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write your own review of the Computer Automation Technology CAT-300DX Repeater Controller.
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W0FAA
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Rating: 4/5
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Feb 12, 2012 09:27
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Fine to Me
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This controller has been in our repeater for 5+ years and it has worked perfectly.
Our repeater is solar powered with a commercial charger automatically available for low battery, but the hour meter on the charger shows it hasn't been needed in months. The small repeater building is not temperature controlled and varies from 10 to 110 F through the year.
I gave it only 4 stars because of the documentation. As a new control op responsible for programming it I discovered that you really need to sit down, read the manual several times, then start pulling out bits and pieces that make sense to you for what you want to do. I am a programmer and a technician, but it took me a while to put it all together. You won't be able to just look up "Page XX, programming the memories" for example. I had to pull info from 4 chapters to understand how to do it. The information is there, but you are left to connect the dots to get it to do what you want it to do.
More examples would help tremendously and should not be difficult to put in, but since the poor manual is a "known issue" I suppose we are stuck with what we have. Maybe I should have called for help but I expect technical manuals to be self sufficient.
Summary: Hardware works fine and plenty of features. Manual is just adequate.
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KC9GMH
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 17, 2009 23:39
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Great Controller
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I got my cat-300dx from ebay and it is a great controller. Ron is also very nice if you need help. I also have a cat-200 on my uhf repeater now. Cant beat that i got the 19" rack mount case, the controller, and software for only $200.00 dollars.
73's
KC9GMH
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RFSOAKED
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Rating: 0/5
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Mar 15, 2008 11:57
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Be Prepared for Failure!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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If you have a CAT300DX or 300DXL controller make sure you have someone physically able to go shut it down when it fails. U17 the voice synthesizer chip is prone to failure, and when it does it locks the PTT line low and keeps the transmitter stuck on. No matter what you do it will ignore commands from either the main receiver or the link/control receiver. It just locks up and goes deaf and dumb.
We have had this chip fail twice in less than a year, both times it would lock the repeater on transmit and luckily someone was available to run out and rescue it in person. Removing U17 will allow the controller to once again function but of course you will not have voice, and it will lengthen the hang time to the courtesy beep, not sure why but it does.
Try to talk to Ron at Cat Auto, he just gets defensive and blames your equipment, it can't possibly be "his" controller.. Etc.. Whatever.
Anyway, its junk to me, replacing it with an NHRC instead. Experience with the NHRC products has been nothing but perfect! Bulletproof design that anyone can repair, and great customer service.
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WC3O
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 6, 2007 13:09
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Very good
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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If controllers could talk, (well ok, it does talk...) this one would scream! It has seen high voltage, low voltage, lightning, dropping, switched between repeaters and much more. The stupid thing just keeps on working! The latest was lightning. It smoked the lines on the phone jack and took out the PTT driver chip. Ron at CAT was nothing short of fantastic. The turn-around time was super fast and the cost was very reasonable. Yes, it is a pain to program but if you make cheat sheets before you start punching numbers, it is much easier. Anywho, great controller and great company to work with.
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KE4MOB
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 15, 2001 20:36
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Worth every penny!!!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Our CAT 300DX controller has been in service now for over 7 years. In that time it has seen a fair amount of abuse: we have had power fluctuations go as high as 24 volts for extended periods, a mouse infestation on the controller board (it was a mess), and numerous shorts/RF problems. And it just keeps ticking along.
This controller has more functions than Carter has liver pills...it's simply amazing--and sometimes darn confusing trying to keep all the commands straight. It has autopatch, programmable voice synthesizer, user controllable external switches, onboard clock, and optional interface for linking, among other things.
Technical support provided by Ron at CAT is simply outstanding. Other companies would automatically say "send it in, we'll look at it, our bench fee is $75 an hour". Not so with CAT. He actually took the time to listen to our problem, ask questions, and then provide us three tips to try to resolve the problem. And the first suggestion we tried worked!
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