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| Reviews Summary for Mizuho MX-2 |
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Reviews: 5
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Average rating: 3.4/5
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MSRP: $(missing—add MSRP)
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Description: 2m 200mw SSB/CW handheld transceiver (kit sold by Ace Communications in the U.S.)
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More info: http://
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write your own review of the Mizuho MX-2.
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IW3FZQ
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Rating: 4/5
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Jan 25, 2007 13:09
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A funny radio!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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MX-2 is my fourth Mizuho transceiver. I have bought it some week ago and I'm very happy about his behaviour. Good point: excellent frequency stability, very good audio with his loudspeaker or headphones, simply to use and very funny is used during field-day or trekking. I prefer to use it during my portable activity instead of FT817. Am I masochist ???? No but it is pure satisfaction make lots of contacts with this radio. Bad point: low output power. Mine sends 320 mWatts (misured with Bird 43) with full charge battery (9 Volts) but if I use middle life battery or NiCd accu the output power will be between 100 and 150 mW! Very low. For me the correct power of this transceiver should be 1 Watt or so. However, if MX-2 is used on top of hill, is not hard to make important QSOs especially if a Yagi or HB9 antenna is used instead of original rubber whip.
73 de Enrico, IW3FZQ.
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K5RIX
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Rating: 4/5
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Mar 14, 2005 16:04
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A fun, if not great, rig
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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My MX-2 is my very first 2m weak-signal mode (pun intended) rig. I bought it new in 1985 at Henry Radio in Los Angeles. The rig came as a "knock down" kit with one Xtal that allowed me to operate approximately 144.250 - 144.300. That is, the board was all wired and ready to go, and all I had to do was attach the hardware and make the connections according to the hilariously crimped English-language instructions.
I used a 7-element yagi at about 20 feet, aimed at San Diego from my Canoga Park qth. The rig wouldn't quite get down to the frequency of the station I called, so he came up to mine! What a blast!
Eventually I got Xtals that allow me to use the rig from approximately 144.150 - 144.250, which is how it is configured to this day. Somewhere along the way I got a tiny Alinco "brick" that put out around ten watts with the 200mW drive from the MX-2. The Navy had me traveling a lot by that time, and I used a 4-element yagi on a ten-foot mast/tripod with the rig and amp poolside at a lot of motels in the northeastern USA. What a blast! I got hooked on 2m CW at that time. Using a straight key, I never missed the side tone.
It's a crude little radio by almost any standard, but it's also the coolest rig I've ever used that wasn't packaged in Benton Harbor. I like it.
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G3XBM
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Rating: 3/5
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Oct 7, 2004 12:29
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Nice rig, poor battery life.
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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For what it was, a small 2m SSB handheld, it worked well but the battery life was poor. I used mine to work some reasonable handheld VHF DX though. 2x 50kHz VXO ranges gives good coverage around the calling channels and either side.
It also makes a good driver for VHF to HF transverters: mine worked 9000miles on 10m with a little add-on box to transvert to 10m at 1W pep.
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GW4RWR
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Rating: 2/5
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May 4, 2002 16:48
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Novel but not practical
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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SSB in a handheld, I had to buy this little set, especially at the £40 asking price. Excellent TX audio, courtesy of the simple VXO, and few amplification stages to reach its 400mW output.
I took it on walks up hills, and made some contacts. Ideal for tower-to-house communications, and listening for openings while sat in the garden, or talking to my local radio pal. I really felt that 2m was always with me!
Unfortunately there's a limit to how much radio can be squeezed into a pocket size, even with its AAA size batteries! The 2 x 50kHZ tuning range is inadequate, and that's achieved in one revloution of the dial!
I learnt that I needed slightly more capability - 20dB more power, smoother tuning over 500kHz, a better receiver and better RX audio. It always needed 'extras' to be useful - a couple of PA stages, four extra crystals, a keyer... I would have happily put up with this rig if it could have been reinvented as a serious 'transportable' rather than a fun time handie.
I eventually sold it, for £35, which I now bitterly regret. It would have been great as a driver for that 23cm transverter, where I really need portability, and low power o/p and a limited tuning span.... How attitudes change over 15 years!
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KU4QD
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Rating: 4/5
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Nov 7, 2001 16:26
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Interesting little radio, but limited
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I've had the Mizuho MX-2 for perhaps a month now, so these are really first impressions. I suspect many people know the high power (1-2 watt) versions of the Mizuho handhelds, either as the AEA DX-Handy, under the Pico name, or under their own name. There was a 1 watt 2m SSB/CW HT, but this isn't it. This is part of the low power series, and puts out all of 200 milliwatts.
That isn't the only difference. There is no RIT, no S-meter, and the usual speaker/mic. doesn't fit. The PTT switch latches, which takes some getting used to. The crystal formulation for the VXO range crystals is different. It's not designed for rechargable batteries, and runs on a single 9 volt alkaline battery. In general, the low power rigs, including the MX-2, aren't nearly as good as their big brothers. Do I sound negative? Really, I'm not. It's a neat little rig, but don't pay what you would for an MX-2F.
Another thing to note: many of the ones you will find in the U.S. were sold as kits. Make sure the one you want is well built and working.
With all those caveats, I actually like the radio, and won't be selling it any time soon.
Can you make contacts on 2m SSB or CW with just 200 milliwatts from an HT? Yes, with a good outside antenna, liek a nice beam, you sure can. With the whip on the HT? Well... considering the low power and the 20db polarization loss for vertical vs. horizontal polarization, I don't think it will happen often unless you have a local group who are vertically polarized. Of course, e-skip messes with polarization, so I expect I'll make contacts with this thing as a true HT eventually :)
I've used this so far as a baby base rig, and it sure is a conversation piece on the air. The receiver is decent, as is the receive audio. Transmitted audio reports are OK, too. You are limited to two 50kHz segments, and what frequencies you can cover depend on what you have for the range crystals. Considering that most activity, both SSB and CW, is centered around 144.200, this isn't much of a limitation. The radio should be good for travel, as it is very small, lightweight, and consumes tiny amounts of current. Remember, you have no light, no digital display, and just a basic but well designed rig. As such, it should be just brilliant for backpacking and mountaintopping, especially if you can bring along that all important decent antenna. Don't expect to use this for satellite work due to the limited frequency coverage and the fact that it only does USB: no LSB for downlinks.
I paid around $125 on the used market for this radio, and I wouldn't suggest anyone pay more than that for an MX-2. I don't think I'd want one of these as my only 2m SSB/CW rig, or even as my primary rig, but it is fun on the air, and quite different from anything else out there. Milliwatting on 2m? So far, I'd say yes! My conclusion is that this is a good rig that does what it was designed to do. Just make sure that you know it's limitations and can live within them.
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