TGXL Rough Edges?

K1ESE

After waiting since March I received my TGXL yesterday. Setup was pretty easy and everything worked great for the most part.

However, I have run into four rough spots. It may be that The solution to each is in the manual. Or it may be this is just the way it works with the current firmware. Any answers are greatly appreciated.

Item 1 - Tuning and the Amp line

I don't have a PGXL if that matters. My amplifier is in OPERATE mode. If I press the TUNE button on the TGXL the tuner is tripped out because the TUNE button does not disconnect the amplifier key line. While not remote, the amp is not easily accessible. Neither is the TX BAND SETTINGS menu to disable the amp key line. I cannot think of a reason an operator would want the amp to key while the TGXL is tuning. What am I missing?

Item 2 - Keying Clicks

The TGXL has a relay that clicks on and off every time the PTT is on and off. On CW with a short delay, QSK or Semi-QSK, this can be really annoying. I've had a lot of autotuners but never one with a relay. How can I turn that off?

Item 3 -

As Brian W9HLQ posted:

"I can use the Tuner Utility and find a good match and save it. However, if I use the Tune button to tune, the TGXL responds with a High SWR 10 error message. The tuning settings are lost and set to Zero. Why can't the tuner use what I found manually and continue to find a match on nearby frequencies? It seems the tuning logic is not very persistent, it gives up too soon. "

I agree. Is there a workaround?

Item 4 -

The little switch in the back of the tuner is hard to get to. I thought I would turn the TGXL off and on using the switch on my power supply. If I turn on the TGXL with the power supply the fan in the TGXL comes on full speed and full noise and won't turn off. It has to be turned on and off using the tiny switch at the back. This means it has to be placed in a way that you can get to the switch. I must be missing something obvious. What is it?

Overall I think the TGXL could be perfect but right now there are rough edges.

73 de K1ESE, John

K1ESE

Dan -

Thanks for the answers.

Item 1 - That fixed it! I had only connected the Ethernet cable since I was using a Flex but didn't consider that the amp was not a Flex. Thank you. That was the big one.

Item 2 - I had not used RX Bypass. I tried RX Bypass and the clicks were really loud. I disabled RX Bypass and clicks are still there but not as loud. It's still distracting.

Item 3 - The result of the problem is that if you manually "SAVE" a solution and later press tune in a nearby frequency, the solution is no longer "SAVED". I have gone to writing down my manual solutions to keep from having to reinvent the wheel. If you manually tune from the TGXL Utility I see no way to know if your solution was saved since unlike the physical front panel there is no "MANUAL TUNING" and "TUNING SAVED" indications in the Utility that I have found.

Item 4 - Thanks for the update. I only hope that I won't have to ship my new TGXL back for the fix as K4QXX did.

I appreciate the answers and will continue to enjoy the tuner.

Thanks, K1ESE John

Mike Steventon

I agree with your remark, Item 4, the switch at the back is a bit daft really. Whatever was wrong with having the switch on the front, the same as the 6600M? When I get mine (eventually!), I shall most probably leave it on all the time…….

I cannot comment on the other things as I have yet to experience hands-on.

73 de Mike G4GWH

K4QXX

There is a fix for number 4. I had the fan issue and I had to send my TG back to flex for a fix. Although my issue was opposite of yours. If I used the switch in the back of the TG, the fans would come on full speed and TG wouldn't boot. If I left the switch on and turned on the power supply, my TG would boot normally.

Burch

K4QXX

Dan-N7HQ

Item 1 - Tuning and the Amp line

If you are not using a PGXL and using a hard-wired PTT line, your amplifier's PTT IN line should be connected to the PTT OUT on the TGXL so that it can make/break that connection as appropriate. The PTT IN on the TGXL would be connected to the appropriate PTT OUT port on your FlexRadio exciter.

Item 2 - Keying Clicks

If you are using the RX Bypass feature (set by band or by port) f the TGXL, which bypasses the tuning circuit when receiving, you effectively have introduced a T/R switch, and there is no way around keying clicks. Do you hear clicks when not using the RX bypass feature?

Item 3 -

As Brian W9HLQ posted:

"I can use the Tuner Utility and find a good match and save it. However, if I use the Tune button to tune, the TGXL responds with a High SWR 10 error message. The tuning settings are lost and set to Zero. Why can't the tuner use what I found manually and continue to find a match on nearby frequencies? It seems the tuning logic is not very persistent, it gives up too soon. "

I'll pass that observation/request along to the TGXL firmware engineers.

Item 4 - Fans on High Speed when switching AC on a connected DC Power Supply

The engineers are working on a solution for that. We do not have a 100% solution yet.

73,

Dan, N7HQ

Al_NN4ZZ

Dan wrote: "Item 1 - Tuning and the Amp line

If you are not using a PGXL and using a hard-wired PTT line, your amplifier's PTT IN line should be connected to the PTT OUT on the TGXL so that it can make/break that connection as appropriate. The PTT IN on the TGXL would be connected to the appropriate PTT OUT port on your FlexRadio exciter. "

I believe I have it set up the way you suggested (see diagram). I thought it would break the PTT line when you pressed the TUNE on the TGXL and prevent the amp from engaging. At least in my case it didn't and with the amp on it gives the high power error. (just guessing...and assuming if my wiring is good, maybe it's a firmware or timing issue??)

The current functioning is not a problem for me as I have the tuning solutions set for all my bands and antennas and don't need to re-tune. I've only been using the TGXL for about a month but so far I haven't had to make any new tuning changes. I have SSDR profiles named "AMP ON" and "AMP OFF" The "AMP ON" profile enables TX1 (PTT) and sets the power level needed by band for the amp. The "AMP OFF" profile disables the TX1 output and set the power level back to 100W for barefoot. The SSDR TUNE output power level is set to 10W. It's easy to make sure I have selected the "AMP OFF" profile if I do need to tune the TGXL or if I just want to output the low level RF from the radio to check to see if the TGXL is set up and good to go .

Regards, Al / NN4ZZ

al (at) nn4zz (dot) com

6700 Win10 SSDR V2.4.10

Prometheus DX2400 is the solid state amp.

K1ESE

It worked on my Mercury IIIS.

Butch

Reference issue #4. Same issue with my TG-XL; with the TG-XL's power switch left on and remotely switching its 12v power source, the unit wouldn't boot and fan went to max. I had heard FRS had a mod (an added capacitor I think) that fixes this issue but after waiting so long to get my TG I definitely wasn't overjoyed about sending it back, paying shipping/ins, and of course more wait time.

I decided to try a 4005i RigRunner to remote activate my TG and for some reason it worked perfectly!

Dan-N7HQ

I believe I have it set up the way you suggested (see diagram). I thought it would break the PTT line when you pressed the TUNE on the TGXL and prevent the amp from engaging. At least in my case it didn't and with the amp on it gives the high power error. (just guessing...and assuming if my wiring is good, maybe it's a firmware or timing issue??)

It should work like this, I'll fire off a question to the firmware team. Feel free to kick off a support request.

73,

Dan

Al_NN4ZZ

Hi Dan,

Thanks for the feedback offer to open a ticket. I posted just for reference in case anyone else runs into this. Bit it really works fine for me as is given the way I use my profiles, etc. As I mentioned I haven't even needed to use the TUNE button on the TGXL since I initially set it up. I wouldn't want to take anyone's time for this so will pass on the ticket. It may even be a timing issue in my amp.

There was one thing that I thought might be helpful for troubleshooting. The idea is to add a PTT OUTPUT ON/OFF indicator in the app to show whether the PPT OUT is on or not. That would confirm that pressing the TUNE button turned if off. But again if this in not a common issue it may not be worth doing or at least be a very low priority.

At any rate, I've been very happy with the TGXL, it has been a pleasure to use and really a big improvement over my previous setup using a manual tuner.

Regards, Al / NN4ZZ

al (at) nn4zz (dot) com

6700 Win10 SSDR V2.4.10

K1ESE

Dan -

The solution to Item 1 is not so great.

Item 1 - Tuning and the Amp line

If you are not using a PGXL and using a hard-wired PTT line, your amplifier's PTT IN line should be connected to the PTT OUT on the TGXL so that it can make/break that connection as appropriate. The PTT IN on the TGXL would be connected to the appropriate PTT OUT port on your FlexRadio exciter.

The problem is that if you hook it up that way and the TGXL is on, the TX Band Settings are ignored. The amp line, RCA TX1 in my case, is always active. Unchecking it in the TX Band Settings has no effect. If the TGXL is off the TX Band Settings work fine.

73,

K1ESE

Dan-N7HQ

"The problem is that if you hook it up that way and the TGXL is on, the TX Band Settings are ignored. The amp line, RCA TX1 in my case, is always active. Unchecking it in the TX Band Settings has no effect. If the TGXL is off the TX Band Settings work fine."

Sound like a bug, John. Thanks for clarifying, and I will make sure the firmware team sees this.

73,

Dan, N7HQ

Dave W5UN

Help me how bypass works.

when I select part of a band to be bypassed, I would expect when I tune into that part of the band, the bypass button would light and the tuner would be bypassed. IT ISN’T. Where am I going wrong?

David Decoons, wo2x

@Dave Blaschke are you entering the start and stop bypass frequency in kHz?

Example 20 meters 14.236 would be entered as 14236.0

And make sure to enter a start and stop bypass range.

73

Dave wo2x

Dave W5UN

Thanks Dave,

I found the problem. My failing eyesight had one of the entries with a . instead of a , all is working now.

Dave, W5UN

David Decoons, wo2x

Ok, great!