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Reviews For: BG2FX FX-9A

Category: Transceivers: HF Amateur HF+6M+VHF+UHF models - non QRP <5W

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Review Summary For : BG2FX FX-9A
Reviews: 4MSRP: 420
Description:
FX-9A HF 10 Band 10W-15W HF TRANSCEIVER LSB/USB/CW
Product is in production
More Info:
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0043.5
W4TU Rating: 2020-08-24
Well built, rugged portable rig; receiver isn't great Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I picked up a used FX-9A (2017 revision) on eBay some months back for $185. At that price I could satisfy my curiosity about the radio with little risk. I could always put it back on eBay, right?

There are a lot of things to like about this radio. The all metal case is very solid if a bit heavy. If you want a rugged rig for portable ops the FX-9A may fit the bill. The front facing speaker makes it easy to hear and the received audio is quite nice. The radio is simple to operate. There is a menu which is not obvious. If you press and hold the round BAND button it comes up and lets you customize CW operation, adjusting the keyer mode, CW delay, sidetone frequency, etc... The blue OLED display on a black background is clear and easy to read. The rig has a speech processor and transmitted audio has adequate "punch." It gets very good reports on the air,

To me the big drawback of this radio is the receiver sensitivity. It's far from deaf but also very far from what other rigs on the market can offer. It's good enough to make lots of contacts and have fun with the radio. I'd hate to use this rig during a QRP contest when listening for other weak stations. The rig deserves somewhere between a 3 and a 4. I was kind and rounded up.

CU2IJ Rating: 2019-03-11
Not that noisy, still deaf Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
So I understood I was making a mistake, using noisy power supplys. When using battery the receiver get much quieter, in noise, unfortunately it is very insensitive.

So here is the correction.
73
Luis
AE7YD Rating: 2018-04-20
update Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
in my previous review I mentionned the many birdies.
Most of them disapeard and the only change I made was
to use a LiFe battery instead of my variable lab power supply.
It is the radio I now use the most.
E74KS Rating: 2016-08-22
Small basic HF transceiver, suitable for portable operation. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought FX-9A from eBay for $399, to use it for portable operation. After first tests both from my shack and during portable operation, I can give my first impressions. Currently, I made a dozen of CW QSOs on 40m, 30m, 20m and 17m.

Pros:
- nice form factor, small size, easy to use in the field, but you can also put it on car dashboard or on seat, and all the controls are easily reachable
- powerful enough, two power levels (High: 10W CW, 15W SSB, Low: approx. 6W)
- covers 10 HF bands
- good display
- built in electronic keyer
- simple to use.

Cons:
- sensitivity of the receiver is not impressive
- a little bit strange behavior of electronic keyer (it looks like timing is dependent on operating frequency, so sometimes there is some sort of lag-everything is fine after slight change of frequency!?)
- back of the transceiver gets quite hot.

All in all, it is usable as a small portable all-HF band transceiver. I hope it will last long enough ;-)