|
New to Ham Radio?
My Profile
Community
Articles
Forums
News
Reviews
Friends Remembered
Speak Out
Strays
Survey Question
Operating
Contesting
DX Cluster Spots
Propagation
Resources
Calendar
Classifieds
Ham Exams
Ham Links
List Archives
News Articles
Product Reviews
QSL Managers
Site Info
eHam Help (FAQ)
Support the site
The eHam Team
Advertising Info
Vision Statement
About eHam.net
|
You can
write your own review of the Ameritron RCS-10.
|
W0JG
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Feb 24, 2008 13:55
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Great Switch
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
|
Got my RCS-10 used off E-bay and have four different antennas on it. I run an 80B to 1000 watts and never had any problems with the switch. I use a tuner for the 80 meter Vee and load it on all bands via the switch. Works great and no problems. The switch is grounded. I don't have any isolation problems, I don't rotate the switch very fast,I never rotate the switch while RF is passing throught it. I've never been hit by lightening or had a near miss, but then all bets would be off while using any antenna attached gear.
|
|
MI0LLL
|
Rating: 2/5
|
Feb 24, 2008 11:30
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Poor
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
Have blew up two of the relays twice, they are meant to be rated at 5k looking at no SWR, have replaced it with a microham 10x2 switch, a lot more money but a better product.
Chris
www.MI0LLL.com
|
|
K1KO
|
Rating: 1/5
|
Aug 15, 2007 04:46
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Poor Reliability/Quality
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
I have owned three RCS-10 coax switches. Currently, none of the three works.
Others have referred to poor isolation of antenna ports -- I agree. One person indicated that nearby lightning has caused trouble -- I agree. I would add that the control unit is very light, which makes it difficult to keep it on the shelf, although that could be remedied by the owner if he/she decided to do so.
Two of the three control units I have required a changing of fuses if the selector switch was moved quickly, as you might reasonably expect to do during a contest or a DXpedition. I put the same rating fuse, but made it a "slow-blow" and that seemed to overcome the problem. Incidentally, I'm not talking about grabbing the switch and turning it as fast as it could be turned; in fact, I found that if there is not a 2-3 second delay between switch positions, the fuse would blow (before the "slow-blow" fuse was installed).
I have also had problems with all three of the actual switch boxes. Part of that may result from my proximity (2.5 miles) from the ocean and the attendant salt air. I have tried using both the "BCD" control and regular 8-wire positions on both the control and the switch. Same result -- very short life -- measured in a few weeks. I bought two to replace older RCS-8V switches which were damaged in a hurricane. I bought the third thinking that I had done something wrong with the switches. When I contacted Ameritron about the problems, they quickly said, "Send 'em back," which I did. They came back very shortly, with a note from the technician that "there is nothing wrong with the switch." I'm not a hot-shot technician, but I can tell when a piece of gear is working or not.
Bottom line: DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY!!!!!! I will NOT EVER buy another switch from Ameritron. If anyone would like to buy the remnants of these to salvage a few parts, just let me know -- I'll make you a good deal.
The only other piece of Ameritron equipment I own is the MFJ-259 antenna analyzer, which seems to work quite well, but I'll spend the money to get either COMTEK or another quality coax switch. If I can't find one that works, I'll go back to the coax runs. I could have bought two 500 foot rolls of RG-8 cable with the money I wasted on the Ameritron switches.
|
|
W1JCM
|
Rating: 2/5
|
Jun 24, 2007 04:25
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Not impressed
|
Time owned: 3 to 6 months
|
Positive side.
Easy to install
Eliminates a lot of long runs of coax
Fast switching from on antenna to another
Negative side.
Poor separation of antennas, even on unused connections I get good reception. This cause a lot of extra noise compared to when I attach the antenna directly bypassing the unit. MFJ/ Ameritron states this is normal and no repairs are needed.
Jim / W1JCM
|
|
W3HKK
|
Rating: 3/5
|
Jul 3, 2006 19:53
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Too many lightning induced failures.
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
This is my second unit and both died due to relay failure caused by lightning induced surges. Nothing hit especially close but after several storms is when I discovered that most of the antennas werent switching anymore. (assumed fried relay contacts.) Northern Ohio isnt an especially active area for lightening.
My first RCS unit lasted about 4 years and this one lasted just 2 years, so Im disappointed at the cost of ownership ( around $75/year.)
This product really serves a need but I wish there were a couple of competitors who use a higher quality antenna selector switch to choose from. My switches have both felt loose and chintzy.
The product works as designed but at a cost of $75/yr which seems excessive.
|
|
NM6E
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Aug 15, 2004 14:33
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Excellent !
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
It's almost been two years since I bought it. I have NOT encountered any problems after rain storms, sun exposure and more importantly, using the Alpha 87-A with 1.5Kw for multiple contests etc.
It works as designed and has no quality issues after almost 2 years of service.....
I am very happy with it and would recommend it.
|
|
NM6E
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Oct 9, 2002 23:14
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Great for the price!
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
I bought my RCS-10 a few weeks ago and all seems to be working well with it. The "extra" dollars may well be worth it compared to the RCS-8. The BCD feature looks to be a "neat" aspect that will allow for radio/PC integration. The construction and soldering all "good work. No issues. My position one automatically is set to grnd.
The 8 position switch has simplified my coax runs. I would have gone for the Array Solutions RatPak but at $300, I will wait to splurge when this one dies or malfunctions.
I am feeding it with LMR-400 from the shack and using "spare" rotor cable (only using 4 of the 8 conductors).
The antenna switch selects my 5 antennas with room to spare:
1. Grounded
2. M2-KT-36XA
3. 30m Inverted Vee
4. M2-40M1-LA (40M/17m rotatable 50ft dipole)
5. 80m-SSB Inverted Vee
6. 75m-CW Inverted Vee
7. no connection
8. no connection
The switch hasn't shown any problems running this configuration with my Alpha 87A @ 1500 watts.. (my neighbors have)
|
|
K1NU
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Oct 2, 2002 10:40
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Great unit
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
I was all set to buy the RCS-8V (5 position) for remote switching the antennas on my tower, when I discovered that Ameritron had come out with this new 8-position one - I ordered it the next day!
So far, I'm impressed. The relays are solid, with no noticable insertion loss or SWR increase. The remote box is well made and SMALL, smaller than a shoe box, and it bolts easily to the tower with a good-sized clamp and two wing nuts. It only needs a 4-conductor control cable, as it is wired in BCD format. The control head (shack end) has nice sized LEDs and space to label each input. Also has the option to leave the 'power-off' position grounded. At this price you can't beat it.
|
|
If you have any questions, problems, or suggestions about Reviews,
please email your Reviews Manager.
|
|
|
