|
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 Blue Cool Radio.
|
W8ZNX
|
Rating: 0/5
|
Apr 11, 2009 12:37
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
the HORROR , the HORROR
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
AWFUL
NO WORSE THAN AWFUL
case is a cheap joke
cool blue
its not cool
and its not blue
try to figure out a german parts list
many parts are not marked very well
even with a magnifying lamp
its a process of elimation figuring out
what part is what
guess
manual not too bad
was able to figure it out
payed extra for the 80 band kit
just try fiting it in
sorta kinda works
lots of receive birdies
man
when i think
how much money wasted on this PILE
could have built a Elecraft K-1 or OHR 500
|
|
LX1LH
|
Rating: 1/5
|
Jul 22, 2008 09:46
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Dissapointing for a portable unit
|
Time owned: 6 to 12 months
|
I have builded three of these radios (all as builder for hire) the last one was never picked up so I kept it (with refund of course).
The kit is easy to build if you are capable of the German language, because the German documentation is far better than the English one. Despite the promise of no need of measuring equipment except a volt- and wattmeter ... you will run better with a complete line of hf measuring equipment and lots of spare parts - since the kits never arrive complete.
What you get is a pretty good receiver but a lousy portable unit. Case quality is poor, casing is tight tight tight and my unit has proven that it cannot take rough treatment like taken outside the shack - compared to a K1 or my ancient Yaesus (Yes I do fieldday with a FT-75 from 1972 ...) which just work. It failed finally after one year of usage this spring after several repairs and I slaughtered it for parts. And guess what ... the other two were frequent guests on my bench too until Elecraft solved the misery of their owners.
Just my two cents.
|
|
K4WY
|
Rating: 0/5
|
Apr 26, 2007 12:24
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Buchsenleiste
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
got a bag? got some parts? you've got the BCR package. Only girly-mans would want more!
I am avid qrp kit builder since Heathkit HW-8 days and although I give anyone the benefit of the doubt for trying I think it would be in Peter's best interest to do a scrub of his operation. These days with solid state IC components and other complexities, a well edited assembly manual is an absolute necessity. I gave up on assembly of this kit, sorry I just dont have the patience. The good news is I found some spare parts I salvaged from an earlier hangar queen project my workbench that helped my sanity.
|
|
LA2MOA
|
Rating: 1/5
|
Apr 26, 2007 10:34
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
They really have to learn from Elecraft!
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
Well, read W9LM's review below! I think Emil wraps it up pretty good. I have exactly the same experiences regarding this kit. The biggest problem is that the manual doesn't at all correspond with reality. My BCR is dead as a fish, probably cause I've put wrong caps in some places. Stupid me, or? Well, I'm quite experienced. I've built 2 K1:s, 2 K2:s, 1 KX1, a bunch of accessories for the Elecraft rigs and a number of Heathkit and Ten-Tec kits. I know what I'm doing! But when the values of small caps doesn't correspond with the values to be found on the actual cap (in some cases the printing is so small and/or poor that it can't be read even with a BIG magnifier), then you're in a big mess.
I'm not going to tell about all missing parts, Emil has already told what needs to be told about that. However, I must tell about the manual, which really speaks for itself! First, in some cases the pictures and the text is completely diverging! The picture shows one thing, and the text says the complete opposite! Pretty spooky, right?? Second, if I was about to export a product to a mainly english-speaking audience, I've would have done all that I can to have the manual and instructions written in proper english. How about hiring a german/english translator with engineering skills? Since I'm pretty good in reading german, I downloaded the german manual, to use as reference, but I'm pretty sure that not everyone can do the same.
I could go on and on forever... I'm pretty sure that the BCR will become a very fine rig, once I'll get it working properly. First, I need to desolder a number of parts and buy new ones from ELFA in Sweden. I will continue the project after the summer.
The guys at QRP-project has A LOT to learn from Elecraft. Would I buy from them again? Well, in fact, I've ordered a "Miss Mosquita" today, to fill my needs of a small monobander to use during my backpacking trips in the Norwegian mountains this summer. Maybe I'm jeopardizing good money here, but EUR100 is not that much...
Finally, I'm pretty sure that the guys at QRP-project will improve everything regarding the BCR, and generally regarding running a business. I have never in my life experienced any sloppy german craftmanship, so this was a big surprise! Yes, I'm driving a BMW so I know what I'm expecting from DL-land! I sincerely hope that I can write a much more positive review of the Moquita, and even of the BCR - when time comes.
|
|
W9NM
|
Rating: 0/5
|
Mar 20, 2007 10:24
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Not what I expected!
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
Ah yes… one last project before the onset of summer weather and its attendant shift in demands of discretionary personal time. One more run at the soldering iron!
The website is impressive, the pictures are impressive, the circuitry is neat, the price is premium. The website ordering status showed everything in stock, ready to ship… of course, after the order was placed things weren’t quite ready. It finally arrived… and unfortunately, the kit wasn’t lost during shipping… because, receiving a refund would have been preferable to receiving the BCR Kit.
The included ‘case’ bears little resemblance to that shown on the website. As a matter of fact, if someone were to see it sitting on your bench, you would be inclined to deny ownership… or even any knowledge of how it found its way into your shack. After an email questioning the pathetic case, my answer was, “Oh, yes, we know there is a problem with the cases, you can make your own and we will refund $20, and we’ve fired the case maker.” Why was it shipped in that condition? (Haven't seen the reund.)
I assume that this little rig received its name from the display. The website pictures show a striking blue-background LCD. Well, the display in the kit is the normal yellow-green LCD display, so I guess I received the “Yellow-Green Cool Radio”, not the ‘Blue Cool Radio’. The website has not been updated to reflect the LCD change, or the case change, or the case configuration.
So, we start assembly… no master parts list included in the docs. (Or, maybe it was MIA?) Gee, I can’t find this cap… that resistor… a couple of these are missing… oh, those two resistors are missing… some more caps missing. Well, being an impatient type, work one evening… scrounge and/or buy missing parts the next day or so... to keep the flow going. After each set of missing parts I thought to myself, “Well, this has to be the last missing #$*, there just can’t be anymore!” WRONG!
Looking back on the project, I guess I could have gone through the complete assembly process, leaving out the missing parts, and emailing one LONG list. But that would eliminate the feature of being able to check stage-by-stage operation during assembly. It is a dense board, and having to find a mistake on a completed board, with no previous checks, would not be a very appealing proposition. (Yes, I did make one mistake… a resistor value… Lesson: Usually, around midnight is a good time to stop kit building.)
I could have stopped and emailed after each missing part… I would most likely have completed in time to use the BCR on Christmas Day. Or, I could have read, page by page, through the assembly manual and made my own inventory list… emailed and waited for delivery. I guess I was spoiled by previous kits I have built in the last couple of years: K1, K2, and all frequency flavors of DSW-II kits. Yes, yes… I have my excuses… just like the folks at BCR!
Given the price of the BCR (and I’m embarrassed to say what I paid for the kit + 80m option) I never expected the lack of attention to detail and production quality. Oh, I did email about all the missing parts, and my response, “Oh, yes, we know there is a problem, we fired the man packaging the kits.”
The construction manual has more discrepancy problems than it should. The same part is identified in several different ways… on the same page… or not identified at all… but some of that is to be expected, I guess. If you look at actual component identification markings, there is often no correlation to the markings stated in the manual. I used my digital LC Bridge and DVM to verify all R, C, and L components… just can’t trust my 62 year old eyes quite as much these days.
In spite of my problems, I must admit that the folks selling the BCR are really on top of their game… because whenever I emailed them that I had problems, they always knew of them before hand, and had fired the people responsible. Of course, that begs the question, “If you knew, why didn’t you tell me up front… or, why did you ship it in that condition?” But, those questions are best answered by thinkers more philosophical than I.
I’m just a plain old Ham that expects a big-buck kit include… oh, well… maybe 95% to 98% of the parts. If something is pink in picture, it should be pink in kit… if something is blue in the picture, it should be blue in the kit… if the picture has knobs, they should be in the kit… if it says ‘complete kit’, put all the parts in the box! I guess we simple minded folks are easily frustrated.
I could go on and get picky… like, why didn’t the fellow doing the PC board layout know the proper geometry for ground-plane and power-plane pads? It's not just a thru-hole in a copper mass! Why, in heaven’s name, does a construction manual include a derogatory remark about American Hams?
However, those items pale in comparison to the overall condition/quality of the BCR kit. It’s really a mystery to me why someone would have such little pride in their work/product? Or, maybe they just lost interest? If I had sold such shoddy workmanship to ANYONE, my first inclination would be to get on plane… go find the individual… replace the product and/or tender a refund, give him recompense for his trouble/inconvenience, and beg forgiveness. But that’s me…
I’m sure that there are dozens of Hams that will swear to having received perfectly good BCR kits… I wish I had, because the design of this rig is interesting, innovative in some respects, and just plain neat. After looking over the schematics, I couldn’t wait to get it on the bench…and this summer, on bike trips. To bad. Now, I just feel like a sucker in con-job (I recognize that feeling… it’s not the first time).
At this point in time, I have lost interest… with the last missing parts incident and last email that: Yes I know there is a problem - someone was fired… my interest in this kit has come to an end, at least for now. It is complete, save for the TX stages… receive works… at least the 3 bands I checked before closing last night… (I quit at midnight!)… however, no case, no knobs, no parts… no me.
Next winter… Yes, yes, I’ll get back to it, I know I will. When you see it on eBay, bid with confidence… really! I will have it completed, run through the spectrum analyzer and relevant rx and tx tests… functioning well… an excellent specimen of the BCR… errr… Y-GCR. I do have value to my reputation and self-respect.
Emil
W9NM
|
|
DL9OBU
|
Rating: 5/5
|
May 19, 2006 05:32
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
My best qrp rig
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
My best qrp rig! And the best kit! Easy to build
wonderfull RX
|
|
If you have any questions, problems, or suggestions about Reviews,
please email your Reviews Manager.
|
|
|
|
|
