NSW RADIO AND COMMUNICATIONS - by Michael Bailey: MALAHIT DSP2 SDR RADIO

Saturday, June 15, 2024

MALAHIT DSP2 SDR RADIO - A REVIEW

Hello and Welcome Back.. I have owed a Malahit DSP2 Radio for around 2 weeks and thought i would do a review on this interesting radio.. Could this be the Swiss Army Knife of the Radio World?

So, what is the Malihit DSP2 Radio?

The Malahit DSP2 is a Full SDR (Software Defined Radio) housed in a Metal Casing. Being that this radio runs via software, the update potential is limitless. Also housed in its metal shell is a Preamp & Noise Reduction capabilities.

Frequency range is what i call DC to Daylight, meaning its range starts at 10Khz (Shortwave) and ends at 2Ghz (Satellite). There is a small gap at 380Mhz to 404Mhz but seriously, that's a small thing considering what this radio can do.

CONSTRUCTION

This radio is extremely well built. Made in China, its kinda future proof if something should go wrong. The battery is separate and uses a plug to connect to the radio. The speaker (2 of them) is connected the same way. If something goes wrong, just order a new part and its plug and play.

The top part of the radio uses two screws that holds the board together. This top part houses 2 SMA antenna connectors and 2 turn dials. Once again, if something should fail, the top part is also a spare part and available to order.

Its not all roses though. My own experience and reading online comments have come across a few niggling issues. First issue is the 2 SMA connectors that are attached to the top board. My radio had the top screw come loose after 2 days while changing antennas. The problem is that if you tighten the top nut too much, it can break the solder that holds the connector in place. Solution would be to put a nut under the bottom of the radio housing and to tighten the top nut to stop movement. Several people online have replaced the two SMA connectors with BNC connectors (including the top & bottom nuts to secure in place). Myself, I have used 2 little rubber washers that comes with various 2nd hand antennas and it works well. (see pic below)

The second fail is a little on & off switch. This radio has 2 on/off buttons. A main circular illuminated button that when turning off, says 'Good Bye' in Morse Code (clever). The second button is a miniature on/off button that looks like it could break if you sneeze on it, and it does. Its weird to have two power buttons. I have read online that many people have had this little micro switch fail only to stop the radio working. The idea behind the micro switch is if your not going to use it for a while, it turns the battery off for storage. Me personally, i don't use it. I just use the circular illuminated switch to turn the radio on / off. If there is battery drain using the radio like this, i haven't seen any or its not worth mentioning.

USING THE RADIO

The 1st thing i noticed when you take this radio out of its carry pouch is how heavy it is. Being that the DSP2 is housed in a metal case, it adds a nice touch. It doesn't feel cheap at all, granted it cost me $550 Australian, $500 for the radio & $50 import taxes (thanks Gerry Harvey).

The 2nd thing that caught my attention is the large LCD screen. Very pretty..

Included in your carry pouch is a Retractable Metal Antenna (SMA), a Touch Pen with one tip that fails to work, (you can use your finger, just keep the protective screen cover on the radio), a well written Instruction Manual, Two Knobs that are rigid (the two knobs that come already on the radio are slippery, replacing the knobs with the rigid knobs works best) & a small lead to charge your radio via computer.

The 3rd thing i noticed was the two SMA connectors on the top of the radio. The first SMA (from the left) is 'Hi-Z' meaning it can do Shortwave only. You would use this connector for 10Khz to 30Mhz band and if your using a 'Longwire' antenna (50ohm?). There is also an option for 'Powered' antenna's in the menu using this antenna. The second SMA (middle) covers the whole band including 'Shortwave' and is the one i use, rather than swapping antennas all the time. You could have 2 antennas connected and switch during radio listening with the little LED light on the top of the radio letting you know which antenna is in use (Green = Normal / Blue = Hi-Z)

Be sure to use an outdoor antenna if you can, it really brings your radio listening to a new level.

There are 6 pages of menu systems on this radio and can get real confusing in no time. I highly recommend getting the book The Radio Today Guide - Malahit Receiver DSP2 to help you learn about the menu systems. (see below)

One of the menu settings in this radio is the wicked FM Radio 'Retro' screen which you activate by pressing the waterfall feature twice.I have gone through and named each station and it now looks like this (below)

How Cool Is That?

I'm using an outdoor antenna which is nothing special. Its just a Bandspanner (Mobile One) ripoff on my patio roof. Being that the patio is metal, the roof acts as a ground-plane and picks up extremely well, add to the fact that there is a built in amplifier in this radio, Signals come in very well.

Airband comes in excellent as does AM radio.

I have the 'Preamp' enabled and 'RF Gain' set to 20.

From my house in Springwood, i have been able to listen to AM radio stations like i did when i was a little boy. Back in 1983, i was 13yo and was a real handful (ask my mum) so most weekends, i would go to my nan's to give my mum a break. While i was at my nan's, she would let me listen to her old transistor radio that only had 2 bands (AM & Shortwave). I would lay awake at night slowly turning the dial to see what i could pick up. Back in those days, i could hear 3XY (Melbourne), 4ZR (Roma, QLD) & 6AD (Adelaide, S.A). Fast forward today, with the Preamp on and RF gain set to 20, these are the stations i have been able to pick up so far, clear enough to be able to hear songs and station announcements and match them with online stations

1323Khz = 5DN (Cruise) South Aust
918Khz = 4VL (Charleville) QLD
1071Khz = 3EL (Maryborough) VIC
1278Khz = 3EE (Magic) Melbourne, VIC
936Khz = 7ZR ABC Hobart, Tasmania
1044Khz = 5AU/5CS (Port Pirie) S.A
1242Khz = 3GV (Sale) Victoria

This was done from Springwood, NSW.. Pretty Good with just using a Mobile One Bandspanner Antenna ripoff

The Malahit DSP2 also has various decoders hidden in the software like 'FT8', 'RTTY' & 'CW DEC'. The pic below shows FT8 decoding on Shortwave with hits from 'VK5COL' (South Aust) & 'VK3AXI' (Victoria)

One hopes that future software enables DMR (Digital Mobile Radio)

Another cool feature is when you connect your radio up to a computer and following the steps in 'Radio Today Guide' Book (Link Below) you can use the radio to connect to your computer and run via HDSDR software and have your computer run the radio (see below)

CONCLUSION

At $500 Australian, it wasn't a easy purchase for me. I sold my UBCD536pt Desktop scanner to fund this radio. Add another $50 for import taxes thanks to Gerry Harvey who had a whinge that people buying stuff cheaper online was harming his business (pathetic) and its a costly buy.

Did I Regret Buying This Radio

No, Its been a great ride listening to Shortwave, Airband, FM, AM radio thanks to the built in Preamp, it makes all the difference and sets it apart from other radios.

Back in the day, i had brought a Realistic Desktop radio and set up a TV Amplifier to see how far i could pick up. It had variable gain so once you locked onto a decent frequency, you turned the gain up and listen to see where they were broadcasting from. One station i picked up was 'Centrepoint' Information Radio. This station was only around 5w and was meant for visitors to the tower that could tune in via a radio and hear different points of interest in Sydney as seen from said tower. Meanwhile back in Springwood, I locked onto a faint channel on FM around 88mhz and cranked up the amp. Sure enough, I was listening to their station. I sent Centrepoint a message to let them know that i could hear them and the reply was one of shock that their info channel could be heard so far away.

Having a Preamp on a radio like the Malahit DSP2 is a game-changer, all in one well made, well constructed portable radio without the need for a computer.. Its a Win Win

Highly Recommend 9/10