|
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
|
| Reviews Summary for RigExpert USB Transceiver Interface (Plus Version) |
|
Reviews: 9
|
Average rating: 4.6/5
|
MSRP: $305.
|
Description: RigExpert Plus is an electronic device designed to operate phone, CW, and digital modes using personal computer and transceiver. Previously, a TNC or sound card was needed for this purpose, along with lots of cables, occupying computer sound card and serial ports. All of this is not needed anymore. Following up-to-date technology, USB interface is chosen to connect RigExpert Plus to a computer. No additional interface circuit needed for transceiver connection.
RigExpert Plus combines:
Transceiver audio interface for operating digital modes, voice recording and playback – a totally compatible sound card for any ham radio software.
CAT (Computer Aided Transceiver) system, which controls transceiver frequency, mode and other functions by computer, supporting various models of transceivers.
FSK operation to get crystal-clear RTTY signal.
Built-in electronic CW keyer (using the popular WINKEY version 10 chip).
In addition to a year of full warranty we offer our customers a 30-day money back guarantee (100% refund), if you don't like the product.
|
|
More info: http://www.rigexpert.net/main.html
|
|
You can
write your own review of the RigExpert USB Transceiver Interface (Plus Version).
|
VA2WDQ
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Jul 3, 2008 07:39
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Great!
|
Time owned: 6 to 12 months
|
I have my RigExpert Plus in everyday use since august 2007. And it’s functioning great! I have purchased mine from Yuri, VE3DZ. He was prompt, helpful, and patient with all my questions. Gold customer service! He provided custom cables ready-to-work right out of the box for my Yaesu FT-1000 and Icom IC-746. I am interfacing my both rigs to my Windows XP desktop.
It took me only 5 minutes to have my RigExpert Plus installed. That requires only the device to be connected to a PC by USB cable and to put RigExpert software CD to a CD ROM drive. All my HAM Radio applications (N1MM, WriteLog, DXLab suite and Ham Radio Deluxe) are using Rig Expert flawlessly. They can work CW, JT65, PSK, Packet, and FSK RTTY effortlessly - plus have full CAT control for my rigs. RigExpert Plus has absolutely everything inside. It has dedicated high performance sound card with wired and optical In/Out ports (!!), Winkey chip with a port for a CW paddle cable and PTT. I like CW most of all and I can mix software and manual keying easy. The CW keying speed could be adjusted from a software or by the RigExpert Plus front face regulator pot. That really helps during CW contest. Except CW it works very well for me in digital modes: RTTY, PSK and JT65 as well.
I’m really happy with my Rig Expert Plus Interface. Actually I think there are not any analogs to Rig Expert Plus from other competitors. All of them as like Microham and RigBluster still missed some options Rig Expert Plus already has. And RigExpert Plus is the SMALLEST USB Interface. That's very important if you are working /portable.
|
|
VE3OIJ
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Oct 15, 2007 07:13
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Love it!
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
I switched from the Tiny version to this version due to the more limited sound card controls of Vista Ultimate, compared to XP Pro. Vista still has issues with FSK and this device, but I admit that there could be specific issues in my OS setup.
IN any case, it works and it works well. It's easy enough to use on digital modes and CW.
I'd recommend it to anyone looking to get into digital modes.
|
|
K4ELO
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Sep 18, 2007 08:05
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Great product
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
|
I have limited experience with this product, Since just trying it out for the first time this week. My reason for buying it was that most of the psk s/w I tried with my Argonaut V didn't allow for good tx audio control from an IBM notebook. So off to a dx holiday in VP5 land, I packed up the Rigexpert and the Mixw cd with the cable supplied by Yuri. Perfect, is all I can say. Plug and play, no problems. I happily paid the registration for Mixw. Now I can see why so many of the psk folks use this s/w. It is by far the best I have tried. What I really like about the Rigexpert is the simple control it gives you. It just works. Nice job folks!
|
|
NV7E
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Apr 13, 2007 05:05
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
The only one that worked for me
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
I have followed a long road to finding a computer interface to get on the air on PSK31 and RTTY, one that will handle standard software like Digipan and MMTTY with the Ten-Tec Orion. I got some of the simple ones for under $100 each. None of them really worked right for me.
Finally, I ordered the RigExpert Plus. The cost then was a whopping $445. (Now it is $355.) The former RigExpert dealer in the U.S. would not send me the required cable for the Orion. He even stopped responding to my requests for it. He was apparently too busy working on new sales. I was really angry about this very poor product support. The former dealer is now marketing a close copy of the RigExpert which even uses the same cables as the RigExpert. I would steer clear of that one. Why get a knock-off when you can get the real thing for less?
I tried to fabricate the RigExpert cable for the Orion myself, but I failed. This is probably something I could learn to do with practice, but doing it just once is hard. Without the proper cable the RigExpert was unusable, so I put it up on the shelf for a year and tried to forget about it.
Fortunately, RigExpert now has a great new dealer in North America, Yuri VE3DZ. He supplies the required RigExpert cables for all rigs including the Orion. I now have the RigExpert Plus working with the Orion and also tried it out successfully with the Kenwood TS-2000X. I use it with RigExpert’s related software product, MixW. It is a great combination. RigExpert also works fine with other popular freeware programs.
Two things make RigExpert better than many other USB interfaces. One is that it has a true installation program that automatically sets up dedicated virtual COM ports for CAT, PTT, FSK and CW. The cheaper interfaces just rely on Windows drivers. The major programs all require virtual COM ports to be set up. It is up to you to figure out how to do that. You’re pretty much on your own. Good luck. If you install MixW, the installation software automatically picks up the COM ports already generated by the RigExpert. You’re on the air in minutes. You also have the virtual COM ports ready use with for the other popular freeware programs.
The second reason I like RigExpert is that it uses the radio’s accessory plug to access its Computer Aided Transceiver (CAT) features. Using this capability already included in most recent transceivers makes RigExpert interfaces more powerful and flexible products. The cheapies don’t use CAT.
The RigExpert Plus is a small and solidly built quality product. I haven’t actually tried it, but in a pinch you could probably use it as a hammer. I would not hesitate to travel anywhere in Africa with it.
I like the RigExpert Plus so much that I ordered another one. I thought about getting the new RigExpert Standard version, which is $100 less expensive. The Standard basically looks like the same thing without the WinKey feature and the optical in/outputs. Unlike the RigExpert Plus, the Standard does have a serial port in the back which you can use in case your computer doesn’t have one. To me, this is a bit of retro-engineering. Serial ports are a legacy of 1980 computers. They are getting hard to find. They are well on the way from obsolescence to being completely obsolete. My two-year-old Hewlett-Packard desktop didn’t come with one. I had to order an older used Dell laptop to get a serial port. I am trying to rid my shack of serial devices once and for all.
On the other hand, the RigExpert Plus version is a little ahead of its time and should fit in well with rigs that most of us will be using within a few years. It is well worth the extra $100. The WinKey unit installed in the RigExpert Plus alone will cost you $100 if you order it assembled from K1EL (meaning the WKUSB).
In summary, the RigExpert Plus is a unit which I recommend to people I like. It works for me.
ZS6SIG
|
|
WB8NUT
|
Rating: 3/5
|
Mar 8, 2006 04:21
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Virtual PC still needs Windows OS
|
Time owned: 3 to 6 months
|
|
Virtual PC is a Microsoft product that allows you to load another PC operating system on to a Mac computer. List for Virtual PC is $129 and Windows XP operating sytem (yup, you need to have this also) list for around $189. So with the price of this product, $449 this is an awfully expensive solution. Better to run multiple sound cards (and cheaper too) on a small cheap Windows computer. The RigExpert units are priced too high - at $449, it's almost the price of a low priced HF rig. May get rid of a few cables, but is $449 worth getting rid of a few cables? I don't think so.
|
|
W3GWW
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Mar 7, 2006 17:57
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Things they do tell you but you missed.
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
|
The RigExpert Plus does work with any Software... but NOT any Operating System. All flyers and website specifications that I have ever seen state this clearly as, "Windows 98/ME/2000/XP and Linux compatible" (as copied off of the www.rigexpert.com website). That being said, I know of at least 3 hams that are using the RigExpert Plus with their Mac computers with something called (I believe) Virtual PC.
|
|
W3LK
|
Rating: 3/5
|
Mar 4, 2006 15:47
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Things they don't tell you
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
I spent some time looking and playing with a demo of this unit at a hamfest last month, and even though I think it is way overpriced, I was just about ready to plunk down the money - especially when I was told it works with ANY software. Even their web site proclaims this. Well, that's not exactly true.
It will work with any WINDOWS software. It doesn't work under the Mac OS and they have no plans to write MAC drivers for it. That ended my interest.
I would love to give it a 0 rating, but it's probably a decent, if overpriced, piece of Windows hardware.
|
|
W5SV
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Mar 3, 2006 21:15
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Excellent product
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
|
I was getting tired of all the stray wires, and converters (USB to serial port) needed, and sub-optimal sound cards for the sound card digital modes; I wanted to use FSK for RTTY, and I wanted it easy to set up. When the box arrived, It took less than 10 minutes to get it fully operational and configured, both for DX-Lab and WinWarbler, and for MixW; and it works very well. By far the easiest to use rig interface I have used,
|
|
K4PRO
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Jun 13, 2005 09:12
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Excellent piece of engineering
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
|
I am excited about being able to write the first review for this product. I have never been more proud to own such of an exceptional piece of Ham Radio hardware. In the past I have owned many rig interfaces including the Rig Blaster by West Mountain, and even made a few myself, and without a doubt the MixW RigExpert Plus is one of the finest you can buy. This thing is loaded with features. It has a built in USB Hub, Four (4) Serial ports, it has one for CAT, one for PTT/CW one for the WinKey, and one for FSK, a built in sound card, and if that isn't enough it even has the K1EL WinKey v.10 built into it. Did I mention it has Optical In/Out ports for some of the new rigs like the ICOM IC-7800, or how about the extra USB port on the back of the unit. I couldn't have ever imagined being able to plug all of my stuff into my computer with one single cable. If you ever have an issue that you can't resolve just give Glenn Wetherell, W3GWW at Rig Technologies a call he is very helpful and returns calls and emails promptly. If you are looking for an all in one interface this is it, look no further.
|
|
If you have any questions, problems, or suggestions about Reviews,
please email your Reviews Manager.
|
|
|
|
|
