You have summed up the average new ham radio operator very correctly. There are some of us that still love to play, fix and make better. But for many, that would be too much to ask. With that said, I know of two new hams that are less than 16 years old, that have bought tubed equipment and fixed it, ground their own crystals. (thanks to KZfaq instructional videos) and are having more fun with old junk than new radios. The fun for me, is when Chinese junk and old junk get together for a QSO. ;)

Well i sorta disagree that chinese only copy good designs. This is exactly what was said of the japanese at the start of their rise to electronics fame. I think we forget history far too quickly. Even if you look at some of the usdx copies / clones you can see that they have added things to make this a complete product that could be picked up and used by anyone. The integrated battery and thick metal case make the product quite unique. You won't find anything from any other sellers in that size and form factor. So that is already an innovation that no one else has done. It is of course true that the quality is terrible and lacking, This is due i think to many different complex factors. as for new hams being more consumers this is probably a good idea. Ham radio needs to expand from being the preserve of a handful of electronics engineers. This is partly why the hobby is so grey at the moment. Not everyone who wants to operate on the air waves is interested in the same things and this is the advantage of ham radio. here is where having cheap, easily accessible, ready to use gear is an advantage. It encourages younger people with less experience or other people in other industries to come into the hobby and play. The fact is ham radio has dominated by one particular, gender, social class, race for a very long time. This is partially i think because the cost of the equipment and the requirements made it quite hard for other people to participate. So i think what we need to take a less adversarial look at the Chinese sellers and instead start some kind of certification program with a select handful of them to make equipment that meets minimal requirements which still keeping the cost down and allowing others to join the hobby. Yes it's great if you have the time, money and skills to build your own kits but having gear that works correctly and is cheap is the way forward for the hobby.

This radio is an experimental radio. I have tested the Chinese copy and it has some technical problems but it is ok. I would recommend it to experienced hams. The world has changed. You can build good high quality products everywhere, there is a transfer of knowledge all over the world. There are good universities and engineers in China. I would never deny this. China is a big producer of goods for an international market. They produce good quality products and low quality goods accordingly what the consumers like to buy.

Thanks Trevor! Mine has become my daily driver for lunch and coffee breaks at work. Way too much fun when you finally get it to the acceptable point. :) 73!!

Good day!! And congrats for holding off transmitting until you get your appropriate license. :) If you're planning to use this radio for CW, you will not be disappointed. The odd behavior comes into play with using it for sideband, and not all of them suffer from it. If you can get the (tr)usdx, you'll have a much more enjoyable experience, especially if you're not comfortable with moding the uSDX. But, yet again, I don't know what you paid for it, but if it was cheap enough, it could be a good learning opportunity. As far as sharing an antenna with another receiver, that's really not the best idea at all, as it will blow the front end out of the other receiver with ease if you transmit without some sort of duplexer... (And that would be a feat to create for HF, IMO.) If you're just receiving with both, then yes, the uSDX will create some birdies that the other receiver will pick up. I know that when mine is tuned around the 80 meter band, it will break the squelch on my VHF receiver. But they are very localized emissions.. All the best!!

Thanks! 40 and 80 have weird sound to them on both my radios this week. Most of the folks I talked to on 80 last night were commenting on the after effects of the geo storm we had last week, so may don’t do anything drastic just yet. ;) Also, the Noise filter / blanker (NB) setting seems to work more aggressively on the lower bands. (On mine, anyway.) All the best!! Tom, VE7NGK

Hi Martin, thanks for the kind words! So, all of my uSDX+s are running 2.00c, and it seems to work rather reliably. I've also heard, but not tried good things about 4.00c, with 4.00d soon to come out on the Facebook group for these radios. 73, Tom

Most welcome!

Well, if you're looking for the latest, I'd go over to here: github.com/GW8RDI/uSDXOpen?fbclid=IwAR0MN9C83QCF1Jqf92JiBB5VGB2yIvysUgtn6yr5L_Do7c2wAiihL5JjIC4 I hope that helps!

Same here, mind you mine kind of works OK from new, same issues the grounding I fixed using copper foil, added the capacitor, waiting for some smd resistors.

Добро пожаловать!! 73!

I've used the Hand held Baofeng mic with it, but got reports that it sounded very bad. Now, the little ear piece/microphone one that comes with the UV-5RE is one that I think would work very, very well. But I was hoping to find it, and try it before commenting, but I think I must have left it laying on a park bench somewhere. Hope fully someone else has one, gives it a try, and let's us know.

Hey Doug, so the capacitor that I used on the header is just a run of the mill Ceramic disk capacitor that you can buy off of Amazon in a bulk assortment for $15,. I used a 47nF, and it is over-kill. Two others I've worked on sounded better with a 10nF capacitor installed. www.amazon.ca/10pf-Capacitor-Multi-Layer-Resistance-Assortment/dp/B07RWM9TMN/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=2S66BFC1UKI7K&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.qBNfiB-Mnah2LuthN077qKv5aT23XiaDdGyIkx9OSuOFmwzbt3zP8mVLcDqxommNx7hLUrXTmu5JjDKhwhHuIuFTnLSIDXFGkoO2U-8RcnmkUXrZ-8BCbAMoSWOj6N2GXFAVtQ64ji627k6NHcs5TL2-ltapeHAgm-ap0vnC7UCEAOIivwQdrCFaN0IbKhUUyMjh45bfT81GYwh7nxZBX6aeZLa9ULaQd77dvgO9hiiWmKlxWDPUahuSvc8f3cLY1pY1pJzsoW0Brrcb5lKPxNQxu9QXwymzsqDLZ70l0N4.rhwtd1RAsGLKj_75woU5XFLE04FPi11hrpwY-_00EmA&dib_tag=se&keywords=450pcs+multi-layer+ceramic+capacitor&qid=1719961429&sprefix=450pcs+multi-layer+cermaic+capacitor%2Caps%2C161&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1 As far as the jumpering of the speaker portion of the k jack, The radio is now well and truly built into its permanent station, so I'm not really wanting to take it appart again, as it is working well enough these days. You might be able to hear me on the Aurora Net from time to time. :) With that said, of all the video and pics I had taken the best did make it into the video. But yes, essentially it's just two wires jumping across to the opposite side of the jack. 73 Doug -Tom VE7NGK

@@tomsworkshop5856 Thanks for the reply, Tom. I think I'll forget about the cap replacement. I don't plan to upgrade the firmware, at least not at this time. I have installed the 100k resistor at R23 and done the jumper mod so all is good for now. I'm gathering the parts to build an EFHV antenna to try out using the uSDX+. We'll see how that goes.

@@dougkathydavies3024 You know, I've got a few radios. I love to rag chew, and one of them I use on 80 meters every night, and it sounds good and everything. But the uSDX+ V2 is now installed at my place of work, and gets used at coffee, lunch and after work times. I've hunted 187 parks so far, armed only with a 60' random wire, powered by the OGS-50W amp, and the ATU-100. Out of my fleet of radios, this little thing has become my favorite. I do plan on posting a follow-up video of some other things you can get/do to get the most out of it.. So stay tuned, and good luck! I hope to hear you on the air one day, and hopefuly soon!

The one I used was 1/16th (0402.) Physically the tinyest thing I've ever soldered. 1/8th (0805) would be easier to use.

If that not work (to small to get solder, you can try a axial model 100k, if done that l, it works perfect, and nice in place. Thanks for the video and the improvement ls you made Tom I have done all '73

That’s very odd. I’d make sure the noise filter and attenuators aren’t turned up. But that would be a new problem I’ve not run into. All 3 of mine can hear a pin drop on the far side of Mars.

Hey, well, there's so many different antenna combinations available that it really does depend on what you're planning to do. Set it up in a car, take it out into parks, or set up some sort of home station. I'd suggest doing some searches for HF antennas on here. There's lot's to learn. I hope that helps. And, depending on time, I do want to create a video about the random wire antenna. (You'll need a tuner to use one,) but they do an OK job across the all bands if you get them set up just right. If you're new to the hobby I'd suggest contact your local ham club, they are always wanting to talk and help new comers along. :) 73! Tom

I've heard this a couple of times, but mine does seem to do OK and 15 12 and 10, for as often as those bands have been open for me.. So I'm not complaining.

BTW is is possible to do the update with only a raspberry pi if you already have that. The arduino programmer is unnecessary.

Being this is an open source design you could theoretically re design the filters in the PA stage. However, being MARS operations require reliable equipment, with skilled operators this radio should never ever be used for that service.

Если вы имеете в виду конденсатор в шапке, то да, если собираетесь обновлять прошивку.

Привет! Подскажите пожалуйста где можно взять прошивку

Найдите группу USDx USDR в Facebook, она есть в разделе файлов. @@user-eo9lz5pv6z

Well, and that's the reason for this video. For others who are doing that research. I now own 2 of these radios. And, like you, I get glowing signal reports, now. The original one featured in this video is in daily service, and has logged many, many contacts, and has even done net control duty. As far as the legitimacy of this radio, and all those based on it's foundation. It could truly be called a disaster with the licensing changing in mid flight. Not to mention the addition of clones of clones. But I'm glad you are enjoying yours as much as I am enjoying mine.

Thanks, Tom. It is so funny how clones of clones of clones show up. Sadly, they get worse as time goes on! But it is great how popular QRP has become. I started in 1968 and there was never talk of it. Thank you for telling guys how to fix the later versions.

Thanks!

@Tom's Workshop I bought one of these rigs and got burned too oh well :(

I don't want to be hypocritical, but now that I've got mine working, I'm really enjoying it. Ya, it still sounds not 100% on TX. But it is a hoot. Its receiver is much better than the one in the RS-918, (mcHF) and even better than the one in my Yaesu FTDX401B. (All tubed.) So, it's got some good points. I hope that you can get yours working, as I tend to have a very good signal into your part of the world on 80 meters. But that tends to not happen as often as I'd like due to work. It could be fun to chat uSDX to uSDX! You can find me often on 3.968 7pm evenings and 7.230 Sunday afternoons helping with the Western Social, if you're interested. 73's!! de VE7NGK

@Tom's Workshop hey Tom I would love to chat more with you over the air! Sorry for not seeing your reply earlier. I think I have a 100k resistor so I should be able to get the audio fixed on mine. I feel bad for buying this rig now that I know the product was a rip off. It is an amazing product for sure!

@@CanuckHam Cool, hope to chat. And yes, I know what you mean. I'm currently conflicted my self.