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Reviews For: HB-1A by BD4RG

Category: QRP Radios (5 watts or less)

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Review Summary For : HB-1A by BD4RG
Reviews: 32MSRP: about US$260
Description:
3 band portable qrp transceiver with SWL capabilities
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00324.5
DL6VN Rating: 2009-10-09
Cute little radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Received the trx today after having ordered it about two weeks ago via Ebay. Payment and shipping went without any problems, the transaction being very friendly and professsional. My first impression: A great little rig, just what you want for mobile/holiday QRPing. Sensitivity is above average, even on a poor antenna. VFO control is a little awkward due to the fact that you cannot directly jump from one band to another but have to click your way through the tuning range. However, one can always use the MEM function to quickly change the bands. Otherwise, operation of the rig is simple and straightforward. The sidetone is rather on the soft side and barely audible, compared to the audio sound which is crisp and clear and sufficiently loud.
Some suggestions for improvements:
- direct bandswitching
- keyer could do with a few more memories than just one single cq loop
- louder sidetone
- option to switch off the display illumination
To sum up: At appr. only 150 EUR plus shipping, this little transceiver is exceptionally good value for money. To be recommended!
VR2XMQ Rating: 2009-10-04
Impressed! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I am very impressed by the performance of this 3 band transceiver by BD4RG. The sensitivity and selectivity are very good, the size is nice and small for portable mountain topping.

AM reception works but wider filter bandwidth would have been better. The general coverage is a treat. All the basic functions are there to make operation effective and the transceiver is quite user friendly.

I have heard that a new SSB/CW is on the drawing board for next year, let's see?
K4TMN Rating: 2009-09-28
Excellent quality and performance! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought this about the same time I bought my Yaesu FT-817 rig. They aren't the same in many respects, but the HB-1A performs almost as well as the FT-817 with its InRad 300Hz CW filter! The sensitivity is the first thing that I noticed, it is as good as any of my HF rigs (Kenwood TS-430S, Yaesu FT-450, Yaesu FT-817). The selectivity is what was really outstanding!

So, after finding an inexpensive 12 volt, 3 amp switching supply from MPJones (MPJA.com) for less than $10, I can now run it from mains power or batteries.

The transmitter puts out about 4 watts on a 12 volt supply. I was able to immediately make a CW contact on 40 meters with no problem at all on my dipole antenna!

The functionality is great. There are four filter widths for CW (from 400Hz to 900Hz) and four filter widths for SSB (1600Hz to 2200Hz). This model only transmits CW, but you can receive CW, SSB, and AM for shortwave broadcasts.

For the money, I would be hard pressed to find a new or used QRP rig with the quality, features, and small size that the HB-1A has. This is the perfect rig for traveling very light weight.

To top it off - the beautiful, blue, backlit LCD display is perfectly readable from almost any angle.

If you want a fantastic QRP CW rig, but don't have a lot of money to spend or just want a tiny fun QRP rig to play with, this is the one to get. I highly recommend it!

Tom, K4TMN

W9HC Rating: 2009-09-22
A Really Neat Little Radio! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I won't repeat the info on features that are quite correctly mentioned in the other reviews. My experience with the HB-1A has been both good and bad, with the good being triumphant in the end. Let me explain - I am having a blast with the radio and making good QSO's... now that I have one that works properly. My first one wasn't hearing very well. It hardly detected WWV. But here's where the story gets good. I wrote to Yimin and told him my problem. He responded immediately with a return authorization and a promise of good service. And he came through 100 percent! Within a few days, he had a replacement rig sent to me from China, and it works like a charm. So fellow QRPers, you can stop wondering "what if something goes wrong?" In my case something certainly did, and it was handled better and faster than most any of the other (and much bigger) companies would have done. It's too early to know the general failure rate of the HB-1A, but I'm guessing it is going to prove to be pretty low. This is a tough little radio that really is fun to use. At this point a "5" rating is not only for a great product, but also for some really great warranty service to back it up. I can't wait to go QRV with this little gem.

Steve
W9HC
QRPARCI#7074

IZ0PXT Rating: 2009-09-21
Very Good Qrp Rig !! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I got it today,unpacked and linked to my MP1 superantenna on the balcony, dispite the very bad propagation I got very good reports in 30 meters from Poland and France. The receiver is fine and selective.
Very well buildt,easy to use and cheap !
Thanks BD1RG !
73 de IZ0PXT
NI9Y Rating: 2009-08-30
Fantastic QRP Rig Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The HB-1A arrived at 11 AM on August 18th hand delivered by my postman. I carefully cut the clear tape from the used cardboard packing box fashioned around the carrying case. I surely didn't want to accidentally cut through to the prize inside. My first reaction was this is a tiny rig. I immediately plugged in an external 12VDC battery and the display came alive bright blue and easy to read even outside. The headphone audio level was more than adequate. I tuned around the 20 pre-set memories and heard signals immediately. So I called CQ on 14.060 and made a contact. The selectivity was more than I hoped for. The built in keyer, memory CQ and selection of CW, LSB, USB, RIT, was just like any modern transceiver. In my personal opinion you cannot go wrong buying this neat QRP 3 band transceiver. Comparing it with the KX-1 it's slightly larger. The most striking feature is the full QRG digits 7.005.00 as an example. There's no built in tuner. Congratulations to BD4RG for his quick e-mail responses to my questions on how to set the memory iambic keyer with my call-sign. The initial instructions lacked clarity. He then revised the manual. The only con is the CQ memory feature adds PSE before the K. Like sending dr Dan.
I bought mine before the sale price increased and got the handy carrying case free for placing my order in advance.
By the way in case you are wondering the QRG display reads exactly the same as my IC-775DSP on receive and transmit. The keying is excellent and you will not be disappointed. Five watts output on an external battery and about 3 to 4 watts on the internal eight AA cells. If you use Li cells the output is slightly lower than alkaline cells. For my purposes I use alkaline cells but will install Li cells when I take the rig TTF.
K6CTA Rating: 2009-07-20
Neat little radio! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is a fun little radio. Easy to use and set up. It's pretty flexible for its size. Hears very well. I ordered it from eBay, and had no issues. Yimin is very prompt with emails. I like the wide tuning range....more than just a 3-band transceiver. The receiver sounds good, too.
KB0ROC Rating: 2009-07-01
FABULOUS little radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Ordered it off EBAY , took about 10 days , but to be expected. Switched it on , easily programmed it to send cq and my call, worked like a charm. I did have to reset it once when the display disappeared.
Found out later it was due to low voltage on the powersupply.
3 bands 40/30/20 makes it a perfect camping companion. I also like the different modes CW/LSB/USB. The blue LCD display is brite and easily read.
Great radio.
KE5DXV Rating: 2009-06-29
Awesome bang for the buck Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
What a cool little radio! Works so simply, even with the Chinese/English manual translation. This little guy will give Elecraft a run for it's money, and I have not had a qrp rig yet, (and I've had plenty) that compares to it. It glows, in the dark, it hears great! as good as my Icom IC 745, or my Yaesu FT840. My 40 meter OHR 100A, is 5 times as big, and heavy, cost nearly as much and I still had to build it, and it only covers 1 band. This HB-1A MK II will cover 3 bands (40/30/20) in CW/LSB/USB modes and do swl from 5 to 16 Mhz. I played with it on field day 2009, from my home shack.and I managed to have dozens of CW qso's with operators all over the mid-south, and Florida area. This little guy just rocks, don't worry about buying it from China, my experience with this purchase was completely wonderful. I bought it on Ebay and I recomend it highly to anyone that is considering it as I did for a couple of months before I finally decided to get one. My only regret was that I waited so long to make up my mind to buy it and did not have it when I went on vacation. I would have loved taking it with me, it is just perfect for backpacking or portable use. I love it and it will have to be pried from my SK hands before I would part with it.
K2JHU Rating: 2009-06-23
Best QRP Buy Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I too was not sure I wanted to order from China due to the customs delays but it only took less than 3 weeks for it to arrive and I'm glad I did it. Yimin has been a great communicator. Manual needs to be re-written in English but when you get down to it the rig is a pleasure to operate and I like the general coverage from 5 mhz to 16 mhz. The audio is clean and the CW signal very clean. My only problem was with the AF GAIN control as it had alot of wiggle in it but I was able to fix this with an easy repair. I can't say enough about the vendor. He and the rig are great. You won't go wrong with this one.