Horizontal installation:
The SMA connector happens to fit the board nicely too in the
horizontal, edge-mounted position. Place it with the center pin on the top side of the board,
and two of the corner pins on the bottom side, and solder in place. The other two ground
pins can be ignored. This works very well.
3.2
Use with QCX, U3S, Clock, VFO, ProgRock etc. kits
In this application, you need only plug in the antenna coax SMA
connector and the QLG2 is ready to use. It is entirely compatible
with the former QLG1 kit and the 4-way pin header pads at the
right side of the board can be used in the same way as a QLG1
kit.
+5V power can be supplied to the module via the +5V
connection if desired.
These signals are also available on the 6-way pin header pads
at the bottom of the board edge. If you install the USB-B
connector in the position facing out from the right-hand edge of
the board, the body of the connector will block access to the 4-pin header. In this case, if
you wish to connect to these 4 signals, you can do so at the 6-pin interface
NOTE
: The 4-pin header “TXD” connection is not the same as the “TXD” connection on the
6-pin header at the bottom board edge. On the bottom edge connector (6-pin) the signals
named TXD and RXD are the microcontroller serial ports that access the USB to Serial
converter. On the 6-pin connector, the pin labeled “SER” on the PCB silkscreen, and
“GPS_TXD” on the schematic, is actually connected to the pin labeled “TXD” on the 4-pin
header.
3.3
USB connector
For all but the most basic use of the QLG2, you will likely wish to install the USB B
connector (supplied) or if you prefer, a micro-USB connector (not supplied).
The USB connector is used for two purposes:
1. To provide a USB to Serial converter, which can be used either to stream the GNSS
NMEA serial data to the PC, or as a separate USB to Serial converter for other
purposes, for example, for providing CAT control to a QCX-series CW transceiver kit.
(This is described in a later section).
2. In bootloader mode, the USB connector enables the functionality of the QRP Labs
Firmware Update (QFU) procedure. (This is described in a later section).
In the diagram below, you will note that the supplied USB-B connector can be installed with
its socket facing out from the bottom of side of the PCB, or from the right side. These are
coloured orange in the diagram. There are also pads provided for a micro-USB connector
(not supplied), again facing down or to the right; these are coloured red in the diagram.
Which of these positions you choose to install the connector in, has no bearing on the
operation of the unit; it is only a matter for you to choose whatever will be most suitable in
your enclosure or application.
QLG2 manual for firmware 1.00a
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