An update from QRP-Labs in July 2020.
QSX Project update
The QSX project is an all-mode, all-band HF transceiver providing CW, SSB, AM, FM, and Digimodes for all bands from 160m to 10m inclusive, with 10W output power. It is an embedded SDR transceiver providing extremely high performance and packed full of features, yet at a very low price. The project is described here http://qrp-labs.com/qsx
To my shame, embarrassment and regret, this product development has taken me very much longer than originally anticipated and the anticipated availability date has been and long gone. I frequently receive emails asking about the status of the project, and some people ask has it been dropped entirely? Will it ever be available?
Well, the answer is no, it certainly has not been dropped, canceled, given up on, etc. The project is still a very high priority. But at the same time, this is a very complex and ambitious project to be undertaken by a small business such as QRP Labs. Research and Development is a large undertaking, requiring a considerable time investment. At the same time, all the other demands of running a small but growing family business have not gone away, and are far from negligible.
Many people who have not tried running a business, will find this hard to understand. I myself did not understand either, at the beginning. Basically, it is hard enough to design a circuit that works and is reproducible by others, often involving complex hardware and firmware bound together in harmony. But then producing it hundreds or thousands of times over, at a price that makes it attractive to hobbyists – and all the challenges of component supply, manufacturing, logistics, imports, administration that go with it… then all the after-sales support, both technical and mundane (lost packages, slow packages, missing components, etc)… let’s just say you have to be crazy to even contemplate taking on such a thing! To say that it is time consuming is a chronic understatement.
QSX is a large-scale project requiring a long development program. However, at the same time, QRP Labs is a business enterprise that has to feed the family as our primary source of income. This makes it essential to continue to develop and offer other more minor new products or firmware versions to enhance existing products, in parallel with the QSX development program, to sustain our income. On the other hand, work on these other things in most cases also overlaps with tasks in the QSX program so in many ways the work is not lost.
I do feel very thankful that at least I was never so optimistic about development schedules that I took any pre-orders for the QSX!
Then to conclude this topic: I am as determined as ever, to finish the project and make it available to you all in large quantities. The project is definitely not canceled and is definitely not on hold, either. I have often said, I’m not rich, I’m not smart, I’m not educated in electronics hardware or software – but the one thing I really am is too dumb to know when to quit. So never fear, it will be done. And it will be worth the wait. I will be updating the QRP Labs discussion group and the QSX page as soon as I can be more definite about dates. Until then, I do not want to tempt fate with any promises about dates that I can’t be sure of keeping.
For those of you that are interested in building your own radio from a kit, this kit will be for you. The good folks at QRP-Labs are creating an all-band, all-mode 10-watt radio that will cost about $150. The following information is from the QRP-Labs web page.
QSX (QRP Labs SSB Xcvr) is a 40m SSB transceiver. It will have an optional 10-band (160m-10m) filter module and an optional extruded aluminum enclosure. This will make an all-band HF all-mode 10W high-performance transceiver.
The kit inherits all the functionality of the famous QCX single-band CW transceiver kit but adds SSB, AM, FM, PSK31, and RTTY. This will be the lowest cost all-HF radio available but also high performance and packed with features.
These are the planned features of QSX:
- Software Defined Radio (SDR) technology with standalone Digital Signal Processing (DSP), no PC required
- Very high-performance 24-bit Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) and 24-bit Digital to Analog Converter (DAC)
- 40m (single band); or with the optional extra board, 160-10m (10-band, including 60m)
- Modes: SSB, CW, AM, FM, PSK31, RTTY, WSPR beacon
- Power output: 10W from 13.8V supply (power output is adjustable by the firmware)
- Single power supply needed, 12V to 14V
- USB host interface and connector, for a USB keyboard to allow PC-less operation on PSK31 and RTTY
- USB device interface and connector, for PC CAT Control
- QSX can appear to a PC as a high-performance 24-bit USB sound card and radio – for digital modes from a PC e.g. FT8, either demodulated or as I-Q for PC SDR programs
- Built-in CW IAMBIC keyer (or straight keying also possible) with raised-cosine key-envelope shaping
- DSP features (selectable sharp filters, AGC, Speech Compression, Noise Reduction, etc.)
- Dual microphone inputs (mobile phone headset with VOX, or RJ45 connector for Kenwood/Yaesu mics)
- Dual VFO (A/B/Split), frequency and message memories
- Through-hole assembly only
- Built-in test equipment features for alignment, debugging, and general-purpose use
- Detailed assembly manual
- Macro facility for user-defined sequences of operations, or redefinition of controls
- Front panel: 16 x 2 LCD (yellow/green backlight), 2 rotary encoders, 4 buttons, mic/earphones socket
- Soft-power on/off switch, the radio saves its state automatically on switch off, so that it starts up in the same state next time
- Free firmware updates for life, very simple firmware update procedure via a USB memory stick
QSX is still in development! The above list is subject to change. The following is a FAQ with information about QSX.
These kits are NOT yet available, but should be coming out “Real Soon Now”. There is no waiting list. There is no pre-order list.
QSX Specifications
The QRP-Labs QSX specifications page can be accessed by clicking here.
QSX Design Theory
The good people at SWLing.com have a great article on the upcoming QSX radio. On this site, they have the proceedings paper that Hans Summers G0UPL produced. In addition, the slides from Hans’ talk are available, along with an audio version of his presentation on the design theory of the QSX.
Amplifier
For those of you that think 10-watts may not be enough power, there are some third party amplifier kits available. These will take the 10-watt output and produce over 100 watts from a 12-volt DC power supply. These amplifiers typically require a separate low pass filter on the output of the amplifier. More information on these amplifiers when testing has been performed.