Review on 📻 Malahit DSP SDR Radio Receiver: Enhanced Software Defined Radio with 3.5 Inch Touchscreen IPS Display, Wide Frequency Range of 50KHz-200MHz. Experience Superior Malachite DSP SDR Shortwave Radio Receiver. by Michael Welborn

This is a Chinese clone of the Russian Malachite DSP SDR receiver. The price was good. It looks well made and works well enough. I think the receiver firmware can be upgraded with advanced features and a range extension to 2GHz from the Russian manufacturers of the original Malachite receiver for a small fee. The 200MHz - 400MHz range is also not available in the updated firmware. Apparently this area is not allowed in Russia, where the radio design and software originally originated. The updated firmware is licensed to you for your use only and you may not copy or modify it. The seller did not provide written instructions for using the receiver or documentation for updating the firmware in the shipping box. Therefore only 4 stars. The touchscreen is somewhat insensitive and sometimes responds slowly. The receiver works well on local VHF stations with the included whip and fairly well on the HF bands with an external antenna, but don't expect strong HF reception on the whip. This is not uncommon for most portable RF receivers. I am primarily interested in a small portable receiver for ham radio reception when traveling. The built-in speaker is small, but delivers adequate sound for its size. I'm sure the sound will be better with headphones with a headphone jack. I like the visual display that lets you see signals above and below the set frequency. After a while you will be able to identify the signal types (telephone morse code, single sideband voice signals, AM radio signals and FM stations) by their appearance on the display. NR (Noise Reduction) is great for extracting speech stations from background noise. The receiver bandwidth is easily adjustable and can be quite narrow or wide depending on the signal type. The touchscreen provides access to six menus containing the receiver's many functions. Some of these features are pretty obvious. Others don't. The receiver is equipped with a rechargeable internal lithium battery. There is a USB-C port on one end of the receiver for charging the battery using the appropriate USB cable provided to connect to a PC or mobile phone charger. My guess is that the USB-C port is also likely to be used to update the receiver's firmware. The radio seems to be getting a little warm - there's a lot going on in this palm-sized box. So I'm not sure how long the battery will last between charges, but I suspect you'll need to keep a charger handy. At the same end are two rotary encoders for volume and frequency control. You can also enter the frequency directly using the touch screen. These encoders can also be pressed to access other receiver functions on the touchscreen, which are then changed by rotating the encoder. Encoders sometimes work a little strangely, not increasing or decreasing volume or frequency smoothly. On the other end of the receiver is a small SMA connector for connecting the included whip antenna. To connect an external antenna, you must purchase an SMA adapter of the appropriate type. The receiver body is made of durable aluminum, and everything fits snugly and cleanly. There are many different sources of these Chinese malachite clones on the internet at prices ranging from ridiculously low to ridiculously high. Buyer Warning; Search the internet before you buy. Some already contain a firmware update to increase the receiver frequency from 50 kHz to 2 GHz (200-400 MHz span). Some announcements say they cover the whole spectrum, but it's not clear if the firmware update will be included or not. I have ordered electronic goods from one of the big companies from China (which I will not name for legal reasons). It's a bit like Revain in the world of Bizzaro. I've had both good and bad experiences. I've been wanting one of these receivers for a few months. I'm not really interested in frequencies above 200MHz, so I went with this one from Revain, at what I think is a reasonable price. I'm not sure if I have to choose to update the firmware. The time will show. I know that if there is a problem, Revain will do a very good job of replacing the item or giving you the option to return it and you don't have to wait forever to receive it from China or the difficult task of getting it send back to China. . An item I wanted to return to China had to cost more than I paid for it. So I just threw it away and chalked it up to the experience. But to be honest a lot of the dealers were decent. All in all, I'm happy with this little SDR receiver, but it won't replace my main ham radio. Basically, it's a neat little toy to play with and take with you when you travel. The receiver is a rather complex device. This is a bit difficult and requires training. It's probably best for a techno nerd guy or girl. I wouldn't recommend it for beginners or the faint of heart. The seller contacted me a few weeks after my review and offered to send a stylus, but I declined his offer. He also sent a PDF of a written manual which I found helpful. So I thank the seller and will upgrade him to 5 stars for his efforts but still give the receiver 4 stars.