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| Reviews Summary for Mizuho MX-21S |
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write your own review of the Mizuho MX-21S.
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IW3FZQ
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 25, 2007 06:51
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The best MX I have!!!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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As I have written, the MX21-S is the best Mizuho I have. With his 2 Watts and original whip, I have made lots of DX contacts, all in SSB mode. During last ARRL International DX contest, with above setup, I have made 9 QSOs with USA stations and 1 with Canadian station. And in last October (with very poor propagation) a fantastic QSO with VR2BG, about 9000 KM far-off. Naturally, lots of contacts with all Europe stations without difficult. It is a very funny transceiver, all in my hand. The rx audio is simply fantastic and I receive good voice report from my correspondents. The receiver is very sensitivity and the selectivity is good. The battery life (I use 2100 mAh elements) is high thanks also to low consumption of this item. It is ideal for field-day or trekking. Everywhere I go, I carry it always with me!!
73 de Enrico, IW3FZQ.
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M0SIS
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 31, 2002 07:53
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Great performance handy
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I would like to recommend the Mizuho MX-21S for all backpackers. Seriously crash-proof with superb parameters. When the dipole or better antennas is used then excellent QRP DX-ing is possible too. 73, Peter M0SIS
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KU4QD
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 24, 2002 00:48
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Small, lightweight, 15 meter handheld = lots of fun
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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The Mizuho MX-21S may be the best "go anywhere" radio I have. Like the MX-7S (see my review) it's a single band, spartan, brick handheld. The radio is very lightweight, and it's lack of features translates into very low power consumption, so it runs a very long time indeed on a set of AA NiMH batteries. It draws only 70mA on receive, 625mA when trasnmitting. 15 meters is open all day and well into the evening this time of the sunspot cycle, so choosing this one band makes sense.
As with other models in this series, the MX-21S is VXO controlled and has room for two crystals. On this band each crystal provides 50KHz of spectrum compared to the 25KHz provided in the MX-7S or MX-3.5S. The net result is that you can have a nice slice of both the voice and CW portions of the band. The 2W rated output is conservative: mine delivers 2.5W, and yes, that is enough to make plenty of contacts, even on SSB.
The optional AN-21 antenna *does* work if you trail a quarter wave counterpoise. Without the counterpoise I find that it's really hard to get out at all. The optional MS-1 speaker/mic. is something I highly recommend with this rig. Another option, the CW-2S provides sidetone and semi-QSK operation, a must for the CW operator even if the sidetone provided is annoying. There is a little push button on the top for sending CW, but I think an external key is a whole lot easier to deal with.
Mizuho does make an optional 10W amplifier (the PL-21S) which is grossly overpriced. There is an optional mounting bracket for the combo of the rig, amp, and CW-2S, which together make a very neat little portable or mobile station.
The receiver in this little handheld is pretty amazing, and I don't seem to have the front end overload problems I have with the 40m version. There is plenty of sensitivity. Selectivity is great for SSB but a bit wide for CW. The receive audio is very pleasant indeed. Transmitted audio reports are equally nice, with folks amazed that I'm on an HT. Apparently the rig has a "big radio" sound.
The only drawbacks are the fact that you are limited to 100KHz of bandwidth (in two chunks) and the lack of QSK internal to the rig. I rated the MX-7S a "4" because it's far from a perfect CW rig, and SSB at 2W on 40m is often an exercise in futility. On 15m this style of rig really shines on SSB and is decent enough on CW (with the CW-2S) to rate a "5".
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