(tr)uSDX - My First Day Using This Amazing Little Radio

[@dangermandave67]

Think I've found a good niche for this radio: digital modes. You don't have to be bothered by the sub-par audio!!! This weekend, I set up a 30m band APRS i-gate at my house and drove to the other side of the Wasatch Mountains with the (tr)uSDX. I set it up with a dipole antenna draped along the top rail of a wooden fence and sent packets with Soundmodem and APRSISCE/32. My i-gate at home was able to receive, decode and gate the packets to APRS-IS. Sweet! Apparently it works pretty well with FT8, JS8, Winlink, etc as well. Need to get out and try those too. I did use the (tr)uSDX on a SOTA activation. It was a nail-biter! The summit was Box Elder Peak (elevation 11,101 feet, 3384 meters) and the climb was pretty hard. At first, I wasn't making any contacts and it looked like a failed activation. Eventually, I was able to make 7 QSOs but it was tough. Since then, I haven't attempted to use it on another activation. But I think it will be a great back-up radio.

[@juliopereyra7422]

Good morning, congratulation for the qso.

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thank you! 73!!!

[@barrykery1175]

I have to say, I'm very impressed with both contacts. To work VP9 and a VK station off of an antenna that does not have any gain over a dipole and to do it with only 5 watts is extremely impressive. Well done. Barry, KU3X/QRP

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thank you sir! All the best and 73, Walt K4OGO

[@davidlappen8727]

I think that I’m going to try and build one of these! I’d love to see more videos of this radio with different antennas. My plan would be to use it as my travel radio.

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

I will be using this radio with outer antennas in other locations. Videos will follow. Thanks for watching and 73!

[@hikingfish3]

Not the longuest video, but I appreciate the fact that you state the kind of video the viewer is watching, to make sure this is the content we want to view. This is to showcase how awesome it is, not a build video. Great habit to keep! Cheers

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks so much! Cheers!

[@MatthiasLenardt]

Really good! Have lot's of fun with this tiny radio 📻 Greetings, MATTHIAS 👋

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks so much! Greetings and 73! Walt K4OGO

[@MatthiasLenardt]

@@COASTALWAVESWIRES Thank you for your answer 🙏 Have a blessed weekend! 73 on all frequencies! Matthias DL1NDG 👋

[@genemitchell8948]

Cool little transceiver

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Yes it is! Looking forward to more outings with it! 73

[@temporarilyoffline]

Came up in my list today, so I rang the bell. Great video! I've been thinking about getting one of these.

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks so much! You’ll be amazed at this little radio!

[@haramanggapuja]

Fifty years ago some I was in Puerto Rico with a PM2. Now I'm in Buckeyestan with a (tr)uSDX. QRP always amazes me. Your video is further proof of that. Stay safe & well! 73 de W8IJN

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks for watching! 73 de K4OGO

[@o2bnov0307]

A month or so ago I was visiting people at Pembroke Towers in Norfolk. Small world. Maybe we can meet on my next visit. Thank you for the great videos!

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks for watching! Yes it’s a small world.

[@mandh14]

Excellent Walt, just ordered one this very day after your enthusiastic reviews of this little QRP radio, hope to work you on 20m one day!

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Awesome! Hope to catch you on 20m! 73! K4OGO

[@aglandorf75]

I am about to get my ham radio license and tomorrow I will be lucky to get my hands on this radio. Bought it also from the direct from the licensed reseller and it took about 12 days to ship it from China to Germany. Pretty decent shipping time.

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Congrats and 73!

[@ea6wu]

thanks for the video!

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks for watching!!!

[@Tantalicdavid]

Looks a good little radio, Slidewinder did it justice.

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Yes it did! Love my Slidewinder!

[@LanWolf]

@@COASTALWAVESWIRES How do you tune the slidewinder to the correct frequency ? Do you use a vna for that ?

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

@@LanWolf I actually use my Xiegu X5105 as an antenna analyzer. Once you’ve used it a few time you kinda know where to set it to for each band.

[@LanWolf]

@@COASTALWAVESWIRES thanks, for starters I’ll have to bring my nanovna I think to get used to it. Already have the slidewinder, just ordered the trusdx :) You did a nice job on the contacts there !

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

@@LanWolf thanks! Good luck with the radio, you’ll enjoy it!

[@seanfoley7097]

I really really really really really really really really want one of these now

[@madcarew5168]

Waiting for my delivery!!

[@joyhamradio]

Pretty awesome!

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks for watching!

[@Tocsin-Bang]

I built mine from a kit, not calibrated yet, but RX is fine!

[@divingiain]

Hi Walt, I stumbled across your chanel by chance & I'm glad I did! I love your review of this little rig. I'm been thinking of getting one for a few weeks, but after seeing your review, I have taken the plunge. Keep up the great work buddy. Iain Lindsay (M7TVR)

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thank you so much and good luck with your (tr)uSDX!! 73, K4OGO

[@johnwest7993]

I'm going to build the hand-held version of the rig with the attached battery pack, then just jump back and forth between antennas for hiking and mobile work in my van. The boards are built, but I'm still tuning the class E outputs and 2nd harmonic filter toroids. They are fussy but quite fun to get the power and efficiency just right on every band.

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Awesome! Hope to catch you on the air! 73 de K4OGO

[@Inkling777]

A marvelous gadget. I just wish the case look better. Perhaps DL2MAN should get in touch with those who make the cases for QRP Labs.

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Yeah, I think the idea was an easy 3D printable case for the home builder. Would look really cool in a nice metal case though.

[@DK5ONV]

A happy 1st of May Uncle Walter. Hard to believe that this little Pocket Radio really can talk. Good job buddy... 💯🍻🙋‍♂

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Happy May 1st Uncle G! Thanks my friend!!!

[@GianlucaRiccardi]

Nice and motivational video. I ordered mine yesteday evening. I think a great job is done using the Ocean as a ground plane with the counterpoise in the water. I hope I'll try that sooner than later. Peace de M7YGR

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks! You will enjoy that little radio. 73 de K4OGO

[@JohnDoe-lz5ss]

Walt, just picked up a tru sdx myself, neat little radio! I enjoy your videos and have learned a lot on antenna builds, I have made the Rybakov and coastal 20, both work well. Question, how do you like your 360 Sigma Eurocom? I’m interested on picking one up. Any way thanks for the good videos and hope to hear you on the bands. 73s

[@g4joe]

Well done G4vdx

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks for watching! 73 K4OGO

[@JReed305]

That's even more handy for Poland trips then the G90

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

LOL yeah but I need more bands. I bought a RS-918 and it may be the rig for my next trip because of its internal battery .

[@JReed305]

@@COASTALWAVESWIRES I thought these did 80-10? You should check out the battery box add on by DL1DN.

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

@@JReed305 yes there’s a mod for other bands but from what I understand the wattage drops. I’ve actually seen the battery, very cool

[@JReed305]

@@COASTALWAVESWIRES I had seen videos where it was down around 2w on 12 and 10.

[@gryphonz3]

Impressive set-up. Not too expensive overall.

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Fun little radio, we need to connect it to the ship’s big discone antenna LOL

[@gryphonz3]

@@COASTALWAVESWIRES That might curl the neighbors' hair...haha

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

@@gryphonz3 Blahahaha

[@EC5ABG]

Buen vídeo 73.

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

¡Gracias!

[@yo3broyo3bro50]

congrats,nice qrp rig and thank you for the video,i think i will buy one usdx,about VK4KA...Corey,he has a dual moxon as far as i remember,a very good antena..did a long path with him ,inv vee @ 100w a few months ago,25000 km,73 de YO3BRO

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks for watching! All the best and good DX! 73 de K4OGO

[@PedroskiClimb]

Fantastic Walt! 73 de M3KXZ

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thank you Pete! 73

[@truckinghamk1dok677]

Amazing what salt water will do. Good job.

[@cory198787]

Cheers and beers from the land down under DE VK4KA

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Cheers my friend, thanks for pulling me out of the noise! 73 de K4OGO

[@CdnRockiesRadio]

My buddy cory!

[@k2wo1]

Great video Walt and great job with that little rig.....I may just have to get one! I wonder how long it took for delivery. In any case, great job.......you could feel the enthusiasm in your voice! 73, George K2WO

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks George! It took about 3 weeks for delivery. I purchased mine through authorized seller on eBay. It’s a fun little radio! 73 K4OGO

[@stevecolby6505]

Interesting rig. Receive audio sounds pretty good on that external speaker. I look forward to more info on how you like the (tr)uSDX. Could you capture some transmit audio on a remote web-sdr receiver like K3FEF in PA which can record a WAV file of your audio. Love your channel.

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thank you so much! I’ll have it out on the beach soon trying to chase some DX across the Atlantic. That SDR idea is brilliant! I’m going to give it a try. Thanks!

[@conchd]

That sounds like a decent experiment, although I discovered that if you use the remote SDR for an audio quality check, it is not very accurate because the remote SDR compresses the audio tremendously for transmission across the Internet.

[@frankvardeman7741]

Hello! I have a question I hope you can answer. My coax comes with the standard PL239 connector. What adapter do I need to get to connect coax to the radio. I am thinking about getting the radio, but trying to figure this out first. Thanks and 73 Frank, W4VRI

[@antenaseinterfacescb]

Amazing contact congratulations 7351.

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thank you! 73,

[@kylefreemason]

Hey Walt, after a year do you still recommend this qrp rig? I have held off because I wanted to see longevity and if they would add 17m. I am a huge fan of 17m. Hope you are doing well! 73!

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Hey Kyle, I recommend it as a cheap QRP rig to experiment with. I’ve had fun with it but it’s not a serious everyday QRP rig that I would get as my main radio. There’s a way to make it a 17m radio but it requires a completely different build. Doing great! Hope you’re doing good as well. 73, Walt

[@dangermandave67]

That's awesome. I've got one of those bad boys coming from the approved EBay seller in China. Can't wait. Going to use it for SOTA. What kind of jack does it take for that external speaker? Have you found a good external mike for it?

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Will take a standard 3.5 stereo jack for the speaker, I use a little cheap portable speaker I have. Have not tried a mic yet. Thanks for watching! 73, Walt K4OGO

[@guyhornbeck8940]

Thanks for the demo Walt. I always enjoy your channel. Im about 1/2 mile from San Francisco so I need to try out that salt water amplifier. I ordered my pre-assembled TrUdx last week. I plan to use a lightweight 20/40 linked dipole for a seriously portable QRP station. Keep up the good work. 73 de AE6FE

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks so much! You’re really going to enjoy the (tr)uSDX, it’s a fun little radio. All the best and good DX, Walt

[@WASRT001]

Did you have to calibrate a pre-built radio or a kit you built? I have a pre-built coming and I don't want to have to calibrate it.

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

It was as pre-built and really easy to do.

[@yo3broyo3bro50]

whats the length of the whip?

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

285 cm

[@eddy2561]

I'd try CW rather than phone if running qRP

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Yes that’s a great mode for QRP, I enjoy SSB it’s just the part of Amateur Radio I like most. As you can see in the video it also works for that mode as well. The great thing about our hobby is all the different modes, bands, etc that we have. Enjoy the CW.

[@eddy2561]

@@COASTALWAVESWIRES I bought a Chinese knock off of this radio and the menu system as implemented on my uSDX is a disaster! I reviewed radio in eHam 73/K6SDW

[@Dennis-tf2cs]

So who is the approved builder that you ordered this from?

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

hison-818 on eBay

[@yagamitaichi6639]

Beli dimana

[@the_mad_swimbaiter455]

I wish mine worked. Had one of the screwed up ones not from source.

[@frankjames6046]

Can you tell me what your levels are for PA Bias min and max are please

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

I will have to check, I made no adjustments out of the box other than calibrating the frequency.

[@AC9DJ]

Well I think you might have sold me on giving this a try finally. Thanks, 73 de AC9DJ.

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks for watching, hope you have as much success with it as I had. 73 Walt K4OGO

[@mehr_wolf_weniger_adolf]

Hätte das Gerät einen USB-Anschluss und zusätzlich RTTY, wäre es fast genial

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Ja, aber für den Preis ist es immer noch ein sehr gutes Radio. Ich bin glücklich damit. 73/K4OGO

[@mehr_wolf_weniger_adolf]

@@COASTALWAVESWIRES Auf jeden Fall! Ich bin SWL und würde damit ferne die Wetterberichte des DWD direkt empfangen können. Im Ausland habe ich auch schon SSB qsos gefahren damit...

[@black75powder]

Walt, do you know how many ohm the external speaker should be?

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

I believe the external speaker I have that I use with mine is 8 ohm. It’s a cheap iHome amplified speaker and works well.

[@black75powder]

Sounds good thank you Walt 73

[@grozdanovskizoran8339]

How it sounds on headphones. The speaker is almost unusable. GL Z32U

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Haven’t tried headphones yet. 73 de K4OGO

[@ЛуценкоКоля]

Thank you very good cinema.I am old amateur ex CALL UB5 UWT member 1969 clab in Kyiv Pleas you band working 21 mhz? My name Nick 73 good luck

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Hello Nick! I was working 14.285 MHz in this video. Thanks for watching! 73

[@the_mad_swimbaiter455]

Did you have to load any software/ firmware/ bootloader?

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

No mine was ready to go out of the box, even had my call sign in the display when I turned it on. I did have to do a slight frequency adjustment but that’s all

[@wescreek3493]

walt that radio is awesome name is wes call is va3wlc thank you for the video when on 20m I sit 14.185 i am 2 hrs east of detroit MI in a small city of St. Thomas Ontario Canadathank you for this video thinking on getting one 73's

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

Thanks for watching! If you get one of these I think you will enjoy it. 73!!

[@frankjames6046]

Anxiously waiting for mine, de KG9H

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

You’re going to love it! It was so much more than I expected. 73 de K4OGO

[@frankjames6046]

Thanks so much, FYI, nice video!

[@COASTALWAVESWIRES]

@@frankjames6046 thanks!!!!