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write your own review of the Elecraft XV144.
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N5GE
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 4, 2010 10:17
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My first XVTR.. Love it!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've been using the XV144 for more than two years.
The XV144 was the first Elecraft kit I had built, so I was apprehensive about how I would do. There was no need to feel challenged. The build was easy and when I had questions, Elecraft support was there to get me going.
I would recommend the XV144 to anyone who needs a 2m XVTR.
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K9WJL
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 11, 2009 15:04
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Don't be scared
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I bought the Kit from a guy on Ebay. I subsequently bought the N-gen noise generator kit to build as a warm up, and the crystal oven for the unit.
This was my fourth kit build, and for this build I bought an ESD mat and a really good soldering iron.
The instructions are EXTREMLY well written. The instructions are easy to follow, and the print is big, allowing the manual to be out of the way during assembly. The ring binding allows it to fold back flat, Exceptionally well thought out in my opinion.
I learned alot while building, mostly about the different parts in the unit, some of which I didn't know existed.
The build took me about 22 hours, taking my time, having a beer here and there and listening to the rigs in the shack. Sometimes I'd break away and try to work some station I heard. I was trying to be patient and take my time....
I was so suprised when it WORKED! All the care had paid off, and the only mistake I made was during alignment, when I had adjusted R13 too low. An Email to Elecraft with the symptoms resulted in being led down the right path.
On the air so far has been good, and it easily drives my TE Systems 1452g to max output.
I may build the 222 kit someday and or the 440 kit.
I wsnt to build more kits from Elecraft. it's that good.
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W2EH
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 6, 2008 14:10
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Great design, easy to build.
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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This kit has a very high quality pc board with excellent etching, solder mask, parts locations and plated through holes. I took my time building it and used a good solder station with Sn 63 / 37 solder. The alignment was very straight foward. My Icom 756 Pro2 transverter port easily drives the XV144 to full output with -21 dBM at 28 mhz. I will follow this one with an XV432 soon!,
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N1DZ
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 5, 2008 18:49
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Great transverter
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Easy to built. Like a Heathkit! Excellent performance. I have used many transverters over >25 years of VHF and UHF DXing.
Using this transverter now for >2 years. Interfaced it to my SDR-1000 with a homebrew amplifier to bring the power up to 50 watts to drive my 1.5KW PA.
Only negative is it will run warm in continuous duty modes at full power. It is not a transverter I would use for FMing. Why would anyone use a transverter for FM anyway. SSB, WSJT and CW is fine.
Currently the best transverter on the market from a price/performance standpoint.
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W6PSA
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 5, 2008 17:48
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Great!!!!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I love this transverter! I use the VX144 with my Yaesu FT-2000 and it out performs the FT-897D. I know that makes sense to most people, but I confirm that it is truely worth the time and money.
This was my first kit, 15hr later, and it was done.
If you don't own a good "Soldier Station" and quality soldier, then add up the start-up cost first.
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M0FGH
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Rating: 5/5
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May 22, 2008 05:36
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superb performance
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Easy build with very detailed construction and alignment details making the kit just right for a novice constructor like me. Really liked the way Elecraft have taken the trouble to pre-mount the few surface mount devices used. One minor construction query was answered same day by the Elecraft support team. Transverter has worked perfectly right from the initial power-up. Used with my Icom 756 pro 3 I find its performance superb. Background noise is very low and SSB signals that do not move the meter are easy to work even when right next to a strong station. I also own a microwave modules 2 metre transverter and an Icom 910 and after extensive direct comparisons using the same antenna system the Elecraft XV144 is the weapon of choice every time. The only improvement I would like is a 100 watt version.
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WA2ODO
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 14, 2008 05:56
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Beyond Excellent!!!!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Smooth and painless build. Instructions and pictures better than any kits I have seen in my 50 years of building. Worked Flawlessly from the start and has continued to be the best transverter I have used to date. No Drifting, super low noise floor, and flawless running. I use this for EME and MS with WSJT....and won't give it up for the world.
Also one of the nicest companies I have ever delt with...helpful and courtious, with an attitude that every ham is a very very important customer.
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W9DZ
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Rating: 4/5
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Jun 14, 2007 10:13
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Works well
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I bought my XV144 used after placing a WTB ad on one of the trader web sites. The original builder had configured it for separate receive and transmit antennas. In doing so one of the relays doesn't get installed and the unit could not be configured for single antenna operation until I could get a replacement. I ordered the relay from Elecraft on a Friday and it arrived the following Monday. I installed the relay and configured the jumpers for use with my IC-756 ProII. I was able to check operation during the ARRL VHF contest that weekend. Performance was very good and I didn't notice any case heating while operating CW or SSB. I have other radios if I want to operate FM.
The one item that keeps me from giving the XV144 a 5 rating is the inability to net the local osc crystal. I have to set the ProII to 28.199 when listening to the 144.200 calling freq. I believe the XV432 and XV50 can be set on freq with a trimmer while the XV144 and XV222 cannot. I know that some radios like the K2 have the ability to program in a display offset. Rig control programs like HRD can also handle an offset. I do have the optional crystal oven and stability after warm-up is very good.
I really like the low profile case with the relative output LED display. I would reccomend the XV144 to anyone wishing to add 2M coverage to their existing HF radio.
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VR2AX
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 8, 2007 05:11
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Excellent Despite Not Being Perfect
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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A great piece of very high performance electronic gear for 144. Built easily after building a K2. If you own a HF/6 radio and want to try building a reasonably (but not excessively) challenging kit for the first time, and end up with a top end multimode 144 metre station, this is a doable project for theaverage ham if care is taken, and ESD precautions too. A much more relaxing and shorter build than my K2. Recommend you buy the optional crystal oven and the tilt bail stand, which are offered by Elecraft at reasonable prices. It does run slightly warm with extended TX, but a couple of small external computer fans on the bench under the raised bail, blowing air upwards into the two vents in the lower case, and out of the top, will give you all the airflow you will need to keep this baby cool.
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VR2XMC
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Rating: 4/5
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Aug 9, 2006 01:36
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Very nice product but need some refinement
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I have been struggling for a long time in deciding whether I should give a 4 or a 5 to this XV144. In terms of customer support from Elecraft and product design, XV144 deserves a solid 5. It is performance in RX definitely outperform any V/U all mode station rigs.
However, there is one thing which I am not too happy - heat issue during FM operation. Similar to the comments given by other reviewers in XV222 and XV50, the XV144 becomes very hot during casual FM operation. There is no distinct caveat in the owner or construction manual reminding this to the operator. I only discovered this when I used it for some FM QSOs. The heat dissipation through the metal case is simply not adequate for full duty cycle operation (even a 20 minutes 2 way FM QSO)
I fully apprecipate that the XV144 is designed for SSb weak signal work and it performs very well indeed in this respect.
Honestly speaking, XV144 is not cheap when compared with other V/U all mode station rig. If it were solely used for SSB work, it would be really a waste for such a high quality product.
I believe adding a small computer fan to XV144 will solve the heat issue and will not cost too much to Elecraft. With such a small addition, the XV144 will definitely become an excellent all round product.
Do I regret in buying XV144? No, definitely not, I like its exceptional performance. Through the construction process and communications with Elecraft, I learnt a lot in Electronic thoeries - I am not a radio man by profession.
73 Johnny Siu VR2XMC
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