Many thanks to Mike and Ron for their replies.  I was under a preconceived notion that the RF output was a permanent reading, as I thought I saw that on my many hours of You Tube viewing.  That obviously lead to my confusion. 

 

I went back and read the manual and hooked up the RF Meter to monitor output and was pleasantly surprise at the 4 watt output.  After fidgeting with L1-L4 I was able to get out 5.05 Watts. Now a happy camper. 

 

Thank you again.  QRP here I come!!  

 

Regards,

Ernie Bailey

N2DGQ

SKCC - #23263-S

RCDD/DCDC/NTS

 

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

 

 

From: Ronald Taylor
Sent: Wednesday, February 9, 2022 2:49 PM
To: QRPLabs@groups.io
Subject: Re: [QRPLabs] QCX Mini Troubleshooting Meter

 

Ernie, in addition to what Mike said, the RF meter is only for temporary use. You can't leave it connected all the time or it might cause issues like excessive harmonics, etc. It's OK to leave the DVM connected to the power supply input as a way to monitor battery voltage. In that case you also need to set up the voltage max and steps and turn on the battery monitor. That's all in the manual. Good luck . Ron

 

On Wed, Feb 9, 2022 at 11:59 AM mike/w1mt <w1mt.qrp@...> wrote:

Unless you have jumpered the proper holes on the board you won't see voltage or power on the rig display. You can't connect both at the same time on the rig as there's only 1 A/D converter used for shared duty on the main cpu. Check your power out via a dummy load and measure the voltage either with a scope or a diode/voltmeter probe. Many dummy loads provide a place to measure the voltage. All the details are in the very fine QCX manuals (both the build and the operating manual are must reads).

 

mike/w1mt

 

On Wed, Feb 9, 2022 at 1:51 PM Ernie Bailey - N2DGQ <ebrcdddcdc@...> wrote:

First, I enjoy building kits.  I have taken a 34 year hiatus from Ham Radio. I have come back as I am retired.  When I was an active OP I was into QRP.  I recently bought and built the QCX Mini 40 Meter version #3.  The build was easy, and I completed the alignment per the instructions.  My question for this group, While in Item #9 Test Equipment I see the DVM and RF output are both indicating Zero.  Therefore I assume I am not getting any power output while keying.  Is this a correct assumption?  I have gone through many YouTube videos and have searched this forum and have not been able to find any information regarding the proper set up or usage of the RF Output and DVM indicators.  I do not have any test equipment except for an old Fluke DVM.  And unfortunately, have forgotten more theory than I wish to accept, therefore very frustrated at this point.  So again, I assume while transmitting I am able to see the power output and the voltage being delivered to this unit (13.8VDC) in the meter display.   I feel this is a really stupid question, but I am stuck.   Any information as to what I should be seeing for Voltage and RE output is extremely appreciated. 

Thank you in advance for your feedback.