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Ham Radio - The Malahit DSP portable SDR receiver.

Discussion in 'Amateur Radio News' started by KB7TBT, Apr 12, 2021.

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  1. KB7TBT

    KB7TBT Ham Member QRZ Page

    Ham Radio - The Malahit DSP portable SDR receiver.
     
    WD5GWY, PE1KWE, N2MDA and 9 others like this.
  2. N1IPU

    N1IPU Ham Member QRZ Page

    County comm makes a GP-5 receiver that's a ton more compact for portable use. I have a couple of them in the go bags. Of course it doesn't have the battery eating display.
     
    M1WML and N9GXI like this.
  3. DL7ISA

    DL7ISA Ham Member QRZ Page

    i like the NR on the Malahit more, it sounds well effective and doesnt cut the treble that much like the ic705 does.
     
    M1WML likes this.
  4. KY4K

    KY4K Ham Member QRZ Page

    I have one coming from Russia. Looks pretty cool.
     
    M1WML and KC1UA like this.
  5. K9GLS

    K9GLS Guest

    Which is a rebranded Tecsun PL-365.
     
    W4NNF and M1WML like this.
  6. AA0KM

    AA0KM Ham Member QRZ Page

    Where do you get the firmware?
    What firmware is this currently running?
     
    M1WML likes this.
  7. K9GLS

    K9GLS Guest

    If you stop the video at 2:08 you'll see it's running version 1.0f (that's one point zero F). I would say a good Google will land you one where to get firmware for it.
     
    M1WML likes this.
  8. N6ALT

    N6ALT Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    Apples to Oranges.

    Joel
    N6ALT
     
    W4EGE, M1WML and N0YEP like this.
  9. N6JPG

    N6JPG Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    I purchased two of these from eBay about 6 weeks ago. The first one arrived and was basically DOA. I returned it and rec'd a refund. The second from a different vendor arrived along with a USB cable, telescopic antenna, SMA adapter and some perfunctory instructions. I was a bit skeptical about this unit but it worked beautifully right away. I didn't have an available HF antenna to attach to it so I plugged it into an unused discone for 25-1300 mHz. I was amazed at how well it worked with this antenna. I was immediately picking up good SSB signals on 40m. Same thing on 20m. AM and FM broadcast was clear and strong. Standard shortwave broadcast signals came in strong as well. VHF/UHF left a good bit to be desired. Despite setting the unit for NFM, local law enforcement transmissions were distorted badly. The noise reduction on the HF bands worked very well. The display is quite impressive as well; clear and sharp with spectrum display and waterfall. I have found the battery life to be quite good. I have charged the unit via the USB cable twice since receiving it with it still going strong after about 3 weeks with about one hour's use per day. I did connect the unit to a GAP noise reduction module connected to an external speaker which makes it perform very well with greater clarity from the larger speaker. The internal speaker is quite small and tinny but for its size, its not bad. Not a bad little radio at all for about $200.
     
    K7LZR, WD4IGX, M1WML and 1 other person like this.
  10. KC1UA

    KC1UA XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    I'm on that list as well. The Russian model is the original and alleged best. I tried a Chinese knock-off via Amazon; it was returned about 24 hours later as it did not perform anywhere near as advertised. There are so many knock-offs and the wording regarding coverage is sketchy at best. To get "non-demo" firmware and VHF/UHF coverage you have to buy the firmware update from the original Russian manufacturer. The hardware design is open sourced, the firmware isn't. Some of the knock-offs would lead you to believe (I'm guilty of this) that it is arriving with full coverage out of the box. Not so.

    There is about a 2 month backlog via the original Russian manufacturer. The N9EWO review pretty much covers it all. https://www.qsl.net/n9ewo/malahit.html I'm looking forward to getting a real one and trying it out.
     
    K3RW, WD4IGX and M1WML like this.
  11. WU3U

    WU3U Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    Mine works great! I’m running the latest firmware 1.10b. Just be sure you are working with one that the seller has paid the developer for the firmware before you do an upgrade or you may be disappointed. He now hard codes the radio ID in the firmware and if you upgrade and your radio ID is not in the firmware your radio will act pretty goofy. If you have one that doesn’t have the real registered firmware you can pay the developer $50 to get legit and then you get free firmware upgrades going forward.
     
    N6ALT and M1WML like this.
  12. KY4K

    KY4K Ham Member QRZ Page

    Your correct on all points...... avoid the Chinese knock off radios. The month of May should be the date mine is ready. It will have the added board that improves the use with a telescopic whip antenna.
     
    M1WML likes this.
  13. N6ATC

    N6ATC Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    After considerable research and rumination, I finally elected to order the authentic version of this receiver from its original Russian developers at a cost of about $240 USD. This price includes the optional internal add-on board containing additional filters to improve HF reception, and an attenuator adjustable from 0-30dB in 1dB steps.

    I decided to opt for the more expensive authentic Russian version for a couple of reasons...

    First, to give the original developers the support they deserve for their work (which I truly hope is not stolen from them by the Russian government).

    Second, while some people have reported decent results with a few of the CCRs (cheap Chinese radios) it is very hit-and-miss, and finding a reliable supplier to deliver a solid-performing sample is a total crap-shoot. So, to entirely eliminate the hassle factor, I will be paying a little more and hope to see few (or no) problems.

    These four fellows, Georgiy Yatsuk, RX9CIM, who devised the original concept, contributed the original overall circuit design and is a true wizard with digital signal processing, along with Vladimir Gordienko, R6DAN (who developed the command and control user interface), Vadim Burlakov, R6DCY (who documented the schematics and specified requirements for the internal architecture and construction), and Igor Naumenko (who was primarily responsible for fault investigation/resolution) have created a truly novel portable receiver with continuous coverage from 50 kHz to 2 GHz except for a gap that comprises the military navaid and airband region of 250 MHZ to 399.999 MHz.

    Capable of receiving in AM, USB, LSB, NFM, and WFM modes, this little receiver will fit my needs quite well. I envision sitting on my deck in northern Arizona on many warm summer afternoons and evenings, with the breeze whispering through the tall Ponderosa pines, listening to mostly ham, shortwave, and utility transmissions. It has a beautiful multi-color display and incredibly impressive noise reduction capabilities. This little receiver will undoubtedly look super-cool next to my Flex Maestro and a nice cold glass of iced tea with lemon.

    For anyone wanting to order one right now, Georgiy expects to launch his website soon but has not announced a date for that yet. Most of his time is being spent developing and testing the next firmware version which should be released very soon (mid-April, 2021). Until the website is up, anyone wanting to order one needs to send him an email (malahit_sdr@rambler.ru) to get in the delivery queue, which right now is about 2 months out. He does not charge you until the receiver is shipped. Plenty of peer support is available from the unofficial Facebook group.
     
    RZ1O, KB3KWJ, WD4IGX and 2 others like this.
  14. WU3U

    WU3U Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    The only glitch that I’ve found with mine and Georgiy tells me it will be fixed in the next version firmware is that the area to press to turn on and off the internal speaker or the headphone output is very small. It’s REALLY hard to click those on and off. My version of the radio has the display mounted just under rim of the aluminum enclosure and it seems like if there was about 1/16” more room to show the display I could click that point better. I ended up taking mine out of the enclosure to set those two how I wanted them and then put the radio back in the enclosure. Other than that it’s like having a little IC-7300 in your hand. The internal speaker isn’t very good on the one that I have but I’m slightly hearing impaired so that doesn’t help. I use mine with a small JBL amplified speaker and it sounds like a million bucks.
     
    KB3KWJ, WD4IGX, M1WML and 2 others like this.
  15. W3AMT

    W3AMT Ham Member QRZ Page

    I liked the video. I may just have to get one. Would be fun to play with. Since all I have is Tube gear. If I want to go portable I have to have a dolly and a cart to move my Radio's and generator. W3AMT
     
    KB3KWJ and M1WML like this.

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