So we've had the new Moonraker Atlas Mini SSB 10M Radio here for 48 hours and it's time to give a first impression on how it's performing.
We start with the knowledge that this a tiny radio, perhaps the worlds smallest SSB radio, and at under £100 it's certainly aimed at the budget end of the market so we cannot expect 'Big Radio Performance'.
So here we go....
Pros:
Well built for a budget radio, although the microphone PTT could be better.
The screen is very easy to see despite it only being 60mm x 15mm in size. The numbers and letters can been seen without any difficulty.
The backlight is VERY bright even on lower levels. I have mine running on number 2 (Number 1 is OFF). There is a choice of 7 colours - CYAN - PURPLE - RED - CLEAR - GREEN - BLUE - YELLOW.
The buttons feel good with a positive CLICK when you press them.
Power output is around 7-8 watts AM/FM and 16-18 watts SSB - This is really good for such a small radio and about as much as anyone could expect.
Receive is very good when talking to local stations. I can hear them clearly but I would recommend using an external speaker. The internal speaker does a basic job and will work but due to the tiny size, it sounds rather tinny.
Band conditions have been atrocious so I've not yet had the chance to do any DX-ing!
Transmit audio is loud and clear on USB/LSB.
The radio appears to be spot-on frequency with no need to use the clarifier so far.
The AI Noise Reduction is very good on all modes, particularly on SSB. It does a great job of filtering out all background hiss and crackles. If you get it set at the right level, SSB stations actually sound like they are talking to you on FM.
There are loads of customisable features in the menu. You can alter the various noise reduction settings, change the output power (Hi/Mid/Low), alter the Mic-Gain (Each mode has a separate Mic-Gain setting), the roger beep tone and duration can be changed, and YES, the radio does have ECHO for those who like it...I'm sure that will go down well on 10m!
Export Mode: The radio does have an export mode. You can select 10M Band, 12M Band, CB Band or HF Band by keying the microphone when you power on the radio. HF band is 25.615 - 30.105 (Bands A to J)
When in CB mode you can then select your country code (EU, I, PL, UK, US etc) - The radio will cover the UK40 if you want it to.
There will no doubt be a legal CB version of this radio in due course, with the power output pegged at 4 watts AM/FM and 12 watts SSB.
There really is a lot packed into this little radio.
However.......
Cons:
There are a couple of issues on the radio, at least, on the radio I have here, so I'm not saying every radio will necessarily be the same...
Firstly - AM/FM transmitted audio is low. FM is described as 'Clear but quiet' and 'much lower than other radios'. That is a shame because the SSB audio is much, much better.
Secondly, when using the AI Noise Reduction I'm told that the radio 'repeats' the first word on each over. It appears that it takes about a 1/4 of a second for the radio to engage the noise reduction circuit then there's a slight delay in processing the audio so you end up getting an 'echo' of your first word. The way to get around this is to key up, wait half a second them speak but this is not ideal.
(NOTE: The AI Noise reduction works on Transmit and Receive - There does not appear to be a way of having it on receive only which would mitigate this issue)
And thirdly, on my radio there is a very short noise when I key the microphone. At the start of every over the radio gives out a slight hiss/crackle. I'm not sure if it is the microphone at fault or if it is an internal issue. It is most noticeable on FM, but is present on all modes. However the noise is so short that if you are talking to a station who is using their squelch, they may not hear it as it is shorter than the time is takes for their squelch to open. Ask them to turn their squelch off and they immediately notice the noise. The microphone has a clicking PTT which does make a noise when you press it and I wonder if the delayed audio processing in the radio is causing it transmit the noise. It's not a major issue but several stations did comment on it.
UPDATE: Another issue - TALKBACK, when trying to use the talkback, the audio coming from the speaker is very loud and causes feedback even on the lowest setting. This renders the feature useless.
Summary:
This is a decent attempt at providing a tiny multimode radio. I do like it, and it ticks most of the boxes but I'd say it is only about 80% of the way to being a really good radio. The issues aren't terrible and I'm sure many people will happily live with them, many won't even notice them.
If programming software becomes available for the radio it may be possible to correct/improve the issues.
However, I feel that further hardware and firmware updates are needed and I wouldn't be surprised to see a Moonraker Atlas MARK II in the coming months.
The radio is available on the Moonraker Website: CLICK HERE
Price £99.95
Do you have this radio?
What do you think of it?
Please let me know!
UPDATE: THIS MAY BE ABLE TO HELP WITH THE LOW FM AUDIO....😉
