding the toroids; you might also find enjoyment winding these toroids. We’ll help you every step of the way if you need any help. You’ll be able to use your QRP Watt meter from a previous workshop build a while back to tune the QDX. Don’t worry if you didn’t build the watt meter, we have one you may use along with a dummy load.
“Hurry up and order your QDX transceiver so you’ll have it by the time we start the build on February 1. We’re going to have fun with this one.”
A note from Rich regarding power supply: “9 volts or 12 volts. The conventional 9-volt battery purchased at any store make this a very convenient choice. The 12-volt model requires a rock-steady 12-volt supply from an external battery along with a buck converter or voltage limiting device.
Tools necessary for this build include:
Standard tools & experience
Soldering iron, solder, de-solder
Toroid winding
Magnifying device
Wire cutter
Sandpaper
Small screwdriver
Small power drill
Small diameter zip ties for securing toroid windings
Safety glasses
Advance registration is required. Seating is limited. A guest must be accompanied by a club member.