Venus SW-3B
2B or not 2B. Perhaps 3B is 2B the answer but which 3b is it 2B.
Originally I was hoping for the MTR-3B but because of its cost, the SW-3B may be the answer. I was hoping for the LNR 3B at $250 or less but many LNR owners believe it may be more like $300 to $400. That is a lot for a hobby radio kit. As I await the cost of the MTR-3B, I decided to make a page of information for this one as well. The Venus 3B is a $188 dollar kit and a good working radio kit for the money. +35.80 Shipping = $223.80 Total
So, which to be 2B, or is not 2B we will find which 3B is the answer. To be LNR-3B or SW3-B?
SW-3B is an ultra-small, ultra-lightweight three-band CW QRP transceiver that consumes less than 40 mA when receiving. It works good for portable use, field day and SOTA.
https://www.venus-itech.com/product/sw-3b-qrp-cw-transceiver/ Venus Sw-3B MfG.
http://venus-itech.com/download/SW-3B%20Manual.pdf Manual
https://www.venus-itech.com/download/SW_3B_Troubleshooting_guide.pdf After market edited manual with trouble shooting help.
Not as a good transmitter and has a weaker front end discrimination filters but at a low entry level price. It has a protruding dial VFO and 3 button menu system. Has an AF gain knob for Volume. This unit has the dials a positive and it is well liked for the price.
Venus Information Technology Co., Ltd. CW Transmitter SSB Receive only
SW-3B 7/10/14 MHz CW QRP Transceiver 40m, 30m, 20m bands
Only one (1) CW message memory.
8-15V Output: 5 watts @12V external power. 5 watts @12V ~ 1.8 – 2 watts @9V Up to 2 amperes of current with no AC ripple. A simple battery pack made up of eight "AA" (or 10 NiMH) batteries provides ample power.
3 Band 40m, 30m, 20m bands. With 8 chan memory's for each band. 7.0-7.2MHz, 10.1-10.15MHz, 14.0 -14.35MHz. Transmitting: about 0.8A (at 12V voltage)
A Guide to Operating, Troubleshooting and Repair of the SW-3B QRP Radio A nice supplement to the manual.
SW-3B QRP CW transceiver $188.00
High density polyethylene and polycarbonate plastic
Venus SW-3B QRP Radio Enclosure and Cover by KN6EZE - Thingiverse
No Speaker - Use headphone or mini amp.
No Tuner. Use a 40, 30, 20m balanced ant. such a Portable Multi-Band End Fed Antenna or an Xtenna
Prebuilt, Nice bands for mobile, Nice price for what you get. 4.13 x 10.59 x 1.93 inches 6.35oz. No menus. S-meter, RIT, 400Hz filter, good, RF gain, Go out of band to practice so will not transmit.
Draws about 43 mA with the backlight on and 37 mA with the backlight off
Dimensions: 4.09'" x 2.8" x .98" inches 6.35oz. 104*71*25mm (excluding the protruding part such as knob)
Weight: 180g. Operating voltage: 8-15VDC.
Operating current:
Receiving: about 60mA(backlight on), and less than 55mA(backlight off). Now using OLED.
Transmitting: about 0.8A (at 12V voltage).
Frequency range: 5-8MHz, 8-11MHz, 11-16MHz (the receiving sensitivity peak is only 40m, 30m, 20m amateur band).
Transmitting: 7.0-7.2MHz, 10.1-10.15MHz, 14.0 -14.35MHz. RF
Output: 5 watts @12V --- 1.8 – 2 watts @9V
Comments
SW3B has a nice 3 band choices of 40m, 30m, 20m bands. 15 or 17 M that the new 2024 MTR may have might be better to have than 30
AE5X: A few notes on the new SW-3B QRP transceiver
SW-3B Has side rails available - Blog comment. How about making end rails out of thin ply once a person has them to make a pattern of?
Venus SW-3B QRP Radio Enclosure and Cover by KN6EZE - Thingiverse To protect protruding knobs.
Transceiver Specifications:
Dimensions
104 x 71 x 25 mm (excluding the protruding part such as the knob)
Weight
180 g
Operating Voltage
8-15VDC
Operating Current
Receiving: About 45 mA(backlight on), and less than 40 mA (backlight off)
Transmitting: About 0.8A (at 12V voltage)
Frequency Range
5-8 MHz, 8-11 MHz, 11-16 MHz (the receiving sensitivity peak is only 40 m, 30 m, and 20 m amateur band)
Transmitting
7.0-7.2 MHz, 10.1-10.15 MHz, 14.0 -14.35 MHz
Two Filters
CW and SSB are automatically switched according to the operating mode
The CW filter has a bandwidth of about 400 Hz and the SSB is about 2 kHz
The adjustment range of RIT/XIT
RIT
-9 kHz to +9 kHz
XIT Adjustment Range
-30 kHz to +30 kHz
Output Power
5W (power supply voltage is 12V)
Side Tone
699 Hz
Auto Keyer
The built-in auto keyer speed is adjustable
Storage
Each band has 8 storage frequency channels, and the frequency and operating mode can be stored by the user arbitrarily
Receiving Mode
CW, CWR, USB, LSB. It can also be transmitted in the SSB mode of receiving, enabling cross-linking of CW/SSB
AGC
Simple Audio AGC, S meter shows the relative strength of the signal and is for reference only
