Struggling with 16QAM <--> UDP

Good Day,

The overarching goal of my project is to build and test a one-way
transmitter/receiver pair. The bare-bones block diagram is UDP input -->
16QAM modulation --> bladeRF Tx --> channel —> bladeRF Rx -->
polyphase clock --> 16QAM demod --> UDP output

When I sent this over the air I kept getting a garbage/unexpected output
so now I’m going through the system and simming things again. For now
I’ve cut out the UDP source and am testing specific values. My
questions/problems:

  1. If I use a random source set to (0,1), or a constant source set to 0,
    the Qt Gui Time sink displays a flat line @ 0. But if I use a random
    source of (1,2) --which should output “1”-- or I use a constant source
    of 1, the Gui Time sink doesn’t display a flat line @ 1 but a bunch of
    discrete points, mostly 1’s but apparently also some 0’s.

  2. Likewise, input 0 gives a Gui Constellation output that one would
    expect for a grey-coded symbol of “0000” (this and ONLY this
    constellation point appears). However, input 1 doesn’t generate one
    point at “1111”, but the full 16-point constellation, which means the
    QAM Mod block is outputting a bunch of mixed 1’s and 0’s. I realize the
    block causes ISI but why is it apparently so severe for an input of “1”
    and not for an input of “0”?

  3. What is the exact constellation used by the QAM block? There are
    multiple ways to grey-code 16QAM…you’ll notice that my LMS-DD
    Equalizer is disabled. I think the QAM Constellation Object that I
    specified doesn’t match the grey coding of the QAM Mod.

  4. Finally, I was testing my transmission @ 801MHz. I noticed that the
    radio is broadcasting even if the UDP source has no inputs (i.e. I’ve
    typed nothing, or not sent a file). How do I get the radio to NOT
    broadcast unless it actually receives some data input? Can I not do this
    in GNURadio, and have to dig into the python code by hand?

Tx Setup: Sony Laptop, i5 dual core 4GB RAM, bladeRFx40 over USB3.
Debian Jessie + GNURadio 3.7.5
Rx Setup: custom desktop, i7 quad core + 16GB RAM, bladeRFx40 over USB3,
GNURadio 3.7.5 live persistent USB thumb drive (16GB, over USB3).

Forgot to attach the flowgraph. -_-