I havent got a fantastic radio budget, but would love something compact and portable for “hill top” use, been looking at one of these for ages, but not sure weather or not to take the plunge!
Just wondering what other peoples thoughts are, and what accessories would be useful to get the best out of them? obviously a tuner/suitable antenna (im thinking of cutting several EFHWs, so tuner not needed) any ideas??
Thanks alot
Alan - 2E0JWA
They are marginal performers, much like the truSDX, but worse. Lots of internally generated noise. Add to that inconsistent quality, particularly for the Chinese clones. At least the truSDX is more consistent, but while I own three of them and genuinely appreciate the novelty, they are not radios I like to use very much.
I own this model and the tiny 40/20/15 m unit and they are both worse than the three truSDX units I have. I had to completely rebuild the filters on two of the bands for the tiny unit because they weren’t built correctly.
If you want a project and don’t expect much for performance, they’re fun to play with. But don’t expect a good rig.
Adam
K6ARK
I totally agree with Adam, visit DL2MAN.de site where you can find places where you can purchase original radios. You can buy kit or ready made and tunned unit.
I use truSDX for nearly a year now and never failed to activate with at least 15-20 QSOs
There is also QMX from QRP-Labs.com , if you are happy to wait for couple of months. I expect this to be better radio than truSDX.
GL 73 Marek
currently not available in the UK sadly… dont know why, but its VERY annoying! as i was looking at one of them to begin with…
yes, the QMX looks like it may be a game changer, but it seems to be taking forever for them release/perfect it…
Cheers - Alan
Alan,
I got mine in Alliexpress UpTech Store and got it within 2 weeks. It is very reliable source and Manuel DL2MAN recommends it.
73 Marek
to the UK??
Im looking everywhere, and keep getting either none listed, or not available in the UK…
Cheers - Alan
Hi Alan,
you may try this link from eBay:
I have two (classic and high band from this seller.
73,
Mirko S52CU
I‘ve used my (tr)uSDX since March 2023 for a couple of SOTA and POTA activations mostly with a resonant EFHW on 20 and 40 m in cw. It is a good and nicely priced radio in my opinion. I wouldn’t compare it to my KX2 though and never tried to use it in SSB.
Pros:
Cons:
Bought mine as a kit from the official vendor on AliExpress and received it within two weeks.
73 Philipp
Hi Alan
They post to the UK, join the tr uSDX forum plenty advice before buying and the D2MAN website gives links were to buy. Uptech is probably the best and can take over a week to arrive.
https://dl2man.de/where-to-buy-trusdx/
The QMX looks interesting and will be on a Christmas list this year, a main advantage of learning morse plenty of options for low cost transceivers.
73
Graeme
i was looking at the QDX at one point, i love FT8, but also like to keep voice as an option if possible!
Cheers - Alan
Ok, been weighing up… what about the Xeigu G106?? other Xeigu kit seems to be well rated… but is it better than a USDX??
I reckon with a bit of “planning” I can stretch my somewhat limited budget??
Cheers - Alan
Hi Alan,
I have both the Xiegu G90 and the Xiegu G106 - they are at different ends of the spectrum as far as features go and originally when the G106 came out, it was only about $70 cheaper than the G90.
Now with price reductions and package deals with the digital Interface DE19 it starts to be closer to the (IMHO) correct price point.
That being said the USDX is still a lot cheaper with all of its features.
The G106 is designed to be a basic, simple to use “Knock-a-bout” radio in a good solid case. The radio itself has no “bells and whistles”, as the G90 for example has.
If you are looking for a radio you can buy through a dealer who will give support if there are problems, I think the G106 fits that category better than the USDX. If you are happy to support the radio yourself or through social media lists, then the USDX will most likely give you “more bang for your buck”.
Please note I don’t own an USDX, I am only going by what I have read.
73 Ed DD5LP.
Thanks Ed,for your insights
Geoff vk3sq
Interesting responses. I’ve used both the (tr)uSDX and the uSDX+. Although it’s a bit of a spoiler, I’ll take my uSDX+ over a (tr)uSDX. It’s not perfect by any means, but here are my thoughts based on my experiences of using them for SOTA and general portable usage.
(tr)uSDX:
Poor form factor and weak SMA connection.
Required power connector that appeared to be a weak point as far as strength of connection goes.
Poor CW filtering.
No internal battery.
Enclosure did not feel as robust as uSDX+.
And #1 pet hate… the screen is truly appalling. You cannot see a thing in outside light and for this alone, I would not buy one. It was a very frustrating being stuck at the top of an Alpine mountain on a recent SOTA activation, and not knowing what frequency I was on. Truly awful screen,
Plus point… internal microphone did a great job.
uSDX+
CW filtering is pretty good, certainly a lot better than the (tr)uSDX.
Internal battery lasts for hours.
Rugged case (I’ve dropped mine on the floor, it’s been drenched with sea water ona recent /P expedition) - works just fine.
Excellent screen, easy to see.
Covers all HF bands.
To be fair, my unit hasn’t been without problems… the rear microphone connector was poorly soldered and the mic stopped working. I reflowed the solder joints and it’s been fine. The internal speaker has stopped working but that’s not an issue (for me) as I always use headphones (although the speaker/mic works as it should when h/phones are not attached).
Overall, for me, the uSDX+ wins easily. I’ve had a 10m SSB contact to Brazil using it, plus contacts to the US, Asiatic Russia, etc. It performs well and has never let me down out in the field. It’s not perfect, but for what it is, I am a very happy customer. I couldn’t say the same with the (tr)uSDX and I was glad to hand it back to its owner!
David. G7BEH.
I use the uSDX “red corners” on CW. It has some quirks but the full hf band coverage, good power output, strong battery, swr/pwr meter and virtual indestructibility of the IRF510 PA are very favorable. Yes the rx front end is wide but attenuators can help, and in my case a magloop antenna is a high-Q bandpass filter that has let me operate under field Day conditions.
@G7BEH About year and half ago, I tested one of the models od uSDX and found that it doesn’t meet criteria for suppression of harmonics. I looked inside to see if I can remedy the problem and if was all covered in white stuff. I gave up and sold the unit.
(tr)uSDX meets harmonics suppression criteria.
I might be unlucky, but I read number of posts of people who had harmonics issue with uSDX.
73 Marek
@SP9TKW Just to be clear, I have the uSDX+. One of these…
The (tr)uSDX may meet harmonics suppression criteria, but for me, I found it unusable for all the reasons I listed previously. The uSDX+ is in no way perfect and has some annoying traits, but for portable operation, I’ve found it reliable, usable, lightweight and small.
Well, i finally made a decision and went COMPLETELY leftfield! and got myself a Xeigu G106! currently perfecting an EFHW for it, so i can use it tunerless and not have extra bulk! made a couple of contacts on it, on 40M form outside the house while tweaking the EFHW, needs a bit more tweaking that I aim to get onto this weekend (IF its dry) them, the countdown will be on to a 1st HF summit activation!
Thanks for tall the advice guys, but some excellent youtube videos swung it for me… a little more money yes… but a massively better radio!
Cheers - Alan
