The Lab599 TX-500 is a 1-10 watt HF QRP transceiver with wide-band receive capability. It covers all the ham bands and features a very useful panadapter. https://lab599.com/ Check out HRO! https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-017255
John, does it have CW message memories? I did order one from HRO but couldn't find it in the manual. Unfortunately HRO don't have any stock yet and won't be available until late September. They expect 50 units with 11 already pre-ordered, including mine. Thanks for the video.
NU6I, You can find the manual at this link. https://www.hamradio.com/images_managed/misc/H0-017255_TX500_User_Manual.pdf Regards, KF4ZYN
I read the whole manual also and it does not mention CW memories, so we must assume it hasn't any. Other than covering 6m and being slightly smaller, what does this rig offer that the Xiegu G90 doesn't? The Xiegu has a conventional RJ plug mike connector; an internal speaker (it's loud); an internal automatic antenna tuner (the Lab599 doesn't); a conventional key jack; and runs twice the power (20W). It is somewhat larger and doesn't cover 6m, though. They're both SDRs and both have 48 kHz spectrum displays, waterfalls, audio EQ, adjustable bandwidth down to almost nothing, etc. Is it the size and 6m coverage that gives this the edge?
No internal battery or tuner. It’s a nice looking radio in my opinion but I’m not sure I’d pay 800.00 dollars for it.
I can't seem to find out anything about the origin of the company. The manual and the HRO website refers to: LAB599 Komsomolskaya 118, Office 10 Rubtsovsk, Altai Region 658200 I can't seem to find any reference to the company on the FCC website. Either the website is not up to date with the type acceptance, it was not released yet (e.g. sometimes not disclosed due to marketing reasons), or the importer applied for the type acceptance. The internet domain is registered in Russia too.
Yes, the 6m. I also have a G90 and a KX2 neither of them have 6m. I'll keep the G90 and sell the KX2. What can I say, I like trying new radios.
HRO isn’t even open to demo the radio. Unknown if they will ever be. Last time I looked at their site it doesn’t sound like they plan on opening to the public anytime soon. Maybe they will hand the radio through the mail slot so we can look and play with it?
I wouldn't even remotely consider buying it without knowing they're in circulation, other people have them, real user reports, etc. If there's no way to contact them, how do they provide technical support? Maybe by e.s.p. I'll pass.
Thanks for the review. The rig is light, 100ma in receive mode (no signal) and the water resistance is a nice feature...takes a lot of worry out of damaging the rig when being hucked about in the field or thrown into the trunk. This is a seriously cool feature if kayaking, sailing, skiing or spending a lot of time outdoors with it. Also, if one is really trying to reduce loadout weight, this might be a good choice. The speaker mic might be nice too if one is going pedestrian mobile and wants to clip the mic to a backpack strap without needing a separate speaker. An AF gain on the mic would have been nice. I didn't quite see the 'waterfall' feature in the video, as the screen appears to provide a spectrum display that provides instantaneous signal strength and width vs waterfalls which provide instantaneous and historical signal information. Per the manual the receive current draw is 100ma without a signal driving the speaker. KX3 is 150ma, KX2 is 135ma, Xeigu is 500ma. I find it nice to have at least 20 watts for POTA/SOTA, especially for SSB, and a waterfall display. The Xeigu is 56% of the price, twice the weight, 5x the receive power draw and twice the transmit power with a detail rich spectrum display with waterfall. I like it...send it to me to test when you're done with it
I will continue to wait for the Icom IC-705 which has more power out, an internal battery, 6meters, 2 meters, 3/4 meters and a large backup organization. And probably will be out for sale sooner than the LAB599. 73 W5RCQ
What about the functionality of .. CW bandfilters, VOX, Digi-mode, and ability to connect a CAT, plus... is there a PTT-output so you can use a 1KW pa ??? - Nice with the plugs, at last a radio with solid pro-plugs. vy73 de oz1fjb - ou2v Well. found the answers via the manual.: https://www.hamradio.com/images_managed/misc/H0-017255_TX500_User_Manual.pdf
Are you kidding? Three of these radio's fit inside a Xiegu. Besides that, it's waterproof and it has a solid milled aluminum housing. This radio is built like a brick and ideal for travelling, hiking etc. Very durable in comparison with the Xiegu.
