Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes
Reviews Home

Reviews For: Mizuho MX-18S

Category: QRP Radios (5 watts or less)

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : Mizuho MX-18S
Reviews: 4MSRP: 329
Description:
17 meter SSB/CW 2W handheld transceiver
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0045
MM1EWA Rating: 2010-07-27
Nice fun rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I had one of these a number of years back, great little fun radio, sadly it was stolen, I'm keen to replace it however, If anyone has a MX-18 they'd like to sell let me know please.

Regards

Michael - MM1EWA/KD0LEJ
mm1ewa at yahoo . com
KM3DR Rating: 2006-02-28
Update Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I'm stil having fun wth my MX-18s. I've purchased the MFJ telescopic antenna and use a counterpoise with excellant results. I often wonder how many more MX-18's ar out there.
LEE_EX_K3RE Rating: 2002-09-24
Excellant Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Recently purchased the rig from KH7L. First contact was with an 8R1 using a telescopic whip in the backyard. It has both crystals in it to cover the whole 17 meter band. Receive is very good on a portable 1/2 wave dipole. 2 watts output can be a challenge at times, but what a rush. What a gerat monoband rig. Lee/k3re
KU4QD Rating: 2002-04-24
Best of all the Mizuho HTs Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I own seven different Mizuho HTs on seven different bands, four of them from the last (current) generation. You might expect my reviews for each of the models would be the same, but they're not. Differences between the bands and differences between the radios produce different results. For a whole lot of reasons, if you were going to buy only one of these handhelds, the MX-18S has to be the one to have. I had previously called the MX-21S my best "go anywhere" radio. That was until I got this one.

Just like the other rigs in this series, the Mizuho MX-18S is 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. 17 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-18S is VXO controlled. Unlike the others, the MX-18S covers the whole 17m band and there are no additional crystals to buy. (Yes, the band is smaller, which makes this possible.). The 2W rated output is enough to make plenty of contacts on 17m, even on SSB. This band tends to be less crowded and have less kilowatts despite it's small size, making it a haven for QRP operators.

The optional AN-18 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.

As with the other MX models, the receiver is just fantastic and is truly amazing for an HT. Receive and transmit audio are excellent.

With full band coverage on a band well suited to the sort of operation you'd expect to do with a rig like this, the MX-18S is an outstanding addition for anyone who enjoys QRP portable operation. It's a pity this model is discontinued.