| K4ALE |
Rating:  |
2019-07-28 | |
| Comments for a potential user |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This review is intended for those considering acquiring the SG-2020, which has been out of production for more than 10 years. I have owned an SG-2020 for nearly 12 years. The 2020 is an outstanding PORTABLE radio, and any evaluation of it must be done in that setting. While hand-held computers may soon make lightweight digital operations practical, CW is the most flexible mode in this setting. However, to do voice/SSB over any real distance while portable, one needs larger, heavier radios with larger batteries. Based on my personal experience only, I believe at least 15 or 20 watts output is required for practical distance portable work (Europe and West Coast from Virginia, with a decent antenna.) A limited number of radios are small enough to qualify for real portability. The Elecraft KX3, which was designed long after the 2020, is best of all portable rigs for many reasons, not the least is that it is a generation ahead, SDR, still developing, etc. But other choices are available and most offer more output power. This is where, in my opinion, the 2020 is the champion. Other options, like the IC-706, FT-857D, and FT-891, have more output power, but in a portable setting, this is limited by the corresponding demands of batteries/power supply.
My 2020 has ADSP, of some kind. I rarely use this feature, although it does help when a band is crowded or very noisy, and does not bother me when it is turned off. Power output is correlated to the displayed value, but it is not exact (if you need to stay under 5 watts for a contest, use a watt meter to set the output, which is adjustable between displayed values.) The SGC microphone performs better than other hand mics I have tried, as it is designed to match the speech processor. My VFO is stable after a few minutes, but the displayed frequency is often inaccurate by several hundred Hz; I made a chart to estimate this during operations. Display is to the tenth kHz (100 Hz.) Band changes are achieved by setting memories, and this system actually works very well, once you get used to it. Bandwidth settings for the filter are easy, and work very well on SSB and reasonably well on CW. Mode settings are equally easy. Scanning can be programmed. There is a means of transmitting a CW signal in SSB mode with the mic for a tuner. I have not had much use for the noise blanker, as I do not use it mounted in a vehicle with engine noise. The backlit LED frequency display can be turned off. RIT/XIT are available, as well as split operation.
The manual, which is still available to download as a pdf file from the SGC website (sgcworld.com)( http://www.sgcworld.com/Publications/Manuals/2020ADSP2man.pdf). The basic manual has extensive service, technical, schematic, and calibration information. Idle current draw is under 450 mA, which is comparable to other similar rigs (but not the KX3). The receiver is quite hot, so you will find that you can use the audio and radio gain adjustments to enhance the quality of the receiver output, and reduce listening strain. It is certainly not Kenwood or Elecraft audio, but I have never had a problem listening for extended periods. As others have noted, the 3.5mm headphone jack is on the rear panel, which makes sense for a mobile mount external speaker, but draws criticism from portable users. It is an easy jumper fix.
CW mode works well with this radio, esp. on transmit. The front panel has separate 3.5mm key and paddle jacks. The adjustable filter allows narrow filtering down to about 100 Hz, and the ADSP can effectively narrow it further, with some ringing. As noted by others, there is often some blocking from nearby signals on CW. This can be eliminated almost entirely by adjusting the passband DOWN (minus) 0.5 to 0.8. With a little practice, you will enjoy CW, and 20 watts is plenty for most portable work.
The missing antenna tuner is a minor irritation, at most. On-board tuners are often incapable of dealing well with “field expedient antennas.” I use a LDG Z-11Pro II, which I power from the same source as the radio, and jumper over to the radio with a 12-inch coax. I also carry a small 4:1 balun. I usually use a LiFePO4 battery in the 12-15 AH size, which last quite a long time, depending on intensity of operations.
The "4" star rating is given only because the KX3 moves the standard for a "5" up past the point within the design grasp of the 2020. It is the best "next tier" rig, in my opinion. |
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| NX0E |
Rating: |
2016-04-18 | |
| Fix ADSP distortion |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I use this model for weekly NVIS contacts. With a 15' high 80m dipole, it works well. At 20W it keeps up with the 100W rigs.
I acquired a second SG-2020 with ADSP2. It had distorted audio on receive. It seemed to be a case needing the mod that DG2IAQ mentions in the Oct. 2007 version of his mods sheet. But I had the first radio (slightly higher S/N, about 6k vs. 5k for my "new" acquisition) with clean audio. I decided to take a look and compare the two to see what the difference was.
Both radios had the ADSP2 mod done by the factory. Both radios had the factory installed 68k resistor in the green wire. Otherwise they appeared identical.
Then I noticed a piece of clear tape in my original unit. It held the green (ADSP input) and purple (ADSP output) wires to the U1 side of the standoff that is between U1 and U6. In the second, distorted radio, the wires were routed loosely over U6. But U6 (it is the 5 legged TO220 type case device) is a high gain audio amp in the RX audio path and routing the green wire over it could provide a feedback path for the low level ADSP audio. It could cause distortion.
I re-routed the green and purple wires to the other side of the standoff (and taped them in place for good measure). I did not change the resistor in the green wire, or make any other changes. After re-assembly and listening on some bands, the distortion appears gone. The audio is as clean as my first unit. That is communications quality audio.
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|
| KB9MVW |
Rating: |
2013-03-10 | |
| FINE RADIO |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| First of all this radio is very simple to use,good ergonomics.Second this is great for portable use in the field very low current draw. I have my radio hooked up to a small solar system and it never depletes the two golf cart batteries. Performance is above average and in my opinion better than the yaesu 817. Rx audio is just fine once the radio is understood. A little tweaking with the rf gain and adsp things sound very good. My only warning is dont tune this radio at high power into a poorly mismatched antenna it will damage the tx led lights. The radio is built like a tank and for a field radio excellent..No it does not perform up to a flex radio or big table top rig..But This radio is a lot of fun and works well...HEY SGC put this rig back into production!!! |
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| KB0SFP |
Rating: |
2012-09-26 | |
| Fun but flawed! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have own about 6 SG-2020 in various forms. Every one of them had a problem that required attention. The most common is frequency stability associated with the VHF BFO xtal oscillator. It can be fixed but not by SGC who has a well deserved, absolutely terrible customer service reputation.
These radios have excellent TX audio processing second to none(VOGAD). They also have a number of adverse receive issues related to their single convergence design. This brings us to the ADSP systems introduced to address some of these issues.
As I understand it, the subject of this thread is not the 2020 itself, which is covered elsewhere, but the ADSP. I have owned all versions of this radio & the ADSP systems. The ADSP does not fix all the ailments of the 2020. In the case of the ADSP-2 it actually introduces some.
This is the just of it. In it's bear bones stock form, the 2020 is a fun & marginally effective radio.
With the ADSP-1 added some usable degree of noise reduction is achieved in both voice & CW modes.
With ADSP-2, so much audio distortion is introduced that I find it worthless for voice. Others think it is effective on CW which it was specifically enhanced for. The worst thing is that this audio distortion does not go away when the ADSP is turned off.
The ADSP problem is compounded by the 2020 version it's installed in. Early radios that have been retrofit with ADSP-2, render a loud distinctive POP when kicking in & out which make using headphones a bit painful. SGC claims to have fixed this problem, but they never did. early radios can be identified by their use of rear panel connectors rather than pig tails.
Dennis Starks
Military-Radio-Guy
KBØSFP
HFpack/Milpack Monitor(all USB):
3996, 5357, 7296, 14342.5, 18157.5 |
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| KB2PIZ |
Rating: |
2009-06-07 | |
| Excellent |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| I bought my SGC 2020 used on ebay. The radio had an indicator light out and a few other problems. I sent it to SGC for overhaul and the radio came back in perfect working order. I have been running the radio with a Werker 12V 18 Ah battery with the Nue PSK Modem and a homebrew roof top dipole. I am amazed at the contacts I make. With persistance I have broken pile ups, worked DX, and enjoyed my rig. It is rugged, reliable, easy to use and portable. All the requirements I had for an emergency set up. I'm running it now with either a Buddipole Antenna, or a Slinky Antenna. |
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| KD6JDM |
Rating: |
2008-05-17 | |
| Good audio; ease of use |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I bought my SG-2020 about 8 years ago, and like using it as a portable rig.
The RF connector and the questionable DC power connector both were hardly what one would want with a rig that is marketed for rough service conditions. The DC connector was especially unreliable. NO WAY would the FAA ever give it a type certificate with that OEM connector. I sent the rig to SGC to have the chassis-mount RF connector and the DC connector changed to pigtails.
I have since installed a DC connector with proper strain reliefs and with reliable Anderson PowerPole connectors. I also reinstalled a chassis-mount RF connector, because the pigtail had problems from the start. The 239 connector is installed securely, in the manner that SGC should have used in the first place. I believe it now would work reliably in a boat, plane, or off-highway vehicle. No more intermittent connections.
I have also installed a fine dust screen over the speaker. It is an important addition, especially, when operating outdoors. The amount of iron dust in the air is higher than one might believe. It may take a few years, but it can accumulate on the top of the voice coil to an extent that it will cause the sound to be really scratchy. I had it happen to my Rat Shack Pro-43 scanner.
The signal drift is a minor problem. Once warmed up (about 10-15 minutes) it stays put just fine.
My only other real beef is that the headphone jack is at the rear, instead of at the front of the rig. It also is one of those flimsy eighth-inch things (yeah, Icom uses the same on its otherwise fine 706). Gimme a proper 1/4-inch socket, please. It has key and keyer sockets. For CW, I use a straight key. Never have used the keyer, so I would prefer a headphone jack in place of the keyer socket.
The transmit range is opened up to the entire 1.8-30 Mhz spectrum. The SGC-approved mod for that is extremely simple to do.
The unit is simple to use. I can vary the bandwidth from 100 cycles to 2700 cycles. Try that with other rigs costing under 700 bucks. The pass-band tuning is easy, and effective, too.
I get good signal reports from stations that are surprised that it is only a 20-watt rig. Granted, I lean to full-size wire antennas for field and home use, and 20 watts can sound like 200 on them. Hard to beat a full-size 75-mtr dipole for efficiency.
Transmitted audio is considered very good.
Would I buy another one? Maybe, but I likely would buy an Icom 718. Like the SG-2020, it is simple to use, has RF gain control, has the speaker in front, AND it has 100 watts output. I have custody of our club's 706 and would consider it, too, but I don't use the VHF or UHF bands since it is simpler to use dedicated rigs for those bands.
For the ham who likes portable operation, the 2020 is a good rig. Just make the DC and RF connections mods if the used one you find has the OEM connectors. |
|
| JDEVARIE |
Rating: |
2007-08-23 | |
| Ok but not Great |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
When I first learned about the SG-2020 3 years ago, it was mounted on a bicycle. It looked rugged and simple so I had to have one. I purchased one used without ADSP. I was disappointed to find that the frequency drifted a few KC up or down while it warmed up. I choose not to operate CW so in phone I was also disappointed at the quality of the received audio. Very scratchy audio came out of the speaker and when operationg on 80m the static crashes made the radio a challenge to use. I did manage to make a couple of contacts. This radio was the model that had the antenna connector on the chassis as opposed to a short pigtail. I later found that the antenna connector was loose and was causing problems. I fixed that and although it took care of some SWR issues it did not fix the problems I noticed previously.
So, I heard from reviewers at eham and at yahoo how wonderful the ADSP models were. I went and got me one of those also used. This one had a pigtal with the RF connector and power wires coming out of the chassis. Disappointment struck again when I noticed the same drifting as the previous radio (I should note that this is explained in the manual as I later found). I was not crazy about the ADSP either as it would tend to muffle the audio of the received signals and often mask some of the weaker ones. I would imagine that the CW operators were pleased with this function and I suspect that they comprise the bulk of source of praise for ADSP that I have read around the different forums. I also managed some contacts with this radio, however never dared to take it portable as I wanted. I do give this radio a rating of 3 due to the fact that mechanically, it is built like a tank and that every time I turned on, it did behave in the same way so there was no erratic operation. It is just not the radio for me.
Anyways, ended up selling both radios. I do have a FT-817 that I take portable every now and then. It is however a little more complicated and with a lot less output but overcomes the shortfalls I found with the SGC radio. |
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| W7GSA |
Rating: |
2007-06-02 | |
| It is better then you could ever imagine |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| You can't believe how great this piece of equipment is until you sit down and work with one. Yes, it was discontinued a couple years ago. However, I would not be supprised to see it reintroduced. But until then, you can find some good used ones around in the $500 to $600 range. |
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| WB3HUH |
Rating: |
2007-04-08 | |
| Pushing 2 years and still happy with this rig. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Purchased this unit about 2 years ago. I use it almost exclusively for SSB while traveling. Very rugged, great receive.....ADSP2 works great, very good audio reports. I am counting on it for emergency use in the future, since I am moving to a coastal QTH. Very sorry it has been discontinued. Given the way it was constructed, it was likely too expensive to continue in production....WB3HUH |
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| WB8VGE |
Rating: |
2006-12-30 | |
| I really wanted to like this radio |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
When the SGC-2020 came out I looked, touched and started saving up my mad money to purchase one.
I did
I ended up going though three units to get one to work and this final one is just a stinker.
Knowing first off that CW is not it's name sake. On receive, the CW sounds so bad, you just can't stand listening to it. It almost sounds like the receive audio is modulating the tone! Kinda of microphonics if you will. I did find a external speaker clears up the CW audio considerably. But you should not have to plug in a external speaker to make a $800 radio sound acceptable.
SSB is by far the radio's strength. There's no mic gain and no alc control. It is what it is. Audio is robust and very commerical sounding. While it won't win any audio contests, most people tell me that the audio is "punchy."
Not over joyed with the hanging power leads and the RF connector either.
The DSP works very just fine. It's a bit confusing to set up at first but after a while you get used to the menu systems SGC uses.
And of course the radio itself is built like a tank. It's designed to be manhandled.
But after three units, one back to SGC for repair, this radio still sounds like crap on CW
I can understand why SGC dropped this radio from their lineup. I will soon drop my SGC 2020 from my lineup, too. |
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