{"id":50271,"date":"2021-09-20T06:45:03","date_gmt":"2021-09-20T10:45:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=50271"},"modified":"2021-09-22T07:12:33","modified_gmt":"2021-09-22T11:12:33","slug":"malahit-dsp-2-versus-chinese-clone-taking-the-gloves-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/09\/malahit-dsp-2-versus-chinese-clone-taking-the-gloves-off\/","title":{"rendered":"Malahit DSP-2 versus Chinese Clone: Taking the Gloves Off"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post<\/em>\u00a0contributor,\u00a0Dan Robinson<\/a>, for the following guest post:<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n

\n

Malahit 2 versus Chinese Clone: Taking the Gloves Off<\/b><\/h1>\n

New DDC (Direct Digital Conversion) Version in Development<\/b><\/h2>\n

by Dan Robinson<\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s been a few weeks since my last commentary on the Malahit\/Malachite<\/a>, which as\u00a0of this writing remains at the DSP-2 level, though there are continuing hints from the Malahiteam in Russia about future changes, including a DDC version.<\/p>\n

All of the observations I made in previous articles are unchanged.\u00a0 As of today in mid-September, the latest test firmware version posted by the Malahiteam remains M2_FW2_10D.\u00a0 This includes a widening of the waterfall bandwidth from 160 kHz to 192 kHz.\u00a0 See my previous articles<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n

Recently, I obtained a Chinese clone, one which will be familiar to anyone who has taken a dive into the clone market.\u00a0 This one is by HFDY and is immediately recognizable for its front speaker and longer slim rectangular form factor.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The HFDY (Malahit SDR V 3) has two high quality black metal encoder knobs on the right, with a large power button between, and USB-C and a headphone jack on the left side.\u00a0 On the bottom are two OFF\/ON slide switches, one marked for 3.3 volts and the other BOOT(O).<\/p>\n

I initially saw photos of this SDR some months ago and was curious but cautious.\u00a0 In recent weeks I decided to take the plunge and ordered one from AliExpress.\u00a0 It took just under one month to arrive, well-wrapped in bubble wrap in a plain cardboard box.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

But the radio comes with a really nice black carrying case (see photo above) with a long white USB-C cable, a metal stand to prop the radio up on a desktop, and a flexible SMA antenna \u2013 really impressive in terms of what you get for $183.\u00a0 In contrast, the Russian-made Malahit comes only with a metal whip antenna.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When I first took the MSDR V3 in hand, I was impressed.\u00a0 This is a really nicely-built receiver \u2013 high quality metal construction that conveys an immediate feeling of attention to detail.<\/p>\n

Also included is a sheet of paper with handwritten sensitivity and blocking figures \u2013 the sheet has the Malahiteam name on it, though I am unsure what the arrangement is between the Chinese maker and the Russia-based team in terms of this kind of information being part of the package.<\/p>\n

When I originally ordered the M SDR V3 I assumed incorrectly that I would be getting the equivalent of a DSP-2.\u00a0 This was not the case:\u00a0 the Chinese clone is a DSP-1, and had 1.10b firmware rather than the last 1.10c FW.<\/p>\n

This necessitated using STM32Cube PC program to update to 1.10c and I had a bit of a problem doing this since the Chinese maker does not include any specific instructions similar to those provided by Malahiteam for its DSP-1\/2 receivers.<\/p>\n

After gathering a bit of information from another owner of the Chinese clone, on the Malahit Telegram group, I felt confident enough to proceed and eventually was able to make the upgrade to 1.10c, which in my view brings the Chinese clone up to essentially the same level as a DSP-2 with 2.10D firmware.<\/p>\n

HFDY Clone Wins On Quality of Construction<\/b><\/h1>\n

\"\"<\/a>With this brief history out of the way, here are some key points as I see them, between the Russian-made Malahit DSP-2 and the HFDY China-made clone:<\/p>\n