Review of the Optima AM/FM/SSB HF Transceiver.
Review of the Optima AM/FM/SSB HF Transceiver.
A nice, compact and fun radio! I won't go into all the minutia of features, because
CBRadiomagazine.com, and Transmission1 have covered that sufficiently. I will only deal with actual operating experiences and any deficiencies I've found.
As I said, it's a nice, compact and fun radio. Great receive audio. Very good sensitivity and quite adequate selectivity. The selectivity can be enhanced by enabling the additional IF filter. This filter works well under crowded QRM conditions.
My first complaint is the apparent loss of sensitivity experienced when the filter is "in". I believe that an extra 6 to 10dB of stage gain after the filter would solve this problem. My other complaint is the length of time it takes for the filter to actually activate - 4 seconds - way too long in normal use. This should be shortened significantly.
All controls are tight without any backlash. (The backlash on my OmegaForce S45 is awful, particularly the clarifier; the Optima does not suffer from this at all.)
The fan is very quiet and works extremely well.
An other complaint is the squelch. Squelch action is extremely choppy, and sputters on weaker and more marginal signals. This is most likely due to lack of, or insufficient hysteresis in the circuit. Is there a hysteresis adjust pot on the board? This is an easy fix for the manufacturer.
On SSB, TX audio is excellent, with one contact reporting "very natural audio". FM TX audio was good. AM TX audio is slightly bassy, but still has plenty of audio. It is apparent that there is more than sufficient mic gain to over drive the radio, so we kept the mic at about 6” from the mouth to derive good TX AM audio. We had to turn the mic gain down sometimes so as not to generate some flat-topping distortion. This is not issue.
The radio's footprint is small, smaller than the typical "DX” 10M/export radio and so will fit in tight spaces in the mobile. The Optima is small enough to sit nicely on top of my dash in the "dip" next to the driver's instrument console, and low enough to clear the windshield and provide a clear view of the road without obstruction.
We tested the power output on a Bird 43 (non peak) with a 100H element - 100W, 2-30 Mhz. SSB: 45.5 W with a single tone. FM: 45.5W carrier. AM: 14.5W carrier with good positive modulation: (18W on audio peaks). We did not have a PEP meter available.
All in all, it’s a very fine, compact radio and quite a capable performer, with just the right features any active 10M ham would want, (and with the features that any radio operator would want too). For CB'ers the radio performs more than adequately. The only gripe I can see CB'ers having is that the CB band does not "roll over" at channel 40 (27.405 Mhz) or channel 1 (26.965 Mhz). It just continues up or down the 11M band. As well, for some CB'ers, the AM audio is a tad "full" or bassy; CB’ers might want more "loudness", rather than "full" (i.e.: natural) audio.
Oh and one last nice touch… the front escutcheon now reads “
AM/FM/SSB HF TRANSCEIVER”, which is precisely what it is! (Now all Dave has to do is change that “CHANNEL” label to “FREQUENCY”.)
