(tr)uSDX QRP transceiver among others
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2025-08-19 After my 18 contact hunt with the (tr)uSDX yesterday I took it and my Gabil GRA-7350TC out to US-4265, Richard Bong State Recreation Area this afternoon. In 45 min got 15 contacts on 20m in the log, the first being a European station! I just might fall in love with this thing. Perhaps I should sell my ic705 and kh1, each costing nearly ten times the (tr)uSDX! |
2025-08-19 (from Facebook post) I've spent lots of money on radios since getting involved with pota. My ICOM ic705 and Elecraft KH1 among them. I love and use both nearly daily. But yesterday reminded me those are choices, not necessities!
About a year ago I bought a genuine (tr)uSDX for about $150. After playing a bit with it I stuck it in plastic bag and forgot about it. Then yesterday I decided to play with it again. It (the orange box in the picture) took bit to round up and connect a battery; find and hook up my Elecraft T1 tuner for my G5RV antenna and paddle and my Anker self powered speaker.. But soon I was hearing 40 and 20 meter signals loud and clear!
Eighteen hunter QSOs later I was a happy camper! And I was feeling just a bit guilty about the ic705 shoved to the background while my little Orange box had proudly carried the day.
About a year ago I bought a genuine (tr)uSDX for about $150. After playing a bit with it I stuck it in plastic bag and forgot about it. Then yesterday I decided to play with it again. It (the orange box in the picture) took bit to round up and connect a battery; find and hook up my Elecraft T1 tuner for my G5RV antenna and paddle and my Anker self powered speaker.. But soon I was hearing 40 and 20 meter signals loud and clear!
Eighteen hunter QSOs later I was a happy camper! And I was feeling just a bit guilty about the ic705 shoved to the background while my little Orange box had proudly carried the day.
2025-08-18 In May of 2024 I bought a "genuine" (tr)uSDX QRP transceiver. One of the first impressions was that since it is bright orange, it will be easy to find in my POTA bag of tricks! It is one of three QRP portable rigs I currently have that are suitable for operating POTA in the field. My first QRP rig was a Yaesu FT817nd that I purchased way back in the early 2000's. It was a great little radio. My problem was that I wasn't into portable operating back then so never really used it much. So finally I sold it.
In 2022 I got interested n POTA, Parks on the Air, and purchased a Ziegu X5105. After Ziegu finally got its firmware really working it turned out to be an excellent all-inclusive QRP station in a box. I still have it and use it from time-to-time. With it's all mode and all HF band capabilities, internal tuner and battery, it is still hard to leave home. Add an antenna and you have a complete station. Than I got a Ziegu g90, a wonderful portable radio. Twenty watts max out, all hf bands, all mode, tuner... just about everything other than an internal battery. I have made hundreds of contacts with it both in the shack and portable.
In January 2023 I bit the bullet and got an ICOM IC705. from my perspective it is a Cadillac of a radio. 1400 of my over six thousand POTA hunting and activation contacts have been with the ic705. The only possible complaint I have against it is that it does not have and internal tuner. But it has/does almost everything else! and it is so smooth and straightforward to operate. More recently I also purchased ICOMsAH-705 auto tuner. frankly, it's hard to imagine a better or more complete shack or portable radio setup.
So why the (tr)uSDX? Sorry, I don't have a good answer! I just wanted it! I've logged 82 mostly POTA hunt contacts with it. Just ten of those were activation contacts in a park! It requires an external battery and external tuner so though it is small, a complete station is at least cumbersome, especially compared with an Elecraft Kh1 with which I've logged over 400 activation contacts!
I walk into my shack several times a day, check the POTA spots and likely turn on my IC-705 and make several contacts, usually CW. The other day it struck me that I should "play" with some of my other radios. So I connected my G5RV up to the X5105 and made a half dozen contacts. Then I grabbed my Kh1 (which is always ready to go) and made another half dozen or so. Then I thought of the lonely little orange (tr)uSDX and dug it out. Connected my Elecraft T1 tuner, G5RV antenna, a small portable powered speaker and paddle and gave it a try. Took me a few minutes to remember the menu settings but shortly I was on the air and logged another half dozen. This morning I fired it up again and logged another eighteen 40 and 20 meter CW contacts. Frankly, it was fun! The received signals were clear. Sensitivity seemed more than adequate. Nearly every station I called on both 40m and 20m came back and gave me solid reports. Looking at my cumulative log Today showed an even 100 contacts with the (tr)sDX since I've had it! It is a bit more complex to use than my ICOM ic705 but less complex than my Elecraft Kh1. It is a definite keeper. I recommend it to anyone looking for a under $200 QRP transceiver. It is more than just fun, it really works!
What's my point? Just a reminder to switch things up now and then. It was kind of fun and refreshing to make the last 18 contacts on three quite different radios and setups. It was nice to refresh my memory as to how different each setup was but that they all three deliver satisfying results. There can be more to ham radio than just operating an appliance! And the result is rewarding. Shucks, I may even do my next activation with the (tr)uSDX even though it requires several wires and cables and "boxes" to set it up! We'll see.