Last week I received the Polmar DB-50M, the European version of the Powerwerx DB-750X. The article is a bit large, but here are the main points:
The radio is a variety of the Anytone AT-5888UV, but doesn't have the bugs and flaws which plagued the first batches.
I liked the exterior design of the original Anytone, but I like this one even more. The main reason for my preference is the accessibility of the various push buttons. Once you know where they are and what they do you can operate the radio blindfolded. For the rest it’s a matter of taste.
The microphone is rather ugly but reasonably well designed. There’s no lock button, but contrary to Anytone’s first attempt this model doesn’t really need one. PTT is a bit stiff, and you need to press the rubber exactly in the middle. If you don’t, PTT won’t work reliably. There’s also a tiny front speaker built into the microphone which you can activate in one of the menus. Also configurable from the menu are four programmable buttons.
There are two external speaker outputs at the back which can be configured in such a way that each VFO has its own speaker. Nice detail: the cooling fan at the back is pleasantly silent and only kicks in when needed. Also at the back: the (in)famous SO-239 antenna connector and a DC out. Because this connector is not fused I don’t recommend using it, unless you’re 100% sure that nothing can go wrong.
- Harmonic suppression is excellent.
- Front-end quality above average
Flaws:
- TX audio is muffled, but can be easily fixed by a small modification.
- When changing channel spacing, the frequency in the display will be the reference / starting point. If you don’t want to wander off the standard frequencies, set your VFO frequency to something ending in three zeros first.
Bottom line: it's a transceiver I would be happy to buy.
Complete article:
Review Polmar DB-50M / Powerwerx DB-750X | Ham Radio Blog PD0AC
Hans
The radio is a variety of the Anytone AT-5888UV, but doesn't have the bugs and flaws which plagued the first batches.
I liked the exterior design of the original Anytone, but I like this one even more. The main reason for my preference is the accessibility of the various push buttons. Once you know where they are and what they do you can operate the radio blindfolded. For the rest it’s a matter of taste.
The microphone is rather ugly but reasonably well designed. There’s no lock button, but contrary to Anytone’s first attempt this model doesn’t really need one. PTT is a bit stiff, and you need to press the rubber exactly in the middle. If you don’t, PTT won’t work reliably. There’s also a tiny front speaker built into the microphone which you can activate in one of the menus. Also configurable from the menu are four programmable buttons.
There are two external speaker outputs at the back which can be configured in such a way that each VFO has its own speaker. Nice detail: the cooling fan at the back is pleasantly silent and only kicks in when needed. Also at the back: the (in)famous SO-239 antenna connector and a DC out. Because this connector is not fused I don’t recommend using it, unless you’re 100% sure that nothing can go wrong.
- Harmonic suppression is excellent.
- Front-end quality above average
Flaws:
- TX audio is muffled, but can be easily fixed by a small modification.
- When changing channel spacing, the frequency in the display will be the reference / starting point. If you don’t want to wander off the standard frequencies, set your VFO frequency to something ending in three zeros first.
Bottom line: it's a transceiver I would be happy to buy.
Complete article:
Review Polmar DB-50M / Powerwerx DB-750X | Ham Radio Blog PD0AC
Hans