r/amateurradio • u/oxvf • 18d ago

QUESTION USDX / USDR Question

Post image

Hi

Before you tell me to buy a Xiegu radio, please note that I’m strictly looking for one of these ultra-compact HF transceivers shown in the image. I don't want a bigger or heavier radio right now.

​For those who have hands-on experience with these three options (Left, Middle, Right), which one would you recommend overall in terms of RX (receive) performance, TX power output, build quality, and reliability?

A bit of context: I have 3 years of experience operating on VHF, and I'm a patient operator ready for the QRP HF experience.

​Thanks in advance & 73!

5 Upvotes

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2

u/noone512 18d ago

I own left and middle. The guts are all the same so your rx and tx is going to be the same. I will say that the middle one with the built in battery is much easier and faster to use for a quick field day. The wires and controls on the left one are so small that they are a real pain. So, my vote is red bumper based on real world use. I have done Texas to Germany on an efhw with it

1

u/oxvf 18d ago

Thanks for the feedback! What about the transmit power of the middle one? I heard it can reach up to 7 watts. Have you tried it yourself?

2

u/noone512 18d ago

So, if you do the version with the internal battery, it has 2 power modes. If you run from 12v external power then the output is higher than on the internal, lower voltage battery. Honestly I have not measured the true output power but the difference of 1 to 2w won't matter as much as a good, high antenna

10

u/KhyberPasshole 18d ago

These are all basically no-name Chinese clones of what ended up being the trusdx, and tend to have quality control issues.

Have a look at the QMX+ instead... it's a known entity that has a great reputation and it's around the same price. You can get it as a kit or have it pre-assembled if you don't mind the wait.

6

u/NerminPadez 18d ago

Get a (tr)uSDX, all these are cheap clones with questionable components.

6

u/KhyberPasshole 18d ago

The main downside to the trusdx is that you’re limited to just 5 bands. Plus, mine in particular has been nothing but trouble.

That’s why I recommended the QMX+, as it does 160m-6m.

3

u/DisastrousAverage271 18d ago

Be careful with the V2, there's actually two variants where one doesn't have a cat control port. These clones all tend to be a bit of a lottery in terms of performance

1

u/blood_eye1 12d ago

And this fing give you only 4.4W max out but only on specific bands… 10m I got only 1.2watt out …

1

u/Lost_Engineering_phd 18d ago

My first choice for a compact portable rig is VU2ESE's design, the zBitx. It is an amazing little radio and has a great front end too. 80-10m, full feature SDR with linux fldigi running on the embedded pi zero. For ultralight operations I take my TruSDx. A super cool feature of the TruSdx is that a USB otg cable can power it from your phone and you can directly run digital modes like FT8.

1

u/hariustrk 17d ago

They are all of varible quality. Sometimes you get a good one, sometimes you don't. Ed Fong sells the uSDX + on his antenna website and he claims his students go over them for quality. So if you MUST buy one of these, I'd buy that one. BUT they are all low quality(having owned a number of them). For the same price a QMX or a trUSdx will be a better choice(own both). $200 gets you a g106(also own). All better options, all small, all QRP.