Product Reviews from M0MRR

This page last updated 10/06/2008.

Here are copies of reviews of products that I have owned and sometimes sold. The reviews are what I placed on eham.net. Obviously these are not all products that I have used, but rather some that I saw merit in writing a review.

The reviews are as follows:

SDR 1000 - software defined radio - owned since November 2006

This radio blows the socks of my Icom IC-7000. The receive characteristics are superb, its great having a real time spectrum graph showing band activity. By using the recommended FA-66 sound card I have 192KHz of bandwidth. With the radio capable of 109dB dynamic range at 2KHz, and being able to see all adjacent signals it is an absolute doddle to null out offenders.

The GUI is simple but comprehensive and is very easy to use. In fact in my opinion even though the radio is a very capable bit of kit, the GUI is simpler to use than any base radio such as the MP-1000 or the menu driven IC-7000.

I have had nothing but positive reports on my audio signals – I am using a Heil PR-781 mic and an 802 mixer and the radio has the flexibility to vary your transmit bandwidth to tailor to your own particular operating characteristics.

Support from Flex Radio has been excellent, I have participated in their weekly team speak forum allowing you to ask questions directly to those involved in the SDR design. The web site allows immediate download of both current and beta software. Shortly after I first got the radio, Flex Radio released a new version of the software which provided a more traditional style signal meter, rather than a bar graph. If such a change was to be released for a traditional radio you would be looking at a major hardware change – not so with the SDR.

Heil PR-781 Dynamic Microphone - owned since October 2007

I ordered this mic in October after using the Behringer B1 Condenser mic for about 10 months. During the time of using the B1, I was constantly disappointed by varying audio reports - despite hearing other stations using the B1 - who sounded good to me, I couldn't achieve the same results. Everything I had been able to learn, suggested that the condenser mics are great depending on your environment. As my shack is not far away from the main part of my house, which includes three young kids and lots of background noise, the sensitivity of a condenser mic is too much for my shack. After some discussions with other amateurs and corrospondance with Bob Heil, I decided to change to a dynamic mic and chose the PR-781. I was tempted to buy the PR-40 - but Bob Heil suggested that for my particular station it was not needed. Since I have been using the PR-781 the difference in audio reports is very noticeable, most people I speak with provide unsolicited positive feedback, and of course using the SDR radio provides me an opportunity to tailor transmit audio to my voice characteristics. At time of writing I am driving the PR-781 via the Behringer 802 mixer. The PR-781 looks good and it is working for me.

Palstar AT1500DT - manual ATU - owned since April 2006

I have owned the Palstar AT1500DT atu after buying it from new.

It arrived double boxed and is quite a large and heavy atu – measuring 12 ½” wide by 4 ½” high by 12” deep, the most immediately noticeable thing about the tuner is that there is only one large dial which is for the differential capacitor. The specs suggest the capacitor can manage 19pF to 385pF@5kv and the inductor is 26uH, providing an impedance match of 20 – 1200 ohms.

I have used the atu with a non resonant dipole, longwire, moxon rectangle and horizontal loop. The inductor is a breeze to use and very smooth in its action, the selector switch which provides direct or tuned options is very positive in action. So far the atu has matched whatever I have hooked up. I run an Icom 7000 which sometimes drives an Acom 1000, and there have been no issues using the tuner with the Acom at power – no arcing, funny noises, popping etc which I have previously experienced with junk product.

Matching the antenna to radio is achieved by simply adjusting the roller inductor and the one differential capacitor which makes tuning very quick. The peak hold function (when the unit is powered by 12v supply) is a nice feature.

All in all I am quite impressed with the tuner, it looks quality and does what is expected of it under load conditions. When it first arrived I had a couple of questions which I emailed Palstar direct and am pleased to say, were answered promptly.

This product is quite a few pennies – but the old adage “you get what you pay for” is very true. I am happy with the product.

EQplus by W2IHY - owned since January 2008

After months of fiddling around with audio settings with a Behringer 802 mixer, a Behringer B1 and Heil PR781 microphone, I eventually became intrigued by the reports from users of the EQplus. The sound bytes on the manufactures web site suggested this unit could have a dramatic and positive difference in transmit audio. Eventually I took the plunge and ordered one from a local UK distributor. I have to say I am very impressed - it works exactly as what the reviews and sound bytes suggest it will. The compressor and compander are super, the equalizer certainly brightens audio and the effects add polish. The interface cables are easy to fabricate - I would recommend this product.

DX Engineering current balun - owned since July 2007

The DX Engineering DXE-BAL050-H10-AT 1:1 current balun proves a point that not all baluns are created equally. This is one big balun using high quality components. I ordered it directly from the manufacture and it took about a week to arrive to me in England. My station consists of an SDR radio, feeding an Acom amp which feeds a Palstar atu. I have a run of 10ft of coax leaving the shack then into the balun. This balun then outputs to 450ohm ladder line which in turn connects to a 135ft multi-band dipole.

I generally run 50 watts but occasionally go to 300 watts – depending on bands and conditions. I am active from 160m through to 10m. The 1:1 balun has proved to be effective at achieving a balanced load to the ladderline / dipole. It has worked flawlessly and has never over-heated. As I mounted the balun outside, I improvised a Tupperware container for it to sit in – this was to negate any inadvertent contact with the output terminals. When I compare my previous product which overheated and caused intermittent problems, I can happily state that “not all baluns are created equally”.

DX Engineering Multi-Band Dipole - owned since July 2007

I ordered the DX Engineering DXE-WA-135 Multi-Band Dipole along with one of their 1:1 current baluns these products came direct from the manufacture and took about a week to arrive to my QTH in England. The antenna elements are two lengths of quality wire giving a total of 135ft, the wire is flexible and easy to work with. The DX Engineering accessory products – the dipole centre and end stops are better than anything I have seen sold by any dealer in the UK and I have also used them with various home-brew dipoles. This antenna works as expected, and is fully usable from 80m through to 10m.

High Sierra Sidekick mobile antenna - owned since January 2006

SGC-237 smart tuner - owned since 2003

Here is a copy of my email I sent to SGC today after setting up the unit;

"Hi This this is Mark from Cambridge England. I just wanted to drop you a line for Terry / Terrance in you tech support area. I telephoned last week to gain advice regarding your Smart Tuners - Terry pointed me in the direction of your SGC-237. Whilst I had the opportunity to buy direct I decided after doing the maths of exchange rates etc to buy from your local dealer Nevada Electronics. I did so and it arrived day before yesterday. I experimented with it today. What can I say? Wow!!! It tuned up a 8ft aluminium pole and I made overseas contacts in Algeria, West Romania, Greece and Poland on my FT897. Terry was ever so helpful on the phone and your product worked exactly as advertised. I would appreciate you passing on my sincere thanks for his advice over the telephone and my compliments to your company on your product.

Best regards Mark"

**Update April 2006. I have the SGC tuning a dipole constructed using two fishing poles on top of a pushup mast. The dipole (each leg only 10ft long), tunes from 80m thru 6m. Absolutely fantastic - I am able to work all bands and have some very good dx. This antenna configuration appears to work best at my location. I guess it is a bit like a Budipole - except much better.

S.E.M. Tranzmatch - owned since 2004

I bought an S.E.M. tranzmatch ATU second hand after a bad experience with an MFJ product. This tuner was manufactured in the Isle of Man probably 20 years ago. I am ever so pleased. It tunes up my G5RV antenna / long wires, without any hassles at all. The components are all top quality. Its such a shame the modern manufactures don't take a leaf out of yester-year and go back to basic quality builds. I won't part with this tuner.

Bhi Noise Eliminating Speaker - owned since 2004

I live in a over populated area and have a garden that is approx 30ft square. I think every near-by house has an LCD tv and an electric blanket. Since getting my ham licence I have not spent huge amounts of time on the higher bands - 160, 80 & 40M due to the high levels of noise and European qrm. When I found a couple of local nets in the area that use 80M, I thought I had to do something about the noise.

The BHI noise eliminating speaker is well advertised in the local Radcom magazine and BHI usually have their products on display at various rallies. The claimed performance of the product seems almost unbelievable. But due to local noise I became increasingly interested in the BHI product. My FT-897 supposedly has DSP but it is not brilliant - I am not that impressed.

I eventually telephoned BHI direct and spoke to Graham who was able to answer my questions and then suggested I could buy one direct and if I didn't like it, to send it back for a refund...........I couldn't argue with that and ordered a speaker.

It arrived two days later and was very well packed. At first glance it looked much smaller than what I expected - the face of it measuring approx 4" X 2". I plugged the power cord in and connected the speaker to my FT-897 and then switched it on. WOW!!! A decent signal on ssb became almost FM in quality. A hard to hear signal became audible. White noise in FM mode completely disappears. The speaker performed exactly as advertised in the sales brochures. It really is amazing. The speaker will not pull out an already poor signal, but it will make listening to received signals a lot better. Have a listen to the sample audio files on their web site - they are a very accurate indication of what to expect.

The labels on speaker were not stuck properly - however when I emailed Graham with this information he immediately posted out replacement labels - arriving the day after. To me this is a reflection of good service that is trustworthy.

I do not represent or have any affiliation with BHI, but am impressed enough with their product to give a whole hearted recommendation. My partner who often complains about the radio noise is much happier - this is probably the best endorsement of the product Hi Hi

SCAF-1 Bandpass Filter - owned since 2005

I live in a typically small and overcrowded English town and suffer lots of noise. I am using a Yaesu FT-897 and have recently been learning CW - a mode that interests me a lot. As a result of the noise I played with the DSP settings on the FT-897 - over-rated is the best way to describe it. I do like the rig as it is multi mode and can do most things - just the DSP is not very good. To combat noise I bought a BHI dsp speaker - excellent product - you can read the separate review I have already written. When I was researching filter products I read the eham reviews about the SCAF filter - that seem to fairly regularly updated. All reviews were positive and eventually I took the plunge and ordered a kit.

The kit took over 2 weeks to arrive - I notice the post date was 28th March, yet I only received it 13th April. Must have been something with Royal Mail slowing down due to the Royal wedding. Hi Hi. Whilst waiting for delivery I sent several emails to Idiom Press which were all promptly answered by Cynthia assuring me that the product had been sent. I like prompt replies to queries and consider this to be good customer service.

Upon arrival I commenced construction of the kit. In checking all the parts against the parts list I noticed that the components appeared to be of good quality and the PCB was double sided with plated thru holes. The metal work for the case had been screen printed and the nuts and bolts were stainless steel.

The instruction manual appeared a little daunting - zillions of step-by-step instructions - but no pictures just text. Mounting all the passive components was straightforward. The kit only came with two DIP sockets - yet there are 6 IC's. Murphy’s law prevailed and I managed to solder the LM386 back to front. On a double-sided board this is somewhat of a disaster! I ended up cutting the IC out and making new pins for it using cut resistor legs. These chips are very resilient. If the kit had 6 DIP sockets this wouldn’t have been the problem it was - it may have also helped having pictures on the instruction sheets. It also would have helped if I had checked more carefully!! I noticed that the instruction sheet referred to making a jumper link - but the PCB did not account for the link. After careful scrutiny it appeared that PCB was a newer board and the instruction sheets hadn't been updated. The wiring loom and final assembly of the product was straight forward and 6 hours after starting I plugged the SCAF filter in.

It worked immediately (thank goodness re the LM386). I tuned around the bands for CW signals then also for SSB. The bands by this time were limited to 80m & 40m. Over the next few days I used the product over all bands - well 80m, 40m, 30m, 20m, & 15m.

This product works really really well. The attenuation of adjacent qrm is excellent. In CW mode you can 'tune' signals that first appear on top of each other - quite remarkable. In SSB mode, I found I could attenuate the strong adjacent stations that were splattering over other stations. The audio is all 'real' time - no delay at all. There is no 'speaking thru a bucket' effect. All in all a very impressive product and one that I would recommend. I rate this product 5/5 based on its performance and 1st class customer service.

CMOS-4 Keyer - owned since 2005

When I was researching noise problems I read the reviews on the Idiom Press SCAF-1 filter and eventually bought a kit. After a very good experience with the product and after sales service, I looked at what else Idiom Press sold. I saw that the eham reviews relating to CMOS-4 Keyer were very high and constantly updated. As CW is a mode that I have recently been enjoying I decided to buy another Idiom product.

Again I had a long 2 1/2 week wait for the kit to arrive after ordering it. Again Idiom Press despatched the kit the day I ordered it – Royal mail is just slow.

This CMOS-4 kit was very easy to assemble and about 5 hours after I started construction I plugged in the batteries. I was happy to hear a confirmation ‘OK’ in CW through the keyer's internal speaker. The keyer does exactly what the sales brochure states and within a short time I hooked it up to my paddle and FT-897. (my FT-897 does have an inbuilt keyer, but like other features of the rig e.g. dsp for noise and bandpass it is ok......... but not brilliant).

In using the CMOS-4 keyer I really like the ability to vary my CW during the middle of a qso simply by turning the front dial. No menu systems to worry about. I can very easily speed up or slow down when working another station. Storing messages is really easy to do and saves some time with the standard CQ calls etc. You just have to press one of the 4 push buttons on top of the unit. Having an internal oscillator and speaker and powered by internal batteries means I can practice sending CW anytime I want, without the need to switch the rig on.

I guess the CMOS-4 keyer is probably designed for someone a bit more proficient than myself in CW, however its’ another well made kit that’s easy to assemble and simple to use. I am again happy with an Idiom Press product. The keyer is physically the same size as the SCAF-1 filter and the two compliment each other on my desk.

Begali Classic Paddle - owned since 2005

I was inspired to buy a Begali Paddle after reading a recent eham article written by Ulrich Steinberg, which also included some enticing pictures.

The Begali Magnetic Classic paddle that I now own, is with the base that has palladium plating, and "the black-silver of that finish provides a stunningly beautiful contrast to the gold plating of the central bearing block". That quote taken from the Begali web site and describes the finish down to a tee. Its quite heavy weighing about 1.5kgs!

Each paddle is fully independently adjustable both in contact gap and operating force. The paddles have a unique ‘feel’ that I guess is a combination of their aluminium alloy construction and magnetic operation.

Customer service was exemplary and delivery was completed within 10 days of my order.

I am fairly new to the world of CW. There is some real skill in being able to pick out a station call-sign calling in CW. To then answer that station on something as fabulous as the Begali paddle makes me feel happy.

It now sits with pride on my desk. It is a precision piece of work that looks stunning. Was it worth the money? Yep!!!!!

MDR-7506 - owned since 2005

I bought a pair of these headphones after reading all the positive reviews on eham. I found a supplier on ebay who provided a very competitive price. They are quiet good in various respects which include; I like the audio response, the sound is definitely better than my FT-897 internal speaker or old no brand pair of headphones. They are comfortable and light on the head. The earpieces cover my ears completely and background noise is reduced. The cord and adaptor plug are of good quality and the headphones look good.

I do not rate them 5 as I can hear a faint 'white noise' through the headphones that I couldn't with the no name brand. This noise is not enough to influence me wearing them, however I just didn’t expect there to be any white noise at all, no matter how small.

MFJ-259B - owned since 2004

I love to build my own antennas. I have had previous bad experience with MFJ products in the past and have been reluctant to buy another. After seeing the £100 saving I could get by buying one from the European sellers on E-Bay I decided to take the plunge. So far I have been pleasantly surprised. The product works and has proved invaluable when building wire antennas. I find I am playing with the product every second day. Changing batteries are a pain, but overall it seems to work OK. It certainly is helpful and I am pleased with the end price I paid.

**Update May 2005, as with other MFJ products, the quality assurance department isn't working. One of the front meters has come unstuck. Something I had to fix when I changed the batteries.

HUSTLER 4BTV - bought and sold within 2 weeks in 2004

I recently purchased this antenna and based the decision to purchase due to my very small garden, specs and price of product. The antenna arrived well packaged and complete with all parts. I had some horrible problems with the aluminium poles not quite sliding together and had to 'file' them into shape. Once this was done the antenna assembly was very easy. To my surprise, no tuning was required and the antenna is resonant on all stated bands. Therefore even with some initial assembly problems, I am pleased with the product as it performs exactly as stated. My advice for others is to check the poles slide easily before hand so you don't have the same problems I experienced when trying to slide them out.

**Update July 2004, this is a compromise antenna. A dipole would be better.

YAESU VX-2R - bought and sold within 6 months in 2004

I bought this radio after reading all the reviews I could find about handheld radios. I already own an FT-897 and wanted to keep equipment brand compatible. After negotiating with local suppliers I got the radio at a price I was happy with. Todate - I am very pleased with it. I can access my local repeaters with the low power settings. Feedback from other radio users provide good reports of my audio. The radio is incredibly small - but seems to function exactly as stated. I would recommend this radio to others.

ICOM IC-2800H - owned since 2004 - sold January 2006

I have been looking for a dual band radio without breaking the bank, I came across an IC-2800. I have been really pleased with this radio and love the display. I am getting reports that my audio is good. What disappoints me is that my multimode FT-897 is proved now not to be so good. I can hear vhf/uhf stations with the Icom but not the Yaesu - I do wonder why Icom discontinued this model? Sadly sold in January 2006, to fund the IC-7000.

Yaesu FT-897 - owned since 2004 - sold April 2006

I have owned the FT-897 for almost two years. It has been the only HF radio that I have ever owned and I use it as my base station. It has the optional internal power supply - although I have also used it powered by an external 12V car battery.

After having it for almost two years I can genuinely say that I have been generally happy with it. It is a multi purpose radio that performs generally well. I have had contacts on all bands from 160m thru to 70cms in mostly on SSB & FM modes. I have used CW & PSK on some of the lower HF bands. Generally I run 50 watts and am using the standard fist mike that came supplied with the rig.

Unfortunately I live in a highly densely populated area and have problems with local QRN. Because of this I have had a real good play with the DSP that the FT-897 boasts. I have found that the built in DSP is both good and bad. The DSP has a band pass roll off about the norm of 60db - its not that brilliant on SSB mode to combat QRM, it is however effective for CW. The built in DSP to combat noise is next to useless in all modes. Due to this I have invested in other 'add on' products such as the Idiom SCAF-1 band pass filter and the BHI DSP Noise reduction speaker to combat QRM & QRN.

I have also invested in other external products to make life easier such as FTBasic memory management software and an Idiom CMOS-4 keyer which is much easier to use than the FT-897 menu system.

The power output is about what the built in display indicates - as measured by my CRO. The internal power supply can sometimes have a noisy fan - which is not overbearing but annoying.

The sensitivity of receive on VHF / UHF is not as good as my Icom IC-2800. I do not have another rig to gauge it against HF.

I do like the ability of the rig to operate in all modes in all bands ie SSB, CW, PSK, FM etc. The rig has been very reliable - I have had no problems with it - not once! I use it almost on a daily basis and is left on for up to 12 hours at a time. The rig is easy to broadband its transmit range through a variety of software programs available on the internet. There are also a variety of mods that can be done, none of which I have tried yet.

The FT-897 is probably not the best specific purpose rig - but it is a good all round performer and one that I would recommend.

**update April 2006, finally sold this trusty radio after buying the Icom IC-7000. Now have to decide what to do with the proceeds.............

FTBasicMMO memory management  - Owned since 2004

I had been looking for a memory management program for some time when I came across this program. Whilst you couldn't actually demo the product for real, I took the plunge and spent the massive sum of £10 to get a registered copy.

I must say I am quite impressed. The software makes managing memories a breeze. It is particularly useful for the 2M & 70cms modes where you can pre-program all repeater information into the transceiver. The software has another advantage that when you wideband the FT-897, you loose your automatic repeater shift - this software fixes that.

I had some technical set up questions which I emailed to Bob - the man responsible for writing the program. I have to say his service time / and response was brilliant.

I can confidently say that the price of this product is very reasonable and the after sales service is first class.

ZLP Electronics CAT interfaces - Owned since 2004

After much looking around I saw this product on the eham reviews site. It doesn't seem to be advertised anywhere. After emailing Neil with some questions I followed his recommendation and bought the audio interface and the cat control cable. They arrived 2 days later. To set up was more or less plug and play for my Yaesu FT-897. I have just finished making PSK contact with a couple of European stations and am delighted to be heard. I am very pleased with the cost and service, I would recommend this product which is supplied at a great price.

**Update April 2006. I receieved my cat & audio interface cables for my IC-7000 - and they work a treat along with being much much less expensive than the Icom brand.

SOTA 2 metre 3 element beam - Owned since 2004

I bought this beam at a recent radio show. It assembled easily and the SWR was negligible - as advertised. It is a well made product that is very light and very portable. Good after sales service from the supplier. I would recommend this product for field trips.

Unless otherwise stated the contents of this web site are © 2008 M0MRR