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| Reviews Summary for DYC-817 Speech Compressor |
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Reviews: 12
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Average rating: 4.3/5
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MSRP: $22
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Description: External dynamic compressor kit for FT-817
NOTE: No longer available
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More info: http://
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VA7GG
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Rating: 4/5
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Jun 25, 2004 17:00
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No more wire stripping!!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Put an RJ-45 socket in where the wires go. You will have to remove the snap-in mounting pins though. Then super glue the bad boy on to the PCB. Put an RJ-45 plug on the other end of the provided cable, be sure to allign the wires first. The last thing is some surgery on the case, all done!
VIOLA!!! Major convienance!!
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W9PMZ
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Rating: 4/5
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Jun 24, 2003 19:17
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Nice piece of kit
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I order the unit via the web and it took about 3 weeks for delivery. Not so bad.
The PWB took about 1/2 hour to assemble, with the pigtail taking 1 hour and 3 tries, solder wick, 2 more wire ties and 1 burned finger.
Overall the unit works very nicely. Did note some RF feedback on a indoor antenna though. No feedback on the outside antenna.
If you have a FT-817 this is a worthwhile accessory.
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WB9OQB
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 8, 2003 16:38
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Great product! This kit is fast, easy, and works great.
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I received the kit in about two weeks from the time I ordered it. It took me about 3 hours to put it together, of which one hour was spent messing with the ribbon cable. (Difficult but not impossible) The unit works great - I can see a significant increase on my field strength meter and every contact that I have made since has stated that the compressor gives a 1-2 s-unit increase to my signal. I also like the fact that I didn't have to tear into my microphone or radio which are still under warranty. All in all it is well worth the 29.00 dollars invested.
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W1XYZ
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Rating: 4/5
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Dec 13, 2002 20:45
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HUH? Revisited
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Well the rest of the kit finally arrived, and in a well designed package with a wonderfully printed color instruction sheet, and a slick little QSL card catalog.
Yes, shrinking the insulation back rather than trying to perform precision microsurgery is effective and quick. The unit went together easily and worked right away. The monitored audio is quite compressed and certainly is producing a higher average output on SSB.
I made a little modification: got rid of the protruding cable and put in another phone jack after applying the Dremel tool to the case. This allowed me to use a longer cable to the compressor and put the mic element on the end of the DYC-817. Less bulk and provides a handy way to make a much smaller mic for the little rig, the way Yaesu ought to have done in the first place.
If you can get this kit, it is very well done and not expensive, so in the end, after a bit of a wait and a trip to the German/English dictionary, I'm quite pleased with it.
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N3PN
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Rating: 4/5
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Dec 12, 2002 21:20
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Works Great - when you get it!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Got it- finally. The only confirmation (after the order was placed on the web) was an email that said there would be a delay of a couple weeks due to part availability. I did not get replies to follow up emails. I got a nice reply when I called Berlin by phone! It did arrive as they said about 3 weeks after the order.
Now for the circuit, aside from a couple English translation errors, the instructions are clear and simple. The parts are good quality. The unit works well. Signal reports are usually a full S unit higher with it on. I like the off switch for FM use.
That ribbon cable others mention deserves a comment. I am glad they put a piece in the kit for "training" as it states. I found the dimensions good but I did not strip the small wires by cutting but instead applied heat of the solder iron to the wire tip and let it shrink back. I got the cable in the first try after I tested this method. So it works great but a delay and silly cable are potential issues.
73 Nelson
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VR2XMC
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Rating: 4/5
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Dec 2, 2002 20:40
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Great product but customer services needed improvement
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I ordered this kit on 13 September 2002 but heard nothing from the manufacturer since then. I faxed and emailed them many times but no response.
Surprisingly, the kit arrived yesterday after nearly 3 months. Airmail took 3 months from Germany to Hong Kong ??. I used 3 hours to complete the kit and the result is great. Both the PCB and the components quality are excellent.
I compared it with the One Big Punch of W4RT. They both used the simple speech processor IC and the performance is similar. The OBP is to be built inside the hand mic MH31 whereas this kit is an externally unit.
Depending on how handy you would prefer, the kit has the merit of adjustable mic gain and compression gain. The price is much cheaper than OBP but you have to wait soooo long.
I give it a 4 instead of 5 to reflect the lengthy waiting time.
73
Johnny VR2XMC
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N6AF
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 7, 2002 17:41
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Anyone tried it with the FT-100D ?
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Has anybody tried using the DYC-817 with the
FT-100D ? This will be with the original FT-100D hand mic.
Thanks for any information.
73 N6AF Chas
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VE6SZR
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 9, 2002 22:00
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Great product...not aware of current shipping problems.
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I too obtained one of these compressors....albeit about 4 months ago. Therefore, I'm not aware of some of the current shipping problems (as expressed in comments below).
Taking this into consideration....if you do happen to get you hands on one of these items, it will perform remarkably well!!!! A big improvement in the "punchiness" of the audio signal.
As far as kit building goes....this was the first kit I ever put together....it was very simple......EXCEPT when it came to soldering the flat 8 conductor cable which connects the RJ-45 connection to the PC board (as someone mentioned below). This can prove very frustrating.......extreme patience is required here.
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M5TAW
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 29, 2002 11:28
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Transformed the 817
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I ordered this kit after reading an article on eham.net about it. It arrived within days and I put it together in about 1 hour? Soldering the cable connections to the main PCB was the most difficult part. I am no expert kit builder and I was pleasantly surprised that this worked first time (there is little to do wrong!).
My 817 audio is transformed! I use Heil inserts hc-4 & hc-5 which do not appear to have a very high output. Previously my output on average was about 1 watt, it is now approx 4 watts. Listening on my second receiver, I simply disappear when the processor is turned off. This has got to be the most cost effective addition to the 817, I use my 817 so much more now that I am heard! I receive good audio reports and people are surprised that I am QRP into a dipole. Recommended!!
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WF8X
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Rating: 2/5
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Sep 21, 2002 19:18
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Is it good?
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I will never know if the DYC-817 is any good. Construction of the kit goes good up until installing the 8 wires for the RF45 cable. The stranded wires are very stiff, hard to strip, and very difficult to get into the small holes on the circuit board. I tried three times, re-cutting the cable each time, but by then had damaged the circuit board solder pads. The board, already stuffed with components, was no good. I threw the whole works in the trash and counted the $29 as a bad expenditure. I am not a novice kit builder by any means, but I have no interest in even trying to build another DYC-817.
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