Hans G0UPL of QRP Labs posted the following to the QRP Tech mailing list. Looks like a pretty good value—the base kit is only $55—and a fun kit to build……Dan
Many of you will already be aware of the QCX CW transceiver kit which was launched in August 2017, and evolved into the QCX+ in May 2020. To date, in total 11,568 of these kits have been sold (August 2017 to December 2020).
I am pleased to announce the QCX-mini: all the same performance, functions, firmware and price of the original QCX/QCX+, but in a much smaller package, a perfect Christmas stocking gift! QCX-mini is now available costing $55 for the kit (same price as the QCX+). A beautifully CNC machined black-anodized extruded aluminium enclosure is available, with laser-etched lettering, for $20. The QCX+ TCXO option is $8.25 and is compatible with QCX-mini. Sturdy and small, it’s cute in the shack or perfect for outdoor adventures.
We also will have assembled/tested/aligned/calibrated QCX-mini kits which can be pre-ordered now but probably will take several weeks to assemble since we will be busy handling QCX-mini kit order shipments as much as possible in time for Christmas. The Assembled radio pre-order page is: http://shop.qrp-labs.com/qcxminia
Special portable-friendly features:
- Small size: 95 x 63 x 25mm enclosure (plus protrusions)
Yellow/green LCD module, sunlight viewable, backlight can be switched off - Low current consumption (for example 58mA receive current, with 12V supply and display backlight off)
- Low weight, 202 grams
- Sturdy extruded aluminium enclosure
- All-metal BNC short connector, bolted to enclosure
In addition to all the standard QCX/QCX+ features:
- Easy to build, two-board design, board with main circuit and connectors, display panel board with LCD; all-controls board-mounted on a press-out sub-board. No wiring, all controls and connectors are board-mounted
- Professional quality double-sided, through-hole plated, silk-screen printed PCBs
- Choice of single band, 80, 60, 40, 30, 20 or 17m (160m, 15, 12, 10 and 6m are possible with component value changes)
- Approximately 3-5W CW output (depending on supply voltage)
- 7-16V recommended supply voltage
- Class E power amplifier, transistors run cool
- 7-element Low Pass Filter ensures regulatory compliance
- CW envelope shaping to remove key clicks
- High performance receiver with at least 50dB of unwanted sideband cancellation
- 200Hz CW filter with no ringing
- Si5351A Synthesized VFO with rotary encoder tuning
- Iambic keyer or straight key option included in the firmware
- Simple Digital Signal Processing assisted CW decoder, displayed real-time on-screen
- On-screen S-meter
- On-screen real time clock (not battery backed up)
- Full or semi QSK operation using fast solid-state transmit/receive switching
- Frequency presets, VFO A/B Split operation, RIT, configurable CW Offset
- Configurable sidetone frequency and volume
- Connectors: 2.1mm power barrel connector, 3.5mm keyer jack, 3.5mm stereo earphone jack, 3.5mm stereo jack for PTT, 3.5mm stereo jack for CAT control, BNC RF output
- Built-in test signal generator and alignment tools to complete simple set-up adjustments
- Built-in test equipment: voltmeter, RF power meter, frequency counter, signal generator
- Beacon mode, supporting automatic CW, FSKCW or WSPR operation
- GPS interface for reference frequency calibration and time-keeping (for WSPR beacon)
- CAT control interface
- Optional 50W PA kit
A small daughtercard PCB has been included to facilitate easy modification to the uSDX software-defined SSB transceiver see https://groups.io/g/ucx (this modification is supported by the uSDX group, not QRP Labs).
Dave New, N8SBE says
I ordered a 20M version this past weekend, when there were only 54 left of the original 997 on offer. The sale started Friday, and by Sunday, they were all gone!
Hans has put up a pre-order for the next batch of 1000. He is ordering the parts for those now, and expects they will be available early next year, Jan-Feb.
To appreciate Hans’ ability to stuff 10 lbs of turkey in a 5 lb sack, he’s done all this in an Atmel AT328P, which has all of 32K (not M) bytes of flash memory. This is the same processor used by the Arduino, but Hans is not using the Arduino runtime, since it uses 2K of that precious 32K of memory.
And no, before you ask, it is NOT open-source. There are a number of China knockoffs of the original QCX, attempting to undercut his price, which is already ridiculously low for such a full-featured radio, and keeping his source closed and highly functional and bug-free has been his main competitive edge against those usurpers.
So quit being cheap (you know who you are, out there) and support Hans by buying top-quality radios from him.