Expert Electronics SunSDR2 PRO vs Hermes-Lite 2.0 (HL2)
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Expert Electronics SunSDR2 PRO or Hermes-Lite 2.0 (HL2)? I put both radios side by side: data from the manufacturers’ datasheets and photos at the same scale. Expert Electronics SunSDR2 PRO comes out better: power on HF, power on 6 m and power on 2 m.
Hermes-Lite2.0 (HL2)
HF5 Wtuner
Specs side by side
| Expert ElectronicsSunSDR2 PRO▲ 3 | Hermes-Lite2.0 (HL2)▲ 0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Bands and modes | ||
| Transmit bands | HF 1.8–29.7 MHz50–52 MHz144–146 MHz | HF 1.8–29.7 MHz |
| Receive range | 0.1–65 · 95–155 MHz | 0–38.4 MHz |
| Modes | SSBCWAMFM | SSBCWAMFM |
| Transmit power | ||
| HF | 20 W ▲ | 5 W |
| 50 MHz (6 m) | 15 W ▲ | — |
| 144 MHz (2 m) | 8 W ▲ | — |
| Receiver | ||
| Construction | SDR, direct RF sampling (DDC/DUC; 16-bit 160 MHz ADC, 14-bit 640 MHz DAC) | SDR, direct sampling (AD9866, 12-bit, 76.8 MHz) + FPGA; open project, ready-made board (Makerfabs) |
| Second receiver | yes — 2 independent software receivers + SubRX in each (4 in total), shared ADC | yes — 4 receivers up to 384 kHz (in the PC software) |
| Spectrum and waterfall | in the PC software (ExpertSDR3), panadapter up to 80 MHz | in PC software (Quisk, SparkSDR, Thetis…) |
| Features | ||
| Antenna tuner | — | none — controls an external Icom AH-4 (ACC1) |
| Display | none — control from a computer (ExpertSDR3) or remotely (ERS) | none — operated exclusively from a computer |
| LAN / remote operation | 100 Mb/s LAN — the only connection to the computer, ERS remote operation; Wi‑Fi optional | 1 Gb/s Ethernet — the only connection to the computer, remote operation |
| USB | none — LAN only | none — Ethernet only |
| SD card | — | — |
| Antenna connectors | 2× mini-UHF (HF/6 m) + 1× mini-UHF (2 m) + ADC IN, DAC OUT, RX OUT (SMA) | SMA (ANT) + SMA (RF1, low-level / transverter) |
| Power and case | ||
| Power | 12–16 V DC (15 V recommended), external power supply | 11–16 V DC, external power supply min. 2 A |
| Transmit current draw | 5 A | no data |
| Dimensions | 165 × 50 × 185 mmwith heatsink; body only 165 × 35 mm (front panel) | 105 × 40 × 150 mmwith the optional Makerfabs case |
| Weight | 1.5 kg | no data |
| Other | ||
| Memory channels | no data | no data |
| Release | 2015 | 2016 |
Data: manufacturers’ spec sheets and manuals · as of 31.10.2026
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