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Reviews For: Shimizu Denshi SS-105S

Category: QRP Radios (5 watts or less)

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Review Summary For : Shimizu Denshi SS-105S
Reviews: 4MSRP:
Description:
Description: Early 1980s very compact CW/SSB HF transceiver with analogue dial. Avaliable in 10 and 100 watt versions.
Product is in production
More Info: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shimizudenshi
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0044.5
IK2QBA Rating: 2020-12-10
The most beautiful and fascinating radio !! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I did not know this radio I heard about it and I looked for it. Unfortunately they are not easy to find but I was very lucky and I found one in the UK. When it arrived it seemed like a dream ... beautiful, with excellent quality and style. In reception it is very pleasant I could spend hours listening even to its internal loudspeaker, warm and full sound. In transmission it works wonders I made a contact from Italy to Canada with a vertical antenna type fishing rod in 20 meters. I am happy as a child to have found it and I will never be separated from it. If you find it, take it. I fell in love with her !!!!!

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Non conoscevo questa radio ne ho sentito parlare e l'ho cercata. Purtroppo non se ne trovano facilmente ma io ho avuto molta fortuna e ne ho trovata una in UK. Quando mi è arrivata mi è sembrato un sogno......bellissima, con una qualità e un stile eccellente. In ricezione è molto piacevole potrei stare ore ad ascoltare anche son il suo altoprlante insterno, suono caldo e pieno. In trasmissione fa miracoli ho fatto un contatto dall'Italia il Canada con un antenna verticale tipo canna da pesca in 20 metri. Sono felice come un bambino per avrela trovata e non me ne separerò mai. Se la trovi prendila. Mi sono innamorato di lei !!!!!

K7VO Rating: 2005-02-28
Outstanding receiver, retro look even when it was new Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The Shimizu Denshi SS-105S was a "semi kit" (parts were built but you finished it) offered in the 1982-84 time frame. Very few were sold in the U.S. The SS-105S was the 10W version. It would be an SS-105D if it had the 100W PA.

I've had one for a month or so now and I am amazed at just how good the receiver is. The audio is amazingly crisp, the sensitivity is excellent, and the filtering is very good indeed. (I have the optional 500Hz CW filter in mine.) As expected in a well designed analog rig the receiver noise floor is very low. The SS-105S could easily pull out signals a Heath SB-1400 (rebadged Yaesu FT-747GX) and Kenwood TS-670 simply could not.

Mine has all the optional rocks installed which means it covers the entire 10m band and also covers 14.5-15.0MHz to allow access to WWV. There is an AUX position on the bandswitch and the PA design is broadband so adding one of the WARC bands (i.e.: 17m) should be possible. Other options included the noise blanker, marker unit, FM receive and transmit boards, and VHF and UHF transverters.

Output power on mine is a full 10W as advertised. I seem to get out very well indeed. Transmit audio is a little light on the high end but that is probably due to the very old Kenwood mic. I am using. I suspect a new mic. element would correct that. I'll know soon enough. Transmitted CW gets consistently good reports: no harshness or key clicks.

As is typical with an old analog design the radio does drift a little until it warms up. After that it is very stable. The analog dial, calibrated in 1kHz increments, is very accurate once the rig is warmed up and calibrated.

The rig features transverter input/output jacks and a jack for a separate receive antenna. These aren't things one expects on a low end kit rig, are they?

This is a small rig for it's era. The shape is unusual, reminding me of the Index Labs QRP+, just somewhat larger and analog. It's an unusual looking rig to say the least.

I always thought an FT-7 with a real crystal CW filter would have been a great rig. The Shimizu Denshi SS-105S is that and much more. I think comparing it to an Elecraft K2 is apt: this was the best of the best QRP kit rigs in 1982 and it outperforms many more recent (and probably current) low end toy rigs. It is simply an excellent performer. If you can find one at a reasonable price go ahead and grab it.
G4ILO Rating: 2001-03-27
80s vintage K2? Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I built one of these in the mid-1980s. They were sold as a kit, though the main board was partly prebuilt and prealigned as I recall. Strong signal handling wasn't up to much, as I recall, due to the use of a varicap tuned preselector. But as always it was much more fun to make QSOs with a radio I'd had a hand in building. My K2 would knock spots off it, I reckon, but I still wish I had my old SS-105S for nostalgic reasons.
W1CBI Rating: 2001-03-27
I really like the performance on phone Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've been doing QRP phone on 10m for just over 10 yrs,1st with a FT7 for my 1st 192 countries and 12 more with a ft847 turned down so I get 1w max.I bought this rig with a Shure444 at a local hamests and since using it won't go back to the Yaesu!!! It'll turn down so on phone I get 1/2w-3/4w with occasional peaks on 1w...recieves super and I get very good audio reports...I do not do CW (too slow),connected to 4 element over 4 element stacked monobanders I hope this little radio will help me get the next 100 + countries I'm still missing....boy would I like to find the 6m and 2m transverter made for this!!! in 1981 I found my FT7 for $140 at this flee mkt and in 2001 the SS-105S for $140....I wonder what in 2021 I'll find for a QRP rig for $140...David