AOR AR-DV1 ~ REVIEW

DIGITAL VOICE RECEIVER

As an SWL’er, the DV1 has appealed to me since the day it was launched in 2015, but I could never bring myself to pay the ridiculously high asking price for a new one, so it has been stuck on my wish-list for many years. 

😮 £1300 new???  £1100 used??? 😮 

Now bear in mind that although this is a true Direct Sampling SDR (up to 18MHz and then it's a hybrid triple conversion superhet),  it isn’t a high-end receiver like you’d find in the Icom, Kenwood or Yaesu catalogue - it’s a jack of all trades and is pretty good overall, but isn’t the king of any particular castle.  So why did I want one so badly? Because it's unique - probably the only (sub-£4k) receiver in the world which covers 100kHz to 1.3GHz and can decode virtually anything including DMR, DSTAR and C4FM (as well as TETRA, P25, NXDN, ALINCO, etc, etc). Yes, I know there’s the £900 AR-DV10, but that’s just a piece of useless crap (apologies to owners).

I’ve seen a few secondhand DV1’s for sale over the years, but when asked for a serial number, the sellers have gotten tetchy with me, indicating that it's probably one of the units with a dodgy USB, so I’ve steered clear. You see, despite AOR’s denials, there was a real problem with a batch of DV1’s which caused the USB connection to fail. In fact, some even failed out of the box, new! So you have to be careful that you’re not buying an old unit with an early pcb which is affected by this problem.

Anyway, as usual, I saved searches on eBay, HamRadioDeals and Facebook until one popped up which ticked all my boxes. In this case, it was a virtually new radio, in the original box, with the new Revision.2 motherboard and the very latest firmware (2205A). It was MINT++++ condition and on sale at just £800. That’s a massive saving on new prices 😮

I collected the radio from the seller in Manchester and returned home to have a play. The unit is powered by the supplied mains adapter which is huge and fugly! 

First of all I used the supplied telescopic antenna and it matched my expectations - poor! Connecting it to an EndFed HalfWave produced great results on the HF Amateur Bands, with perfectly usable sensitivity. I was really happy with the DV1's performance considering that it's a very wideband receiver.

There's no switchable pre-amp or attenuator which is surprising, but there is great Auto Notch and Noise Reduction - very effective! There's also no Line Out, so I use the headphone socket, exercising caution with the volume level.

Switching to VHF and UHF it produced similar results. I was lucky enough to find a few QSO's on 2M SSB (thanks to it being Xmas Hols) using a small portable yagi - the signals were easily readable despite the distances between me and some of the operators. On FM (with a colinear) it was as you'd expect - very good. AirBand too, was excellent!

Switching to Digital, I started by tuning into my OpenSpot4 just to see how the radio decoded C4FM. It was really good, with nice audio. The only criticism would be that if you opt to use AUTO mode (where the radio detects the mode and switches to it), there was an initial 'cccerkk' for a split-second while it made its mind up. If you choose the mode manually, it's perfect!

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I then programmed in a local NWFG Fusion repeater and tried again. Perfect! Unfortunately, I couldn't reach any DSTAR repeaters, so I had to start the DV1's Record Function, set my Kenwood TH-D74 to low power, move outside and  and ran a test that way - the DV1 decoded the incoming signal perfectly and again, the audio was great. I wasn't able to carry out a DMR test from the caravan.

Switching to Wide FM  I tried tuning into a few broadcast stations using just the telescopic whip and for comparison, I stood it alongside my Tecsun S2000. 

The Tecsun beat it hands down, but then I realised that the limitation was actually the antenna, which was much shorter than the S2000's. When I shortened the Tecsun's antenna to the same length as the DV1 (600mm), they were equally poor! I obviously need to invest in a longer/better telescopic. I ordered a 115cm telescopic from Amazon and I'm pleased to report that it made a huge difference!

On MW and LW, the radio's sensitivity was slightly less impressive, but in all fairness I didn't have my antenna coupler with me, so I couldn't give the DV1 a good platform to work from. One thing that did jump out was the effectiveness of the AGC which was excellent! 

Because I was at our holiday home in Scorton, I was limited to how much testing I could do due to antenna limitations so I will add to this post in much more detail after the Xmas Hols. I also intend to use the radio out portable with a battery pack - I suspect that a good take-off point with no electrical noise will produce really pleasing results - we'll see.

So what about the ergonomics? Well this ain't no Icom, but it gets a big thumbs-up straight away for having a nice VFO dial. It also has a couple of buttons above the dial which can be used for fast tuning (along with other uses).

The screen too is nice and easy to read despite its small size. The two rotaries on the left of the unit control the volume and the squelch. The volume also acts as the On/Off button.  There doesn't appear to be a MUTE button which is quite an omission as far as I'm concerned. Another annoyance is the difference in volume levels between analogue and digital modes - you need to remember to turn the volume down when moving to analogue signals. Of course turning the volume down is not a realistic option when you are scanning memories which include both types of signals - you have to keep the volume at a level to suit digital.  This problem is not unique to the DV1 - it's a problem with many of the ham radios that I've used (and the same applies to the mic-gain differences on many modern transceivers).

Overall, the DV1 has a very nice, high quality feel to it and you get the impression that it has been built to a high standard. The finish is superb and there's nothing about it that has you worrying about its longevity. The bank of 22 buttons feel very sharp and the printing is fantastic - unlikely to wear off easily. 

The buttons are backlit and the light can be set to stay on permanently or to extinguish after a set time. The colour of the backlighting can be adjusted too, although one of the blue shades fits in better with the colour scheme of the front panel.

Most of the buttons have a second function which is easily accessed by pressing the F-key. It only takes a few minutes to get familiar with it all, Having said that, I strongly advise sitting down with a cup of tea and reading the manual.

Because this is a compact, very wideband digital receiver, it obviously lacks things which you may be used to seeing on ham radios like Band Buttons. It just doesn't work like that - you simply switch it on and then type in a frequency  such as 7.090 followed by ENT. You then have to press the mode button and choose the appropriate mode (LSB in this case) - unlike a ham radio, changing to a frequency does not automatically switch modes, so you need to do it yourself.  You may also need to adjust the bandwidth by pressing F-MODE.

Seem a bit fussy? Only if you are coming from a ham radio background - otherwise you wouldn't expect anything else. The best thing to do is to program some frequencies (along with the mode and bandwidth, etc) into a memory and save it for quick access. There are 2000 memory slots available available as 50 Channels in 40 Banks. 

It makes sense to group similar frequencies together such as AirBand, Marine Band, Military, etc, etc, and the DV1 obviously accommodates that but it also goes further by allowing you to scan individual banks and to link certain banks together so that you can opt to scan everything or just certain banks such as Civil and Military airband frequencies.  

The red button initiates the radio's built-in recorder and all recordings are saved to the SDCARD. Bear in mind that if you are recording and then try to power-down, the radio will not switch off until it has finished disabling the record function and saved the file safely.

The MONI button is a non-latching monitor function (like turning down the squelch momentarily). The CLR button is best described as an ESCape button. LOCK disables everything except the volume and squelch dials.

The DV1 has a built-in speaker on top of the case and it sounds pretty good, but like most other radios, it benefits from a good quality external speaker. The headphone output is also good and produced satisfactory volume even when I plugged my Sennheiser HD600’s in, which are not easy to drive.

Initially I tried an Icom SP-38 speaker and it made a huge improvement to the enjoyment of the DV1 but it's relatively big speaker and looks dreadful alongside the lovely DV1. So next up was my much loved BOSE SoundLink Mini II which not only sounded fabulous, but also matched the DV1 perfectly!! Because the Bose is an amplified speaker, you need to plug it into the headphone socket and not the speaker socket. It's a pity there's no BlueTooth option to enable wireless speaker connection.

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There are a few software packages available which permit you to connect the DV1 to a PC but I think they're quite limited and not something I'd choose to use personally - except maybe to aid storing and organising memories.

So that's it for now. The DV1 is an amazing receiver, covering a very wide range and able to decode pretty much all the major digital modes. And it does it well.

I'll update after further testing. If you have any comments, please leave them below (including a name if possible).

73, Tom, M7MCQ.

DX CODE OF CONDUCT

  BEHAVE YOURSELF!  

I spotted this code of conduct on Keith Maton's BLOG (G6NHU) and he encourages people to share it, so I thought I'd post it here, since I fully agree with his comments on the extremely poor operating techniques of many amateurs around the world. The post is called "DX CODE OF CONDUCT" but much of it applies to non-DX operations too.

Yes, I know I'm a relative beginner and I'm not trying to lecture old hands on how to operate - I'm just sharing what I consider to be a great post - especially for newcomers. We're all guilty of breaking the rules, just as we do when driving cars on the road. It pays to refresh yourself on the 'highway code' now and then, lol.

Here we go...

It is no secret that the on-the-air behaviour of radio amateurs, especially in pileups, has become worse in the last few years. Unpleasant, uncivil and impolite behaviour of our fellow amateurs reduces the enjoyment of our hobby.

It does not have to be that way nor should it be. Impolite behaviour is counter-productive and simply inconsistent with the aim of our hobby, to have fun.

Just as we work to improve our technical skills, we should all aspire to hold ourselves to the highest ethical operating standards. This Code is a reminder of the high ideals of which we are all capable.

• I will listen, and listen, and then listen again before calling.
• I will only call if I can copy the DX station properly.
• I will not trust the DX cluster and will be sure of the DX station’s callsign before calling.
• I will not interfere with the DX station nor anyone calling and will never tune up on the DX frequency or in the QSX slot.
• I will wait for the DX station to end a contact before I call.
• I will always send my full callsign.
• I will call and then listen for a reasonable interval. I will not call continuously.
• I will not transmit when the DX operator calls another callsign, not mine.
• I will not transmit when the DX operator queries a callsign not like mine.
• I will not transmit when the DX station requests geographic areas other than mine.
• When the DX operator calls me, I will not repeat my callsign unless I think he has copied it incorrectly.
• I will be thankful if and when I do make a contact.
• I will respect my fellow hams and conduct myself so as to earn their respect.

The lines in bold are the ‘offenses’ I hear more than anything else.

I support the DX Code of Conduct.

#1 – I will listen, and listen and then listen again before calling.

This seems so obvious but it is the most vital thing to do. Careful listening rather than rushing to transmit will get the DX into your log. You must listen to find out whether the DX is working split and if so, where is he listening? Then you need to listen to the calling stations in order to determine what the DX station is doing. For example, he may be working gradually up or down the pile-up frequency range – and you need to find the best spot to call. And it may be time to ask yourself: “Do I really need to work this bit of DX, right now? Can I wait a while for the pile-up to subside?”

#2 – I will only call if I can copy the DX station properly. 

You also need to listen carefully to determine how well you can hear the DX station to be sure you will hear his reply to your call and to avoid causing interference by transmitting at the wrong time. It is extremely frustrating for a DX station to return a call to a station that is unable to hear him, thereby causing incessant QRM.

#3 – I will not trust the Cluster and will be sure of the DX station’s callsign before calling. 

Cluster spots often show the wrong call sign. Before you log a station, you should hear the station’s callsign on the air – don’t trust spotting networks. The DX operator should send his call sign at regular intervals. Unfortunately, not all operators do this!

#4 – I will not interfere with the DX station or anyone calling and will never tune up on the DX frequency or in the QSX slot. 

Sadly, this covers a multitude of operators, employing poor operating practices. We are frequently afflicted with “Policemen,” people who repeatedly jump in to tell callers that “the DX is listening up” – often adding a gratuitous insult. The rule is quite simple: never, ever transmit on the DX frequency for any purpose whatsoever.
I will pay attention to the operator’s instructions if he is operating “split” so as to stay in his preferred bandwidth.

#5 – I will wait for the DX station to end a contact before calling.

If you transmit before a QSO is over, you are likely to interfere with the exchange of information, lengthening the QSO and slowing the process. It may seem clever to “nip in” as the previous contact is ending but many DX stations don’t like it, as such operating may break the pattern of the operator, which is what helps everyone to know when to transmit.

#6 – I will always send my full callsign. 

This is essential for CW and SSB, because incomplete calls lead to an extra transmission, slowing the operator’s progress with the pileup. If the operator is responding to partial call signs, it may appear that you should call with only several letters. Generally, this is not the case. Always use your full call sign.

#7 – I will call and then listen for a reasonable interval. I will not call continuously.

Continuous calling is selfish and arrogant. With a computer or memory keyer, it is easy to send continuously. Unfortunately, it prevents you from listening and knowing what is taking place. In addition, it raises the QRM floor greatly, making life difficult for the DX station and everyone else.

#8 – I will not transmit when the DX operator calls another callsign, not mine.

Perhaps this is intuitively obvious, but it is a common occurrence. If it is clear that the station is not calling you, do not transmit.

#9 – I will not transmit when the DX operator calls another callsign, not mine.

In life outside amateur radio it would simply be considered rude to answer when someone else is asked a question! How do you know if the station is calling you? Perhaps the DX operator has a partial version of your call. Is it me? “The timing is right!” Yes, the timing may seem right, but it may also be “right” for many other stations. If the DX is actually calling you and hears nothing, he will call you again. Then you can call. Only one letter from your call sign is NOT enough, however. Calling when not being addressed raises the floor level of QRM and slows progress dramatically.

#10 – I will not transmit when the DX operator requests geographic areas other than mine. 

You must recognise and accept that when an operator is calling for a specific geographic area (e.g. NA for North America, AS for Asia ), you must not call until the operator’s instructions change. Even if his choice appears incorrect, you must follow his instructions. The DX operator is in control. Here’s an important point: If a DX operator is working, some area, perhaps North America , and he fails to say so between QSOs, do not begin calling immediately. Call only when it is clear that the operator’s instructions have changed. To do otherwise is impolite and simply slows the process.

#11 – When the DX operator calls me, I will not repeat my callsign unless I think he has copied it incorrectly.

If you repeat your call sign, the DX station may think that he has your call sign wrong. He might then listen very carefully – again – thus slowing the process. A DX operator will generally log what he has if you say nothing further.

#12 – I will be thankful if and when I do make a contact. 

There should certainly be a pride of accomplishment when you get a QSO with a guy in a far-away entity. But before you start basking in the glow of accomplishment, think about the help you received from your partners, perhaps Mr. Icom, Mr. Alpha, and Mr. Force 12. If your ego still feels a need to take ALL the credit, try again. But this time turn off your amplifier and connect your rig barefoot to a dipole. If you get through the pile up this time, then YOU, as the operator, can take more of the credit.
You should also acknowledge that you would not have had the contact without the skill of the operator at the other end who undoubtedly made sacrifices to be there for you. So be thankful for all this help you received.

#13 – I will respect my fellow hams and conduct myself so as to earn their respect.

Respect is about behaving well toward others. DXing is very competitive. If you operate otherwise, you may acquire a bad reputation. DXing will be the most fun for everyone if we all behave with politeness, mutual respect and even a bit of humility!

KAIWEETS USB SOLDERING IRON

HOT STUFF!!    KETS02

I've fancied a portable soldering iron for ages and I almost bought a gas-powered one from Aldi at one point, but the quality didn't impress me and without quality, there's probably little reliability too. And so I looked elsewhere.

You can actually buy rechargeable irons but because soldering is something you only do occasionally I can guarantee that whenever I wanted to use it, it would be low on charge. I wanted something that I could use with my STORM2 Power Bank, which is always kept fully charged and ready for action (because it's now my power-source for all my QRP outings).

I didn't want to spend a fortune, but neither did I want to buy some junk, so after looking around, I decided on the Kaiweets KETS02 which is a compact 65W USB-Powered iron capable of reaching working temperature in just 8 seconds!!

The whole package cost me £45 with delivery and it comes with a nicely flexible, long USB-C lead. It can be operated at a number of voltages ranging from 9 to 20V, producing a range of powers from 13W to 65W.

The tip is quite small which is perfect for most of the stuff that I work with (small surface mounted pcb components) but I wondered how it would cope with chunky connectors such as PL-259s, so I made up a patch lead to try it. I was worried that the surface area of such a small tip would not transfer enough heat through, but it worked out fine. I did have to use the 65W setting but nevertheless, it worked without any problem at all, producing a good, strong joint.

Craft hobbyists might be interested to know that the KETS02 can also be used for leather and wood working, etc. There's a range of special tips available.

So I'm really happy with this tool and my 240V soldering station will no longer need to be dragged outside on an extension lead. The only issue that one could consider a negative is that the tips are obviously unique to this iron and you'd be advised to buy a spare or two. Having said that, I've got soldering irons that are many years old with the the original tip that's still in good condition (because I look after them).

73, Tom, M7MCQ.

OFCOM LICENSING CHANGES

CHANGES IN 2024

Just seen the 'Overview Of Key Changes' as announced by Ofcom and for me, there's some useful changes. The amount of power I can use will increase from 10W to 25W PEP which will probably be welcomed by many, but since all my focus and interest is on HF QRP operation, it doesn't really benefit me. Having said that, 25W on VHF and UHF will be quite a useful boost.

A more useful change for Foundation Licensees is the ability to operate remotely using the internet. I occasionally operate remotely from home - sitting in the conservatory accessing the radio in the shack - but can now do it from anywhere in the world. That's cool.

I can also add the "E" RSL to my callsign while operating in England. I can't think why I'd want to except to maybe attract a little more attention on FT8 until everyone gets used to seeing it.

Another handy change will be that I'll be able to allow unlicensed individuals operate my radio equipment under direct supervision. That will really help operators to promote amateur radio.

For most repeaters, beacons and gateways you will no longer require an NoV. Licensees will have to carry out an interference assessment to prove that they have minimised the risk of interference to other users. For powers above 5W, a call sign must be obtained from the RSGB. This will probably be viewed in equal measures of joy and sadness, lol.

Foundation License holders will be allowed to build their own equipment and access the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands with a maximum power of 2W. Of zero interest to me currently.

And finally, a new DATA STATION mode of operation will be introduced to allow the authorisation of other data systems. I think this relates to stuff like APRS, Packet, etc.

So, no bad news there for me - happy days! When the green light is given for these changes, novices are strongly advised to read the small print of the new license and seek advice from knowledgeable amateurs or local clubs before marching into experimentations.

Finally, may I invite you to take a quick look at Ian’s Blog relating to the NoV bit? He’s extremely knowledgeable in this area. 

NOTE: On the very first day of this Ofcom announcement, people are already in disagreement as to what these changes actually mean in real terms. Time will hopefully clear the fog, so in the meantime, exercise caution and seek advice.

73, Tom, M7MCQ.

SHARGEEK STORM 2 POWER BANK

PORTABLE POWER!

I must begin by stating that I acquired this device at half the usual price, and that's about as much as I'd want to pay for any portable battery pack. They all seem to be mighty expensive to me and although this particular one has some fabulous features/abilities, I can't see how it's worth the price shown on Amazon (UK), then again I might be out of touch.

Okay, so this unusual looking battery pack is made by a Chinese company called Shargeek who were formed in 2020. They are innovators in the power-supply industry with the proud title of being the Number-1 selling brand for power-supply products on Amazon (US)!

They have a beautiful looking website which offers a good range of information on their product range and you can buy direct from them BUT bear in mind the inevitable delays and costs getting your goods to your country and the usual spanking that the Customs & Excise will apply in import duties. Probably better to buy from Amazon or similar and just accept the inflated (but final) cost price.

So what is it exactly? Well it's a Large Capacity (25,600mAh) Power Bank with some great abilities. It can provide power to 3 devices at the same time via the USB ports on the end panel. One of the USB-C ports is capable of outputting up to 100W which is pretty darned impressive and will be useful for a variety of applications. 

It also has a really handy DC Jack which can provide up to 75W and variable voltages from 3.3V up to 25V (that’s handy!) but you cannot use the 100W USB port while the DC Jack is in use (but you can use the other lower capacity ports).

Rather strangely, the case on the Storm2 is transparent and although it serves no real purpose, it does look pretty darned cool. Inside you can see 8 genuine Samsung 18650 (3200mAh) batteries and they are enveloped in a fireproof wrap which is a nice safety feature. There is an excellent Battery Management System which provides protection for the unit or anything connected to it from Over-Voltage, Short-Circuit and Extreme-Temperatures.

The unit has a tiny, but very sharp looking colour screen which provides a wealth of information on what's going on with each individual input/output port, including Voltage, Amps and Watts. It also indicates the charge-level of the unit itself and which ports are in use. You quickly become accustomed to the simple colour-scheme, instantly recognising which data relates to which port.

The only negative that I can see (apart from the full retail price) is that the device might be considered to be a touch delicate because of its use of clear plastics. Weighing over half a kilo, this thing will land heavily if you drop it. Because it looks so pretty though (and costs so much), I suspect that most owners will treat it like their firstborn child, lol.

For safety reasons, I keep my Storm2 in a fire-resistant pouch when it's being stored and I keep it in an Anker case when it's being transported.

The Storm2 will serve me well as a power-supply for any of my QRP radios and should easily give me all-day use. Or I can plug my NoteBook or SurfacePro into it. Even my iPhone when I’m using it as a Wi-Fi hotspot outdoors. It’ll also be handy for my USB Soldering Iron!

For those interested, this powerbank is certified for use on aircraft, so great for frequent travellers. 

So would I pay the full retail price for one? No, it’s just too much. I do love that fantastic info screen, but not enough to fork out Amazon prices. I’m very lucky to have got mine for such a heavily discounted price. If you plan to connect a variety of devices to the Storm2, remember to use USB cables which are specifically designed to handle 'fast charging' - I would recommend that you choose 100W cables - they're cheap enough.

My 13.2V 8400mAh FlightMax LifePO4 battery cost me £70 and has served me well over the last 4 years and it’s still going strong, so although it felt ridiculously expensive at the time, I guess it actually represents tremendous value for money.   But, it lacks all the finesse and features of the Storm2 and requires careful management in order to keep it healthy. You also have to factor in a smart balance-charger which also needs to be monitored during charge cycles. 

So there you have it - a fabulous device with amazing specs, features and flexibility!

INDEPENDENT VIDEO REVIEW

(Not Mine)

On a separate note, for those coming to this post thinking it was specifically about individual 18650 batteries, I guess I should mention that I do own some regular 18650s and they are of varying power levels.

One came with my Tecsun PL990X and I have another two which I got from FogStar website - a Molicell 3500mAh and a FogStar's own 4000mAh. They're both great batteries and relatively cheap. I only use them with my 990.

Many thanks for visiting the blog. Please feel free to leave a comment below.

73, Tom, M7MCQ.

MALAHIT DSP2 SDR REVIEW

Having sold my 30yr old AR3000A (for a fantastic price), I was looking to purchase a modern, STANDALONE SDR Wideband Receiver but didn't want to fork out big bucks for one. And I wanted something portable with a full colour screen and a Scope & Waterfall. Something that was easy in the hand - not too big and not too small. Then I spotted a likely candidate on YouTube.

 

As as Subscriber and follower of the excellent TECH-MINDS channel, I get to see Matt (M0DQW) reviewing all sorts of ham radio goodies and on the 4th December I watched his review of a rather nice looking bit of Russian kit called the Malahit DSP2.

TECH-MINDS VIDEO OCTOBER 2023

I'm quite a big fan of Russian (and Belarusian) radio equipment (like the ColibriNano and Belka DX), but I don't particularly like supporting the Russian economy right now, so I try to purchase from the second-hand market.

 

It's very odd (some might call it fate) that after watching Matt's video, I swung over to HamRadioDeals.co.uk and spotted that he’d put it up for sale on that same day! I messaged him and bagged it for a couple of hundred quid. Bargain? We'll see!

Anyway, the radio arrived from Matt the day after paying for it and it was well packaged for the journey. I knew I could rely on him because I previously bought a (tr)uSDX from him. Being just 2 months old, the DSP2 was of course immaculate and being such a busy chap, I'm sure that Matt has barely used it beyond the time spent testing it for review purposes. 

I noticed that Amazon had a few for sale around the £400 mark and their platform provides a good amount of protection for buyers who might otherwise end up being duped, but in all fairness, AliExpress and Bangood in China have these radios for £300 or even less. Whether they're selling unlicensed fakes is another question.

I mentioned ‘unlicensed’ because these particular receivers are built in China under license to the Russian MalahiTeam  and are commonly referred to as clones - legitimate licensed clones. They come with V2.3 firmware, whereas all the rip-offs have to use V1. To confuse buyers, unscrupulous Chinese sellers badge and market their radios as the DSP-3, 4 and even 5.

The fact is, the creator of the Malahit DSP2 SDR  (George Yatsuk, RX9CIM) was virtually forced to sell licences to Chinese manufacturers because he was unable to sell the radios himself due to PUTIN'S crimes against Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions and restrictions. At least if George sold licenses he could generate an income for himself and his small team and continue his work (preparing a DSP3 probably). 

Thankfully, one particular Chinese manufacturer chose to purchase licenses and came up with  completely different aesthetics for the radio - something which appealed to many buyers. Instead of looking DIY, this one wouldn't look out of place in a Ham Radio store alongside the big manufacturers of shortwave radios. Their design and high standards of build and materials led to what is probably the best of all the DPS-2 legitimate clones.

And that brings me to another point - many people prefer the look and feel of a traditional shortwave transistor radio - I like them too and I have some in my collection. But if I'm totally honest, I'd also like them to offer a bit more and that's what the DSP-2 brings to the table - a somewhat traditional radio appearance, with all the modern, colourful bells and whistles of SDR.

SO WHAT IS A MALAHIT DSP-2 SDR?   

It's a 100kHz - 2GHz Software Defined Radio (receiver) with a 3.5" LCD colour touchscreen, a powerful processor and great DSP functions. It has CW, LSB, USB, AM, AM sync (upper and lower),  FM, WFM and DSB modes. It also has a USB connection for CAT control, IQ and Audio. Note : the frequency coverage is not complete - there's a gap between 380MHz and 404MHz. There's also a built-in CW Decoder!

Because this is a legitimate, fully licensed clone, you benefit from being able to get free FirmWare upgrades and at the time of writing, V2.40 has been released by MalahiTeam which adds two more modes of operation - RTTY and FT8. Yes, the radio can now receive (and display onscreen) FT8 decodes 😲

Decoding a -22dB signal

Please be aware that updating firmware is always an opportunity to turn your radio into a paperweight and never more so than with one of these clones. So many people are duped into thinking they’ve bought something they’ve not and then they try to install firmware which is not the correct version, resulting in a dead radio - forever! I updated mine from V2.30 to V2.40 without an issue, but I knew that my radio was a legitimate licensed DSP2.

The radio feels and looks like a high quality item and not at all cheap - the manufacturing standards seem to be very high. The rotary dials feel smooth and don't have any unwanted lateral movement. The display screen is beautifully clear and bright and the touch-facility works pretty well, with decent sensitivity.  The aluminium case gives the radio some heft, weighing in around half a kilo and it feels really solid.

Included in the box is a carry case, the radio, 29" telescopic whip, USB-C lead, stylus-pen and a decent manual. You also get a useful carry-strap and a stand which attaches to the back of the radio allowing you to sit the unit on a desk at the perfect angle for viewing and operating. There's even a set of rubber feet. This is very reminiscent of my Tecsun PL-680 package - it's nice to see something so complete.

The DSP-2 is powered by an internal 5000mAh battery, giving good periods of use between charges and the BMS prevents you from damaging it by operating at too low a voltage. Charging is done by connecting a USB lead and doesn't take very long at all. The battery looks easy to replace if it ever did fail in the future.

Operating the radio is pretty straightforward and the menu-system is fairly easy to follow. Needless to say, there's an awful lot of options with an SDR receiver, so it might feel a little overwhelming if you've never had one before. Not to worry though, because you don't need to delve deeply to access the very common options. Once you become more familiar with it all and feel a little more experimental, you can venture much further. The manual (read it!) helps a lot and it contains a number of colour images to tie in with the text.

If you are pretty new to SDR's I would suggest that your first experiments involve a local FM Broadcast Radio Station. That way you will be assured of a strong, reliable and constant signal that you can listen to as you play around with the many options. I would also recommend that your first trials with the receiver are with an external antenna connected (if you have one), but make sure you use a pigtail connected to the little SMA connector to avoid straining it with the weight of a large connector and thick coax.

As you can see in the image below, the DSP2 is capable of decoding Multipath RDS text which is a nice feature for those who spend time listening to Broadcast stations. I should mention that the speaker audio on the DSP2 is surprisingly good and listening to WFM Stereo is very pleasant through headphones too.

RDS Screen

By tapping the upper part of the waterfall, you can switch the display from a panadapter to an RDS screen or even a Retro Tuning Scale, the latter being a little odd on a modern receiver, but it's there if you want it. To be fair, the scale is editable, so you could clear it and add all your favourite station markers such as BBC-R4,  BBC-R1,  HEART,  etc,

RETRO Screen

Customised Retro Screen

The DSP2 has 50 Memories with AlphaTags (5 banks of 10), which seems a little on the skinny side to me, especially considering the vast frequency coverage available. I could fill 50 memories with AirBand frequencies alone!  A good thing though, is that the memory saves not just the frequency, but a lot of other parameters too, such as Mode, RFgain, AGC, PreAmp, Tuning Step, etc, - that's very useful. You also have options on how to monitor those memories.

 

The first thing that impressed me about this receiver is the NR (Noise Reduction). Wow!! It really is stand-out and even better than some of the professional ham radio equipment I've bought. There's none of the Dalek-Speak character to it and you can fine-tune it to suit the noise at your particular location. Another feature which works extremely well is the AGC. It has four useful decay-rates and the settings are easily accessible.

HOW GOOD IS THE RECEIVER?   Well I have to be careful here, because on the one hand it's all too easy to get giddy about these cheap radios and to overstate their performance, but it's also easy to not give credit where credit is due. I own some fine receivers including the glorious Icom IC-7610, so I have to get radios like that out of my head when listening to the DSP2. I guess I should compare it to the radio that it replaced - the AR3000A - but then again, that was over 30 years old.

How about comparing the HF part of the DSP2's receiver with something like the wonderful BELKA DX? That makes sense - to me at least. So I set up both radios side by side and had them connected to the same antenna via a switch. I made sure that both receivers had similar gain, no pre-amp and no other settings which may enhance the performance of one over another. Each radio had the same model amplified-speaker attached to keep the audio more fairly balanced.

 

Now bear in mind that this is just my own very amateur and very subjective rating! There's no oscilloscopes or fancy lab-gear involved - just my two ears and what little there is between them.

Comparing big SSB signals on both radios was easy, because both radios performed the same. There literally was no difference. Tuning to weaker stations on the various ham bands was where I'd find differences - or at least I thought I would! Truth is, they both performed exceptionally well and it was difficult to find a difference between them. I moved to the bottom of the ham bands and switched to CW mode. Here I was finding that I ever so slightly preferred the sound of the Belka, but honestly, I was really nit-picking. Switching to AM, I flicked through my favourite shortwave broadcast stations and in the main I was favouring the DSP2 although the difference was absolutely marginal. The final test was on various VOLMETS and again there were no detectable differences. 

Detectable differences - that's the key I guess - because in my opinion too many people rely on the lab-reports from places like Sherwood and blindly follow the league tables. For example, I bought the Yaesu DX-101D which (at the time of writing) is No.1 in Sherwood's Tables and I hated that machine! I sold it and bought the Icom IC-7610 which is in 21st position. I didn't hate the receiver performance of the Yaesu - I hated the ergonomics. The 7610 by comparison, was a dream to operate and the receiver sounded every bit as good as the Yaesu to me. I go off what I can hear - not what a piece of lab equipment can detect.

The next comparison was with my FX-4CR HF Transceiver. Again, I matched the settings as closely as possible to ensure fairness. Without boring you to death, I can tell you that both receivers were a good match for each other. I did notice though, that without an antenna attached, the meters read -127dBm on the DSP2 and -119dBm on the FX-4CR.

Now bear in mind that the DSP2 has some mighty fine digital signal processing available which can make an almighty difference to the clarity and readability of any given signal. These features put the DSP2 ahead of the Belka and the FX-4CR's receivers.

I guess I should point out that the DSP2 does have a little weakness in that it seems vulnerable to interference from local Broadcast Stations and I live right next door to WinterHill where the North West UK's TV & Radio stations are transmitted from. It's not really that bad apart from one radio station in particular called HEART FM on 105.4MHz. It bleeds all over the place.  To be fair, HEART FM also affects my Yaesu FTM300 and FTM500 on 145.400MHz - it just acts as an attenuator on that frequency, rendering it unusable there.

ERGONOMICS    I find the DSP2 extremely easy to use. It took just one day to become totally familiar with it and I feel like there's nothing which would require me to turn to the manual again. Initially I thought the touch-screens sensitivity was below par and I found myself tapping harder and harder with my finger to get it to respond. I then realised that you just have to hold your finger/stylus slightly longer (I'm talking a fraction of a second). From what I understand, the earlier DSP1 suffered from some noise from the screen and a firmware update fixed the issue but lowered the touch-sensitivity. This has long since been resolved in the DSP2 and you can even switch off the screen altogether with a short press of the Power Button.

The rotary encoders on top of the radio feel great and of high quality. It's a bit odd, but you get a couple of alternative knobs in the box and I'm glad, because I much prefer the knurled finish of the replacements. The buttons on the left side of the radio also feel good and work well. 

I'm pleased to report that the USB port is the C-Type - a big upgrade from the DSP1's MicroUSB.

So am I glad that I sold my AR3000A   and replaced it with the DSP2? Well of course I was sad to see my old buddy go after all these years, but I also had to admit that it was feeling very tired in the company of my other modern SDR radios. The 3000A will always hold a special place in my heart but I'm very, very pleased to have the DSP-2 in the shack. It has so much potential.

I'm particularly happy with the addition of RTTY and FT8 through the V2.40 firmware update. Of course this also means that you can connect the DSP2 to your PC and run software like WSJT-X.  This weekend I'm going to try to connect the radio to SDR UNO (just for the hell of it).

I will play around with the receiver much more over the coming Xmas break and report back on performance at higher frequencies. In the meantime, don’t forget to visit TechMind’s YouTube video-review of this radio.

If you have any comments, please leave a message below. 

And thanks for visiting the blog!

73, Tom, M7MCQ.

COMMENTS

“John” sent a comment with some interesting points and I inadvertently blocked it (sorry bud), so here’s a copy….

Great review. I just received this radio and am loving it so far. I'm very much new to HAM stuff - my previous radio is a Yupi 7100, so the screen. and functionality of the DSP2 seems amazing to me!

My only negative so far is the lack of save slots that you touched on. However, as a newbie, I would go further. It's so nice to have the bands all saved with their appropriate modes that I don't feel I can overwrite any of them... which leaves no real save slots at all! I have found that if you set up a scanner/monitor page, you can save in the 50 slots that comes with each of them (10 x 50) but you have to first set up a frequency range and then plod through a scan, saving frequencies as you go... there is no way to just find an interesting frequency and just save it (if you don't want to overwrite the 50 with settings).

This limitation is a bit of a pain. I'd have liked to, for instance, saved the various frequencies of my local airport, but this doesn't seem possible... and of course I'd like to save the frequencies of any interesting signals I come across and feel I'm stuck to writing them on paper now.... so much for tech...

Anyway, great to read your review - that is really my only negative in an otherwise lovely radio. I wonder if they can add more save slots in a firmware update? Cheers, John.