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| Reviews Summary for RigExpert Tiny |
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Reviews: 9
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Average rating: 4.4/5
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MSRP: $115.
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Description: Developed by the MixW team, the RigExpert Tiny is a revolutionary new sound card to transceiver interface. Combining complete functionality, simplicity of use, excellent design and low price, the RigExpert Tiny is perfect for all digital modes and CW/Phone. Models built for different transceivers like the Yaesu, Icom, Kenwood and Ten-Tec are now available.
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.
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More info: http://www.rigexpert.net/main.html
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You can
write your own review of the RigExpert Tiny.
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VK1KLW
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 17, 2007 23:47
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A simple well built interface
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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RigExpert Tiny is a simple Soundcard-to-Radio interface. CAT support is provided by inbuilt USB-to-serial converters.
I prefer this sort of interface as just about every PC has an inbuilt soundcard these days. Serial ports on laptops are also getting rarer. There are no knobs to twiddle (or bump) on the RigExpert Tiny, so it is OK for it just to dangle behind the radio and PC just like any other cable.
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VE3OIJ
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 15, 2007 07:10
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Excellent little device
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I use this for portable work now. Works well. However, if you use it with Vista Ultimate, you don't have the computer controls over the sound card that you would with, say XP Pro. That makes it a bit harder to use with Vista.
Used it daily for over a year, replaced it with the RigExpert Plus for home use and put this one in my portable station box.
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VE3ZPD
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 25, 2007 13:15
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Fast and Easy
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Got my Tiny working the same day I received it with no problems. I guess it comes now with newer installation CD, at least the prosedure of 2 VCP drivers installation was a matter of few mouse clicks. Had my FT1000MP Mark V running with Tiny in no time. Fair product for its price.
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WD5EAE
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 24, 2007 22:51
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Economical Rig Interface
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Like others I had to manually install the drivers. No big deal. I pointed the Windows hardware wizard to the c:\program files\mixw[whatever]\drivers directory and drivers installed no problem. Audio instantly appeared in waterfall for MixW. Transmit did not work on first attempt (no power out) so I displayed input and output volume controls, unmuted one of them that was muted by default, then lowered the input level so that the ALC level was correct for my rig, and it worked great. -Very- easy to use. I am using my RigExpert Tiny in a mobile installation with a laptop. If you have just a little computer competency and are willing to manually fiddle with the settings (what doesn't require that these days?), getting this to work should be no problem. I'd recommend the product and buy another one for sure if I had a need. Yuri has been quick to respond via email as well.
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VE3XEJ
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Rating: 4/5
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Sep 22, 2006 08:31
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Hints for FT-897
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I connected it up yesterday and it worked great once I got through manually installing the drivers. The instructions are correct and work, and I would have rated the product a 5 if it came with a proper installer to pre-install the USB driver instead of having to go in and manually install them.
One critical note for Yaesu FT-897 owners:
By default, when sending CW, MixW triggers the PTT line into the data jack and keys the CW into the CW jack.
The FT-897 does NOT like this and sends a constant carrier rather than CW.
To send CW, disable PTT in the CW mode-specific settings, and configure your 897 to use break in. MixW will then just key via the CW jack and your 897 will automatically switch to transmit.
RTTY was great -- had it working in a few minutes.
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VE1DHD
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 20, 2006 08:55
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Excellent value
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I have a Kenwood TS-850s and was using the Kenwood IF-232c interface through the one serial port on my laptop to control the radio. Last winter I purchased a RigBlaster Plus but found that it could not be controlled using the USB to serial converter that I purchased at the time. I therefore had to make a decision – rig control or use the RigBlaster for voice keying and digital mode operation. With reluctance I opted for the latter, but have greatly missed the ability to control my rig from the computer, especially when contesting.
Then this month I noticed a review of the RigExpert product line in The Canadian Amateur radio magazine and my interest was perked. I emailed Yuri (VE3DZ) in Toronto and quickly determined that for me, the “RigExpert Tiny” was the most economical way to solve my problem and get my rig back under computer control. The Tiny – in size only – basically replaces my old Kenwood IF-232c interface and the RigBlaster by providing rig control through my radio’s serial port, as well as PTT control and computer sound card interfacing to allow for voice keying and digital mode operation. It does all of this through the USB port on my laptop leaving the laptop serial port free for other use. I could not be happier. Was the installation without problems? Basically yes. There was one small hitch that related more to my lack of understanding of computer drivers, along with the rather incomplete instructions that came with my hardware, but Yuri responded to my email within a few hours and set me in the right direction. From that point on it was smooth sailing and the RigExpert Tiny works very well. As I say, I could not be happier both with the product and with the support received from Yuri. I would recommend this product to anyone who might ask.
Howard – VE1DHD
Seabright, Nova Scotia
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VE3OSY
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 7, 2005 14:49
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Great Unit, Documentation Fair
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I purchased this unit to see what all the talk of the new Digital modes was all about.
I am using a IC-703 and dipole at 40 Ft. Using 5 watts I been working South Africa, Europe, North & South American Stations with ease on PSK.
Unit installation of the RigExpert Tiny was simple as plugging in the cables which were all clearly identified.
One USB and a Line Out and Mic Input to the PC.
At the Icom Rig the connections were made for Keyer input, CI-V input, and Accessory connector.
The Tiny is priced about one half of the Standard unit, and requires the computers Sound Card to operate. The Standard unit has all the sound interfaces built in and only requires a USB connection to the PC.
The unit came with a time limited Demo MixW Software and Digipan.
The MixW software is clearly the best suited for use with the RigExpert unit, but I had to goto the MixW web site, and the Yahoo MixW Forums to help get the configuration settings finalized.
Once done the rest was fairly straight forward.
I would suggest you do some research on the setup of the Software and join the Yahoo Message Forums for the MixW software, There is alot of expertice already out there and can make the setup alot easier for you.
If there is one downside to the Tiny is more to do with the changing of the Sound Card setup, As I have to switch from a USB Headset which I usually use to the Built in Sound Card to drive the RigExpert. Audio from the Digital Modes is heard through the PC Sound System.
I would definitley recommend this unit if your looking to save some money from the Standard Unit, I am considering upgrading to the full unit to simplify the Sound Card settings, but for the price it is a great unit.
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N7NRA
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 3, 2005 22:20
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RigExpert Tiny works well, MixW software setup poorly docmented
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I recently purchased the RigExpert Tiny interface along with the MixW V2.15 software from W3GWW in Maryland. Unit was shipped USPS Priority (2-3 day, my preferred method. I expected UPS.) and it arrived in 2 days. Excellent service.
I also bought the ProLog2K logging software from its vendor. It is supposed to interface with the MixW digital mode software and give me some control over my rig from the computer and is also supposed to extract the frequency and mode form the radio for automatic input into the log.
I had bought a computer at a hamfest about a year and a half ago for the ham shack I'm building. It's not the latest & greeatest, but is more than adequate for the job requirements, i.e. logging, digital and internet access. It's an HP Pentium III, 500 MHz, 256M ram and 60M HD. I spent many hours replacing the OS from MS-ME to MS-XP and installing all my usual convenience software - maps, office applications, logging sw and the MixW multi-mode digital software, plus the RigExpert Tiny drivers.
As far as the hardware drivers go, the documentation was adequate. Follow the directions carefully and everything will be ready to work with your digital and logging software. No hassles here.
The problem was with the MixW software documentation. I spent hours trying different settings. It was relatively easy to luck onto the right combo for receive, but setting up transmit to work was another story.
I finally came to the realization that the aftermarket sound card in my second-hand computer wasn't outputting any sound. After reinstalling the drivers the sound card came to life, but the MixW settings still didn't send them to the radio. After several more tries at various configuration settings I finally got it working.
My biggest complaint is that W3GWW doesn't answer his e-mail and his hours for phone support severely conflict with my working hours here in Arizona. Fortunately, I work for Intel and am fairly computer literate. I also have access to people who are experienced computer techs, an advantage not had by all. In addition, I have a background as a technician in various electro/mechanical disciplines and am usually able to use logical methods to trace down a problem who's answer isn't readily apparent. Othewise I'd have to take time off work to phone Glenn, W3GWW, for help.
Having finally made my first PSK contacts (first being Argentinean DX) I can give the RigExpert Tiny hardware and associated drivers a hearty thumbs up. They install and work great!
Both the MixW and the ProLog2K softwares read and write to/from the radio to track freq and mode. When I log a digital contact in MixW and save it, it's automatically transferred to ProLog2K which tracks my award progress for just about any award you can think of. Very convenient. The folks who sell ProLog2K also offer a computer-radio interface, but with the RigExpert Tiny, it's not needed. The Tiny plugs into a USB port, freeing your RS232 serial port for other purposes, and also connects to the sound card for the digital modes. The other end connects to (for my Icom 706 Mk II g) the CI-V remote (computer control) jack, the keyer socket for CW and to the accessory port (13 pin) for audio I/O for digital modes. Everything you need for computer-radio interface is included in the RigExpert Tiny device. Cables are adequately long for a table mounted radio and a floor mounted computer with a couple of feet of cable to spare. In fact, if you're going to use it with a desk-mounted laptop computer on the same tabletop as your radio, you're going to have to bundle up some of the cables. They're plenty long. The audio plugs are gold-plated metal with gold plated metal shells and the strain reliefs on the audio plugs that go to the sound card are, in my opinion, better than the moulded-on ones on most cheap plastic 3.5mm stereo plugs. So far I haven't encountered any RF coupling to the device or computer, so I assume that everything is shielded and decoupled as advertised.
I don't know why no one else has rated this hardware, but I'm happy to be the first and to give it high marks. The only reason I could fault it is if I was carrying a radio from one computer to another and had to adjust the sound card settings for each computer. While that might be a bit inconvenient, I don't consider it a barrier. For my setup, with one radio and one computer, it meets expectations and requirements with ease.
Regards,
Stew
N7NRA
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