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write your own review of the W2IHY EQ Plus.
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W8ZR
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Rating: 4/5
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Oct 22, 2008 04:19
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Good but needs refinement
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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The EQ Plus does all that the previous reviewers have said. The circuitry works well and is carefully thought out, the performance is great, and -- though I've not needed service -- the seller's reputation sets a high standard for excellence.
So why am I not giving the EQ Plus top billing? Because, in my opinion, it still needs a few refinements, mostly in the "user interface" and "styling" departments. Here are my quibbles (and these really are just quibbles, offered in the spirit of constructive criticism.
First, the styling problem. The front panel layout is fine, but the print for "W2IHY EQ Plus" is too obtrusive, given the modest size of the enclosure. It's a much larger font than used for the writing on any other commercial gear I know of. Aside from the fact that hams don't want another station's call letters so prominently displayed in their shack, the effect gives the EQ Plus an undeserved homebrewed feel that belies the fact that it is really a piece of precision commercial electronics. At least one owner I know has made a cover plate to mask the writing, because he felt it dominated his station inappropriately. Also, I think the bright white lettering (on all the front panel labels) could be toned down a bit in the interests of esthetics. Look at the writing on, say, a Drake C-Line, for comparison. These changes could be easily implemented in the next production run.
Another front panel quibble is that the red Power On LED is too bright -- much brighter than the other LEDs in my station, and a distraction during evening hours. Again, an easy fix.
Third, in my opinion, the rear panel jacks need work. First, a DIN jack is used for the +12V DC power input, and this is really a no-no for equipment design practice. For instruments using wall-wart type power supplies, it has become standard practice to use a 2.5mm DC pwr jack. (See for example, Mouser Electronics p/n 806-KLDX-0202.) Such jacks are cheaper, MUCH easier to wire, and allow the user to use commercial power without modification. Switching to this standard design would also save W2IHY some time and money during assembly.
I really like the 8-pin mic jack on the rear panel, with a selector switch for the common wiring configurations. A nice idea. However, I'd recommend NOT using DIN jacks for the output ports. DIN plugs are flimsy, cheaply made, and very hard to wire reliably. Hams hate them. Furthermore, as presently configured, having three output jacks isn't really very helpful, since the selector switch is on the rear panel, which is inconvenient. Better to have two or three (buffered) outputs in parallel, always hot, so that the switch could be eliminated.
Otherwise the EQ Plus is a fine unit that works flawlessly, and performance-wise I can recommend it without reservation.
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M0MRR
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 30, 2008 10:11
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It works
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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The EQplus by W2IHY has been a wonderful addition to my shack and I use it in combination with the W2IHY 8 band audio equalizer. My personal experience has been that the product is easy to set-up (I made up my own cables) with my Heil PR781 microphone and SDR radio. The downward expander works exceptionally well, and the compression certainly adds some 'punch'. I use a minuscule amount of effects processing to 'lift' the audio. A couple of questions I had were promptly answered by Julius – very good customer service.
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KY5U
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 17, 2008 23:55
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Good Product
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Well, my feelings are hurt now. I thought Julius was just giving ME great service and now I find out he does it for EVERYONE? Now I can't look at my EQplus and not think of him with all those OTHER customers. How could he do this to me? ROFL!!!
Bought an EQplus and a 8 band equalizer at Hamcomm in Plano. Enjoyed the the conversation with Julius where he answered all my questions and we played with the gear. Brought mine home and it took about 30-40 minutes to install and get tweaked just remembering what W2IHY had told me.
The only problem I had was that while we were talking some photog from the Dallas Morning News snapped our picture and ran it in an article the next day on Hamcomm. Needless to say that ruined my exscuse with the XYL that a band of roving hooligans tied me up and MADE me buy more ham gear.
Seriously, great gear at a fair price with good service. You can't complain about that!!
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K2KOQ
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Rating: 5/5
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May 27, 2008 10:58
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The only processor you need
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I have the FT-2000-D MD 200 combo.
The EQ+ really does the job.
The Speech processor in the 2000-D did not
sound good to me at all. Adding the EQ+
gave exactly the audio sound I wanted.
I don’t have to ask “How is my audio?”
People tell me how good it sounds with having to be asked!
Thanks to custom cables,installation was a breeze.
…highly recommend
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K5VY
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Rating: 5/5
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May 26, 2008 05:50
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Great Tx Audio
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This EQ Plus is in combo with my third 8-band EQ and is switched between my Yaesu FT-2000 and my Yaesu FTdx-9000MP. Julius is an audio wizard! The comments on my Tx audio have really been great! I'm using the Heil PR-40 mic for local ragchewing on SSB switched to the Goldline for DX, all working great! I have a lot of bass in my voice, and the combo (8-band & EQ plus)allows me to deliver the kind of punch needed in DX pileups, and armchair copy for SSB ragchew. I set the internal "Parametric EQ's" on the Yaesu's to "OFF" and let the W2IHY boxes do their work. Very satisfiying. Best 73, de K5VY
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W3NRL
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Rating: 5/5
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May 25, 2008 18:59
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Still
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Ive been running the EQ 8 BANER WITH THE eq Plus for many years now and on all my rigs using a switch to run on my ts -570, Icom 756 pro, ten tec Jupiter, ts- 2000, and i still get the Great audio reports. Yes STILL get the great reports and thank to JULIUS !!!
de
w3nrl
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N3QVB
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Rating: 5/5
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May 25, 2008 18:40
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Valuable addition to shack
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I was introduced to this equipment in Dayton last weekend and was so impressed with the demo, I bought the 8 Band Equalizer and the EQ Plus. The setup was easy. Both boxes were on the air in 15 minutes. Immediately I got unsolicited comments about my audio, all positive. My success rate of busting pile-ups has been significantly increased. Julius provided great customer service as promised after the sale, to make sure the settings were tweaked to perfection. This is the perfect combination of great products with "as-promised" follow up. I highly recommend getting both the 8 Band Equalizer and the EQ Plus.
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KC8BHB
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 17, 2008 02:46
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Excellent Equipment
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I purchased the EQ Plus along with the 8 Band Audio Equalizer. I am using it with the Kenwood TS-2000X and the Kenwood MC-90 mic. This combination works better than I ever imagined. I continually get unsolicited comments on the excellent studio quality of my audio on all bands.
The service I recieved from Julius was more than excellent. He shipped my products the same day and I recieved them the next day. He called me personally a few days later to see how I was doing. Then a week later he called back again. I have never experienced this kind of service for anything.
I highly recommend these units to anyone. These are the best additions I have ever made to my ham station. The quality of the products are excellent.
KC8BHB
Don Gephart
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KD6PIT
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 21, 2008 11:01
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great product
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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just want to say, that i own both the eq plus & 8 band eq, & they are very fine!!!!!
great product support,fast shipping.
will tell all who ask !!!!!!!
keep up the great products MR. JULIUS D. JONES !!!
FROM KD6PIT
MICHAEL STASINSKI
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TF2JB
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 5, 2008 02:22
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The EQplus by W2IHY: highly recommended.
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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Returning to amateur radio in early 2007 after two decades of absence, I had a romantic vision (dream) about getting a small transceiver that I could place out of sight on my computer desk and use occasionally. To fulfill this vision, I ordered a Yaesu FT-897D transceiver with an MD-200 desk microphone; the Collins 500Hz and 2300Hz CW and SSB mechanical filters from W4RT; an outboard S-meter/multimeter from LDG; a GSV3000 power supply from Diamond; a CN-801HP SWR/PWR meter from Daiwa; an HC-200AT automatic antenna tuner from Tokyo Hy-Power and last, but not least, the EQplus from W2IHY.
A few days after I had placed the order for the EQplus, I received a call on my cellular phone on a Saturday afternoon. I was pleasantly surprised; it was Julius and his concern was that perhaps I had forgotten to order a cable to connect the EQplus to the 897D. Of course I had and he kindly agreed to add a cable to the order. What excellent customer care!
Well, to make a long story short, I was not happy with the small radio despite the EQplus and all the fine accessories. I thus came to the conclusion that I would not be satisfied with cutting corners, so I sold off the 897D (and most of the accessories) and took a plane down to Germany to visit with one of the large suppliers of ham radio equipment to have a look at radios. During that visit, I purchased a new Icom IC-756PROIII transceiver. In addition to the PROIII, my current setup consists of the HEIL PR 40 dynamic microphone, the W2IHY 8 Band Audio Equalizer and Noise Gate and the W2IHY EQplus.
With this equipment I have achieved my goal of having a “commanding” and clear audio on the air. Prior to attaining this success, I did, admittedly, need to send a few E-mails to Julius and even called him over the phone several times when my frustration was high, with regard to getting the boxes to work like I wanted them to. However, once I managed to push my impatience aside, and started to follow instructions (with a little help from Julius) things started to fall into place. Today I am totally pleased with the W2IHY boxes and they are outstanding with the PR 40 and the PROIII. I get favorable comments in almost every QSO. One British amateur even suggested that I should “glue” the controls on the W2IHY boxes so the settings could not be changed because the audio was the best he had ever heard and it could not possibly be made better...
It is my pleasure to highly recommend the EQplus to all radio amateurs. Do not forget to order the 8 Band Audio Equalizer as well; you will not regret it. Sincere thanks to Julius for his valuable assistance and patience. His customer care is outstanding.
73 de TF2JB.
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