The Under-achievers

This section is dedicated to radios that were in fact affordable, portable and easy to setup but couldn't quite cut the mustard. Keep in mind, this site focuses on the SSB voice side of ham radio (particularly QRP) so just because a radio doesn't live up to our needs doesn't mean it won't live up to your needs. Every radio is given an honest chance, and any benefits a radio might have will be listed. So without further introduction, here's our underachievers:

usDX SDR QRP 3-Band Transceiver

Well, they can't all be winners, right?  And I'm not saying this usDX QRP transceiver doesn't function. But it just doesn't function well for us SSB voice hams. Out of the box I hooked it up to the same antenna setup I use with my USDR+ and plugged in the supplied microphone. I did make contact with my first try on 20 meters USB. In fact, they said my signal in Alabama (from Colorado) was a good 5-8. So how does this radio end up on my wall of shame?

The audio. It's horrible. Don't get me wrong, the volume knob is a nice addition and I hope more manufacturers install them on their QRP rigs. It still has a second volume control in the menu options (like all USDX clones). But that speaker... I mean I'm getting a 5-8 signal from Alabama on 5 watts, they're running 100 watts, and I can't even hear them over the noise floor. The external speaker is that bad. So I tried hadphones, hoping it was just a lousy speaker. Minimal improvement. I played with the bandwidth filter, AGC, noise reduction... It just got worse unless I put everything back on factory presets. Whatever this thing uses to process sound, it's basically garbage. Being able to hit Alabama and get a 5-8 signal is great, but I need to be able to hear them as well. I went up and down the 20-meter band, nothing came in clear enough to understand. Swapped out radios and swept the bands again, and pulled in several stations. Hooked up the usDX again, and it was back to noise central. Couldn't even make out call signs.

Now that doesn't mean the radio is completely useless. It is small, it will last forever and a day on a LiFePo4 battery, and the filter bandwidth will go down to 500 Hz. So if you're into affordable CW communications, this could be the rig for you. But if you have any hope of using it for SSB voice communication, you'll want to look elsewhere. I sent this one back for a refund.

Links to puchases you likely won't be interested in...

I am enrolled as an Amazon Associate so I will likely not make a small commission on qualified purchases you likely won't make via these links you will likely not click on. That being said, you are not obligated to purchase from my links (or anywhere else!) to use the information I've given in this blog. 73 de KI5ONA and enjoy the hobby!

usDX 3-Band SDR QRP Transceiver:

https://www.amazon.com/41njCDI