My collection is going to change over time as my radio interests evolve. Currently, my focus is on portable /mobile operations between 5 watts to about 100 watts for SSB and Digital Modes. I live in a HOA restricted development so higher powered base stations are not my current focus but I’m sure that will change at some point in the future.
My current Radio list as of the start of 2024…
IC-705
ICOM IC-705 supports HF to 50/144/440 MHz with D-STAR DV, SSB, CW, RTTY, AM and FM modes. The IC-705 receives continuously from 30 kHz through the 144 MHz band. The IC-705 has a 10w max output.
I use this radio as both my Base Station Radio and a portable for SOTA / POTA activations. The IC-705 also supports wireless connectivity with it’s built in Wifi support. This was my first non-handheld radio I purchased after I got my Technicians License
FT-891
The FT-891 is a HF All Mode Mobile Transceiver designed in a really compact package. Unlike the IC-705, the FT-891 has a max output of 100w for SSB and a recommended max of 50w for CW and digital modes, but no UHF or VHF support
I got this radio to be able to broadcast when conditions are more difficult with propagation. Having the extra output power helps get that signal out. This is my main out and about radio for both SSBand Digital Modes I will also look at possibly mounting this radio in my Bronco for mobile operations.
QDX
The QRP Labs Digital Transceiver (QDX), is a feature-packed, high performance, five-band (80, 60, 40, 30 and 20m) 5W Digital mode transceiver. QDX is suitable for single tone FSK modes, which includes everything in WSJT-X, JS8Call, some fldigi modes e.g. RTTY, Olivia and more.
I got this little radio for two reasons, first its a cool little radio that will plug directly into my laptop no separate sound card needed. Packing an EFHW or any other simple lightweight QRP antenna and a battery its all I need to do digital modes (FT8, JS8Call) in a really small package that I can add into my work bag. In fact I am in the process of building a small go bag with this radio, more to come.
uSDX
uSDX is a simple and experimental (Class-E driven) SSB and CW SDR transceiver. It can be used to make QRP SSB contacts, or (in combination with a PC) used for the digital modes such as FT8, JS8, FT4. It can be fully-continuous tuned through bands 80m-10m in the LSB/USB-modes with a 2400Hz bandwidth has up to 5W PEP SSB output and features a software-based full Break-In VOX for fast RX/TX switching in voice and digital operations.
I got this radio before I purchased the QDX which is even smaller since its exclusively digital without SSB and or CW support. Which means I don’t really use this radio. Production on these seem to be spotty with some questionable quality controls. Its an interesting radio given the SDR and opensource design.I am going to keep it, but not sure when I will use it. Now its just an emergency backup radio.
More Info
Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
| Radio Details | Downloads | Purchase |
|---|---|---|
| IC-705 | Software / Firmware | Amazon Link |
| FT-891 | Software / Firmware | Amazon Link |
| QDX | QRP Labs | |
| uSDX | GitHub Repo | Amazon Link |