Although I am a big fan of my Airspy devices, and I'm trying to get used to the new SDRPlay nRSP-ST device I have (very mixed feelings thus far), sometimes there is just no substitute for actual radio hardware. Controlling an actual radio and not doing so via a computer screen still means a lot to me. So I'm searching for something portable that will do it all, or almost do it all.
I've tried a few standalone SDR devices such as the Malahits (real Russian one and the recent DSP2), an Afedri LAN-IQ, and not been happy with either for a few different reasons, minimized spectrum bandwidth on the Malahits and no built-in speaker on the Afedri. They all were sold. The Uniden SDS models, to me anyway, are not a part of this discussion.
Recently I've been looking at some of the portable QRP amateur radio transceivers to see if they may be possibilities that could work for me. As I am a licensed ham operator (duh) I've always been interested in, and have accomplished some, QRP operation with success, especially on FT8. I will always first and foremost be a monitoring enthusiast though. I have looked into the following devices thus far.
Icom IC-705: As nice as it is, along with its familiarity, This one is pretty much immediately off the table for me, as its receiver stops at 470 MHz. In my area the UHF-T bands are very active, specifically 470-473 and 482-485. It has a pricetag of about $1350.
Yaesu FTX-1F: This is a new one, and yet to be released. Preliminary information/specs do not include receiver coverage. It is HF, VHF, and UHF all mode as is the IC-705. Yaesu's mobile dual band receivers for the most part do include wide band coverage through the 800 MHz land mobile band. I'm not sure if such coverage would be included in this one given that its primary use is for amateur radio operation. My guess is it's going to have a higher price tag than the 705 does.
Neither of the above have a built in antenna tuner. There are options for both, but obviously at a cost beyond the initial purchase. I'm surely not concerned about receive antennas, regardless whether I'm out in a field somewhere or sitting on my porch when Mother Nature is kind.
Xiegu X6200: I have mixed feelings about Xiegu radios. I had a G90 and pretty much hated the thing. However, it looks as though they have made some considerable strides with first the X6100 and now this model. Those familiar with it may say, "hey dummy, wait a minute, this one stops at the VHF civilian aircraft band, it ain't gonna work for what you're trying to do". Interestingly enough, within the past few days, Xiegu has announced an add-on wideband receiver option for this transceiver, that covers 54 through 1000 MHz. This was reported by Xiegu via their X/Twitter account. Additionally, this website has photos and a draft of the manual: Xiegu WR12 Wide-Band Receiver addon for X6200 - Ham Imports . Of course as always the risk with the Xiegu is that the user essentially turns into a beta-tester and sometimes things don't always work as purported or planned. Fortunately there are very active groups of Xiegu users with radio specific groups on groups.io. There is no information as to when this add-on will be available, and God only knows if it won't suck when it is available! The radio itself is $799, but Radioddity is offering a bundle right now with an extra battery and a few other things I don't need for $739. Of course there's no idea what the price for the add-on will be.
All of the above are potential "do almost everything" types of portable SDR's. Hopefully soon, additional information will become available for the Yaesu transceiver and for the receive module for the Xiegu. I'm not sure what the spectrum bandwidth will be for the Yaesu either. The Xiegu has a maximum of 384 kHz wide spectrum display according to its manual. That's not ideal for visually searching VHF and above. It does have a built in antenna tuner though, and Xiegu radios have a reputation of being able to tune the proverbial wet noodle. All three of these radios have a good sized screen, roughly all in the area of 4" or so. The Icom and the Yaesu are touch screens, the Xiegu is not. I'm not concerned about a lack of a touch screen, necessarily. The Icom or Yaesu models will very likely be a lot easier to deal with if there is a need for repair at any point. The Xiegu will clearly be the least expensive of the three, and quite likely as clearly will be the one that will provide the best ride on the "gee I hope this works consistently" roller coaster.
I like the rig sized yet portable possibilities of all three. I'm curious as to anyone else here using either the Icom or the Xiegu in this or a similar manner, and/or has heard any additional pertinent information about the FTX-1F.
Thanks.
I've tried a few standalone SDR devices such as the Malahits (real Russian one and the recent DSP2), an Afedri LAN-IQ, and not been happy with either for a few different reasons, minimized spectrum bandwidth on the Malahits and no built-in speaker on the Afedri. They all were sold. The Uniden SDS models, to me anyway, are not a part of this discussion.
Recently I've been looking at some of the portable QRP amateur radio transceivers to see if they may be possibilities that could work for me. As I am a licensed ham operator (duh) I've always been interested in, and have accomplished some, QRP operation with success, especially on FT8. I will always first and foremost be a monitoring enthusiast though. I have looked into the following devices thus far.
Icom IC-705: As nice as it is, along with its familiarity, This one is pretty much immediately off the table for me, as its receiver stops at 470 MHz. In my area the UHF-T bands are very active, specifically 470-473 and 482-485. It has a pricetag of about $1350.
Yaesu FTX-1F: This is a new one, and yet to be released. Preliminary information/specs do not include receiver coverage. It is HF, VHF, and UHF all mode as is the IC-705. Yaesu's mobile dual band receivers for the most part do include wide band coverage through the 800 MHz land mobile band. I'm not sure if such coverage would be included in this one given that its primary use is for amateur radio operation. My guess is it's going to have a higher price tag than the 705 does.
Neither of the above have a built in antenna tuner. There are options for both, but obviously at a cost beyond the initial purchase. I'm surely not concerned about receive antennas, regardless whether I'm out in a field somewhere or sitting on my porch when Mother Nature is kind.
Xiegu X6200: I have mixed feelings about Xiegu radios. I had a G90 and pretty much hated the thing. However, it looks as though they have made some considerable strides with first the X6100 and now this model. Those familiar with it may say, "hey dummy, wait a minute, this one stops at the VHF civilian aircraft band, it ain't gonna work for what you're trying to do". Interestingly enough, within the past few days, Xiegu has announced an add-on wideband receiver option for this transceiver, that covers 54 through 1000 MHz. This was reported by Xiegu via their X/Twitter account. Additionally, this website has photos and a draft of the manual: Xiegu WR12 Wide-Band Receiver addon for X6200 - Ham Imports . Of course as always the risk with the Xiegu is that the user essentially turns into a beta-tester and sometimes things don't always work as purported or planned. Fortunately there are very active groups of Xiegu users with radio specific groups on groups.io. There is no information as to when this add-on will be available, and God only knows if it won't suck when it is available! The radio itself is $799, but Radioddity is offering a bundle right now with an extra battery and a few other things I don't need for $739. Of course there's no idea what the price for the add-on will be.
All of the above are potential "do almost everything" types of portable SDR's. Hopefully soon, additional information will become available for the Yaesu transceiver and for the receive module for the Xiegu. I'm not sure what the spectrum bandwidth will be for the Yaesu either. The Xiegu has a maximum of 384 kHz wide spectrum display according to its manual. That's not ideal for visually searching VHF and above. It does have a built in antenna tuner though, and Xiegu radios have a reputation of being able to tune the proverbial wet noodle. All three of these radios have a good sized screen, roughly all in the area of 4" or so. The Icom and the Yaesu are touch screens, the Xiegu is not. I'm not concerned about a lack of a touch screen, necessarily. The Icom or Yaesu models will very likely be a lot easier to deal with if there is a need for repair at any point. The Xiegu will clearly be the least expensive of the three, and quite likely as clearly will be the one that will provide the best ride on the "gee I hope this works consistently" roller coaster.
I like the rig sized yet portable possibilities of all three. I'm curious as to anyone else here using either the Icom or the Xiegu in this or a similar manner, and/or has heard any additional pertinent information about the FTX-1F.
Thanks.
Not perfect, but it does a lot. Definitely a jack-of-all trades radio.
