Morse Code Generator

Buying guide · updated 2026-06-12

QRP CW transceivers, compared honestly

QRP means five watts or less — and CW is the mode that makes five watts work. A licence, a wire in a tree, and any radio below will get you real contacts across a continent. Here's the ladder, from a $95 kit to the rig everyone eventually wants.

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Best value in all of amateur radio

QRP Labs QMX (kit or assembled)

≈ $95 kit / $145 assembled

Five watts, multiple bands, built-in keyer, CW decoder, and a USB sound card for digital modes — for under a hundred dollars as a kit. Nothing else in radio comes close per dollar. The kit is a weekend of careful soldering; the assembled option skips straight to operating.

Pros

  • Absurd capability per dollar
  • Tiny — true shirt-pocket rig
  • Active development and firmware updates

Cons

  • Kit build is not a first-soldering-project
  • CW and digi only — no SSB (yet)

View at manufacturer

Cheapest multiband transceiver

(tr)uSDX

≈ $90–140

An open-source five-band QRP transceiver the size of a deck of cards. Compromises everywhere — audio is thin, power is honest-five-watts-ish — but it transmits real CW on real bands for the price of a restaurant dinner.

Pros

  • Five bands, shockingly cheap
  • Open-source hardware and firmware
  • Huge community of builders

Cons

  • Receiver audio is the weak point
  • Quality varies between kit suppliers — buy from a reputable one

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Best step-up / do-everything budget rig

Xiegu G90

≈ $400–450

20 watts, built-in automatic antenna tuner, real SSB alongside CW. Heavier and thirstier than true QRP rigs, but as one radio that does CW practice today and everything else later, it's the budget sweet spot.

Pros

  • Built-in ATU is a genuine luxury at this price
  • 20W closes contacts QRP can't
  • Full HF coverage incl. SSB

Cons

  • Power-hungry for battery field use
  • Keyer/menu ergonomics are workmanlike

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The dream portable

Elecraft KX2

≈ $850+

The rig CW portable operators graduate to. World-class receiver, exquisite built-in keyer, runs all day on an internal battery, fits in a jacket pocket. Listed not because a beginner should buy one, but because it's useful to know where the ladder tops out.

Pros

  • Best-in-class receiver and keyer
  • True all-day internal battery
  • Legendary resale value

Cons

  • Price of ten QMX kits
  • Waiting lists are common

View at manufacturer

Before you buy a radio