Many thanks to Evan (K2EJT) who shares the following article about his portable field radio kit which will be featured on our Field Kit Gallery page. If you would like to share your field kit with the QRPer community, read this post. Check out Evan’s field kit:

FX-4CR Field Activation Kit

by Evan (K2EJT)

I have a lot of QRP field radios (more than I need and then some). Some of them are one trick ponies, and some of them can do several things very well. One radio, however, does everything well, and ticks every box for me. It’s tiny, well built, runs all modes very well, has 20w output, a color waterfall, and doesn’t break the bank.

That radio is the FX-4CR from BG2FX. Now, before I sing the praises of this little radio, I need you to know that it wasn’t always great. In fact, when I first got it it was pretty painful to use. I’m primarily a CW operator, so if a radio is lousy for CW, it doesn’t get used.

This radio was pretty atrocious on CW when I first got it. Keying was strange. It would miss dits and dahs. It had all sorts of popping and artifacts when you sent. It was fine on receive……but sending was pretty much unusable. I got it, used it for one activation in May, and then put it away in my gear closet, disgusted at how bad it was for CW.

Fast forward to the August 2023 firmware update, and Yu fixed all of the weird CW bugs, and now I can wholeheartedly sing the praises of this radio.

This kit lives in a Pelican case I’ve had forever. I forget which model it is (it’s so old the label fell off years ago), but it fits the kit nicely.

Inside the case you’ll find everything you need for a field activation. Notice I didn’t say a CW activation……ANY activation.

CW? Absolutely. In fact, with the latest firmware this radio is an absolute pleasure to send on.

SSB? Heck yeah. The audio from this radio is very good. The external hand mic is tiny but well built, and the radio even has an internal mic which is quite good as well.

Digital? Ah….digital. Now THAT’S what sets this radio apart from pretty much any other QRP field radio out there aside from the IC705. This thing has a built in sound card, so digital is a breeze. Wait….you forgot your USB cable you say? Not a problem, because this thing has Bluetooth digital as well, and it works flawlessly. You’ll notice a cell phone in the pictures. I run FT8 on that via Bluetooth using an Android application called FT8CN. All you need is the rig and your phone, and you’re in business.

Aside from the rig itself and the Pelican case, this kit contains the following:

Bioenno 3ah battery
The hand mic
Power cable
cwmorse.us key
Retractable 3.5mm cable
Rite in the Rain notepad for logging
Pentel mechanical pencil
Weaver 8oz throw weight and 65’ of hi viz reflective cordage
15’ of RG316 coax
Spark Plug Antennas EFHW and a homebrew wire for the antenna
The user manual
My phone for FT8

(Gear links below)

There are also a set of flip down laptop legs on the radio from Amazon to get the viewing angle correct.

Now, this radio isn’t perfect (no radio is). There are a few things to keep in mind.

First, it’s small, but it’s heavy (530g or almost 19oz). Second, because it’s a 20w radio and it’s as small as it is, it can get hot…..very hot if you’re running digital.

Third, the firmware update process is a little nerve wracking. Aside from that, it’s a pretty sweet little radio for $550. It would be nice if it had an internal battery and a tuner, but I can live without those considering how much functionality is packed into this little rig.

Out of every field radio I own (and as I said, I own a ton), this one is probably the most capable. It’s amazing for CW (finally), SSB, and digital. It’s tiny. It’s 20w. It isn’t crazy expensive. If I’m doing anything other than just CW in the field, this is one of the radios I grab most often. Is it the best radio I own? No. Is it awesome for what it is? Absolutely!

Evan

K2EJT

Gear Links:

Readers: Check out Evan’s YouTube channel for more field radio goodness.

Review of the FX-4CR Mini-Transceiver: What’s Old is New Again.

by Philip (KA4KOE)

Introduction

My start in Amateur Radio began in 1979 as a newly-minted, 16 year-old Novice. At the time, my resources were slim. I worked in a country store; pushing a broom, putting up stock, bagging groceries, etc. I was paid $23.46 every two weeks. At this time, Heathkit was selling kits to the ham radio community that ran the gamut from simple to elaborate. Looking over the catalog, my young eyes were drawn to the HW-8. What drew my attention was not the radio’s features, but the price.

The Heathkit HW-8 was listed for $129.95, plus shipping. I did not even notice that the power output was specified at 3.5 watts on 80 meters. The green gem was a bonafide ham radio transceiver!

In due course, the kit was acquired, assembled, tested, and put on the air with an Elmer’s aid. I made a bunch of contacts with that CW-only transceiver. The term “QRP” never entered my mind. I don’t have any photographs from my early days on the air: the only photograph of the HW-8 dates from 1981 during my freshman year of college. By that time, I had acquired an HW-100 from a fellow ham. See Photograph No. 1: note the chrome Vibroplex Lightning Bug, homebrew “T” network transmatch, and of the course the ‘8 on far right (see red arrow).

Photograph No. 1: KA4KOE in 1981.

Photograph No. 2: Heathkit HW-8. (Image Source: WD8RIF)

Rationale and the radio

Without getting into my entire life’s story, I will start this paragraph by stating that my ham “career” has now come full circle as I’m back to using compact, lightweight, low power gear; this time by choice.

I had the bad habit of deploying too much gear during POTA activations. I came across internet chatter with regards to a relatively new product; the FX-4CR SDR mini-transceiver. The base specifications are as follows:

Dimensions: 107mm (4.2”) L x 65mm (2.6”) W x 43mm (1.7”) H.
Weight: 0.46 KG (1 LB).

Bands/Power: 80 meters thru 10 meters, inclusive: 20 watts. 6 Meters: 5 watts.

Display and Panadapter Span: 50mm (2.0”) TFT, Approximately 24 KHz +/- (48 KHz total) and waterfall. See Photograph No. 3.

Modes: LSB, USB, CW, FM, AM, Digital.

Receive Current Draw: 210 mA.

Transmit Current Draw: 3.0A to 4.0A at full rated 20W output.

Input Voltage Range: 9 VDC thru 16 VDC (do not exceed). The optimal supply voltage is 14 VDC.

Connectivity: Bluetooth for CAT/Audio. USB Port for CAT/Audio and Firmware Updates. Integral audio soundcard input/output.

Output Power: Continuously variable from 0.1 thru 20W. Recommended maximum wattages are SSB – 20W, CW and Digital – 10W.

No internal battery or antenna matching unit.

Photograph No. 2: My FX-4CR, 6 AH Bioenno LFP, Genasun GV-5.

Expectations

The prospective buyer should realize what this radio “brings to the table”. As others have previously stated on the various internet chat groups and social media, do not expect Elecraft performance at the $550 (including shipping) price point for this radio. All radios have flaws and this one is no exception. Issues of which I am aware are as follows: Continue reading →