|
POSITIVES
This brought a new dimension to 2m SSB
operating, both out in the field on
hilltops and at home on small beams or a
halo. Although it only produced 200mW pep
this was more than enough to work plenty
of locals on SSB and, in lifts and
contests some useful DX, much of it when
used handheld.
It made an
excellent little driver for QRP
transverters: I made up a set for 160m,
15m, 10m and 6m and great fun was had. The
transverters were out of sight under the
desk so the only rig on the desk was the
diminutive MX2 which looked all the world
like a miniature, miniature HF rig.
Nice having
all the controls on the top - convenient
for handheld use and neat on a
desktop.
Useful
external mic facility when used as a
mini-base station.
A remarkably
good, clean and quiet receiver considering
what it was.
In addition to the CW key socket on the
back there was a small push button CW key
on the top RHS - very useful when QSOs
were struggling on SSB to use this to get
through!
NEGATIVES
The latching PTT switch!
Limited
tuning range: 50kHz on two VXO ranges
around the 2m calling frequency.
Poor battery
life if used with the intended internal 9V
PP3 battery pack, even worse if using a
rechargeable pack instead. This could be
overcome by using an external 9.6V NiCad
pack. |
The MX-2 was a small, handheld SSB
transceiver for 2m VHF operation. By
modern standards it was a small brick but
it worked