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Reviews For: Swan 100MX series

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

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Review Summary For : Swan 100MX series
Reviews: 16MSRP: 895 US (1978)
Description:
80-10 meter 100 watt SSB/CW transceiver
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.qsl.net/k9gdt/radio/cubic/100mx.htm
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00164.1
N8FVJ Rating: 2019-06-25
Fine Vintage Transceiver Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
First, a new transceiver with DNR and other bells & whistles can rate a 5. I rate the Swan MX100 a four. It performs very well. Receiver audio is crisp and clear. Better than my FT-991A. I understand these vintage solid-state radios are very reliable unlike the same era Heathkit HW-104 & SB-104 SS radios.
I do not find any birdies on any band, it is very stabile and with the Clear Speech DNR speaker sounds very quiet like a modern radio. In fact the receiver is so quiet it does not need DNR if you set the RF gain correctly.
A plus is the radio has RIT. The noise limiter does not distort the audio.It does not have an optional narrow CW filter. The MX100 outputs 100 watts PEP. I would use an antenna around 1.5 SWR or better. I would add a heat sink cooling fan for high demand uses such as RTTY. The radio does need a high impedance microphone. I use a Shure Prologue HI-Z mic.
This transceiver is perfect for vintage nets. An alternate and similar radio would be a Atlas 210X.
W6CAW Rating: 2016-02-22
Very Nice Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just got a 100MXA and the matching PSU-5C power supply at the Yuma Hamfest. Looks good and operates good. Great addition to my Swan collection
WA1SEO Rating: 2013-05-05
Excellent! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I always liked the simplicity of this radio and finally found a nice clean one. The receiver sounds really clean and I've been getting excellent reports on the TX audio. I've stayed away from trying out a contest until recently because the radio did drift a bit. I built up a huff/puff VFO stabilization circuit and added some mod's to it and all I can say is that it made a world of difference. I run the 100MXA with a Timewave DSP-59+ and have been using it SSB contests. The receiver IS THAT GOOD! I recently sold my Ten Tec ORION II and don't miss it one bit! It's a lot of fun telling people what I am running since most people have either never heard of it or never knew that it is 100% solid state. Do I have any complaints? No.
K5SBR Rating: 2011-12-12
A workhorse! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've been using a 100MXA since 1980. For 15 of those years, it lived on my 25 foot sailboat and went to C6A and all along the Gulf Coast from Texas. It doesn't mind low supply voltage. Smartest thing I ever did was remove the speaker and put a 250 Hz. bandwidth 455 kHz. passband tuner above the noise blanker; uses the dial light switch for in-out. With the DBM front end, the 100MXA is bullet-proof. It was good for over 100 QSO's in the 2011 10 meter contest in a few hours; weeding out DX between the KW's. Use it every day and would recommend it highly. Simple, servicable, great quality. Now I've got two.
W3BR Rating: 2011-05-26
Sturdy old rig Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Got this unit and power supply for $50.00 at a club auction. As a new Ham I had my doubts but I was looking to get on the air ASAP. I have worked Croatia, Peru, Ireland and many US stations with good reports. I use an Antron 99 for 10,15 M, a 5/8 dipole for 20 M and a slinky mounted vertically on 2" pvc for 40/80M. I added a tuner and it helped immensely The only issue is maual tuning and no modern features. But it is a keeper and I will use for backup or mobile when I get a better rig
KH6JRM Rating: 2007-04-05
good, basic rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had the Swan 100MXA since 1981. Nothing fancy here...just a good basic rig that's fun to
use. I use the old swan as a back-up rig and for
the Hawaii Island afternoon net on 40 meters. I've
used the rig mobile a few times where it does an
acceptable job. This old swan can't compare to the
newer transceivers on the market today, but it's
still fun to use for ragchews.
ON6AB Rating: 2006-05-17
Quality Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought this rig almost a month ago from the first owner who had it for over 25 years. It looks and works like new. I wonder what a new (plastic) rig will look like 25 years from now...
The inside looks very neat and it is put together with great care. All quality components.
The VFO is rock steady and as said before in a previous review, it doesn't seem to drift at all.
The receiver is very sensitive on all bands. I can not pull anything out of the noise on my Icom 746PRO that I can't hear on the Swan.
True, on 40 and 80 it gets overloaded quite easily. However, addition of a 12dB switchable attenuator (activated by the light switch) solves this problem completely (to my surprise).
Although the sound is good, the build-in speaker is not powerfull enough and an external loudspeaker is a usefull addition.
Another advantage of this rig is that you still can play around in it. Doing so, I added an 8 pole AF CW filter which fits neatly on the carrier pcb.
I ended up with a very IMD free, very sensitive, very CW capable, very fun-to-use rig.
KA2AYR Rating: 2005-05-04
Very Nice Basic Radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I still have my Swan 100MX with power supply and antenna tuner. I got it from a friend 26 years ago and it was my first "modern" rig. The radio works well, but has some drift. Only had one problem ever and replacing the PIN diodes in the RF switching with SK or NTE replacements fixed it (remember when we could actually fix these things and get parts that worked?)! Mine still works and is a great rig to get back to basics with.
WA2DTW Rating: 2004-02-14
Compact, reliable, rugged Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This was the radio that got me back into active hamdom in the late 1970's after a long period of inactivity. It is one of the first of the all-solid state tranceivers. It has a small footprint, and a warm glow from the dial. It was rock-stable, and I always received good audio reports. Although I used it as a base-station, it is well-suited to mobile operation.
What a shame that this excellent company no longer is around to make amateur products!
KB0PGO Rating: 2004-02-14
Fun and practical Time Owned: more than 12 months.
As a radio repairman and a ham I have always loved this radio. It is basically a Atlas 350xl design with an improved VFO system. It also has a hardwired chassis which does not give the problems that all the plug in modules have in the Atlas radio. It is a simple, small, and practical radio for portable use. It operates well although it has none of the bells and whistles that a modern radio has. It is just a fun and easy radio to operate - what else can one say!