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write your own review of the West Mountain Radio Rigblaster.
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NK8A
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 2, 2006 11:45
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very good interface
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have had my rigblaster m8 for over four years now and really enjoy it. the m8 was easy to set up
an operate. I feel the m8 is well worth the price I paid for it.
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WM9M
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 15, 2004 00:31
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Great w/ Great Service
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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Bought my Rigblaster M8 at Dayton in 2003. I came home connected it up and was on the air with the first contact that night. I have made 40 or so contacts, including a few on Field Day 2003, using this interface with absolutely no problems. But (there is always a but isn't there), it died about two weeks ago. Contacted their tech support through email, agreed it was a problem and said send it in. I searched high and low for my receipt and couldn't find it to prove my warranty was in effect. Contacted them again and they found my record of the purchase in Dayton, again said send it in. I was greatly suprised that I had a replacment/repair (not sure which-and don't care) back at my doorstep within 8 calendar days. I reconnected it and was on the air within minutes, again.
Great product, works well and perfect service to boot. If I have to buy another, it will be another West Mountain Radio Rigblaster.
P.S., my M8 interfaces with an Alinco DX-70TH.
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K3ZE
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Rating: 1/5
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Mar 7, 2004 08:34
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What tech support?
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I purchased a West Mountain Radio RigBlaster M8 from Optim Surplus Supply through eBay. OSS has the same address as WMR, so I can only ASSUME that they are one and the same. The unit was SUPPOSED to be tested and functional albeit used and UNDER FULL WARRANTY. PSK31 tones are present at the Audio Out of the M8, the transmitter keys up, but there is no indication of audi coming from the M8 mic output. Three e-mails to WMR have gone unanswered. Not even a "call us, we'll talk". Their tech support leaves something to be desired. The unit has been returned, so we'll have to see how they handle it.
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WK9L
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 28, 2003 23:16
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Simply Great -M8
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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It took about 15 minutes to setup and I think it is well built, I have had a blast with it; the best money I have spent on radio in a while. I don't think you can get any easier than this the CD has alot of programs and the manuel does a good job.
73 see ya on psk or rtty
WK9L
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AC7RG
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 9, 2002 14:14
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NEAT Little Device
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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10 minute set-up, and great little CD that has virtually ALL the programs being used in Ham digicom today. Basically plug-n-play for me. Rigblaster's little red LED is still going strong at this station.
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KG9JX
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Rating: 2/5
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Apr 25, 2002 08:07
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Bad out of the box
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I just bought a Rigblaster. To my surprise the supplied serial cable (a 9 pin female to 25 pin male)would not work because the Rigblaster's 9 pin serial port is also a female. Also, I haven't seen a 25 pin serial port on a PC since the PC/AT days. So I ended up going to Radio Shack and buying ($12) the right cable. West Mountain has not yet responded to my email.
Obviously West Mountain's adds are all hype about providing a complete, out of the box set up. I bought into it and it cost me another $12. I figured that trying to get them to fix the problem would cost me more in time and money. I just hate it when this lack of QC occurs.
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VE7AZC
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 11, 2002 12:13
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Lots - o - FUN!
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I bought the Plus version about four months ago, and WOW!. No QC problems here ... just plug and play. High quality unit. Came with the required software to get me going. Took awhile to get my levels adjusted, but now I have a blast (Hi) exploring the various digital modes. Made a ton of contacts on PSK (love that warble sound) and nobody cares about your "audio quality" (Ha!).
I would reccommend it to anyone wanting to get into digital modes. QC problems seem to be very rare looking at the below responses.
Note: Running the mic through the Rigblaster will alter your SSB audio somewhat. I just disconnect it for rag-chewing or DXing.
Have fun!
Herb
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N8COO
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Rating: 2/5
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Apr 10, 2002 12:06
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Nice idea but poor QC on my unit.
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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The Rigblaster is a great idea, especially for those that don't home brew and/or want to get on the digital modes without a lot of hassle. However, my Rigblaster had a problem right out of the box from West Mountain Radio - it would continuously key the radio - and upon close inspection of the board, revealed a BIG solder blob bridging two traces. Nothing that took a magnifier or anything to spot. I proceeded to fix it myself with some solder wick and everything worked fine. I e-mailed West Mountain Radio with a report on what I had found, and got back a canned message with comments on checking my connections, etc., and something about the boards being made to mil specs, or something along those lines. No apology or anything for the trouble I had, or admission that there was a lack of a Quality Control (QC)inspection on the unit visual or electrically. My unit could not have passed either a visual or functional test.
It's a nice looking unit, seems to be a decent design, the contruction looks nice, and they pretty much give you everything you need, although you may need some 1/8th in. stereo "splitters" with some setups.
I was really disappointed in the QC and response. That's why I only gave it a "2" (needs help). After repair, it worked good. Maybe they have improved their QC since my experience. I have since homebrewed an interface for use with another rig, and it suits my needs better as I also isolate the receive audio, and it uses the direct audio jacks on the rig.
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WW3S
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 10, 2002 11:21
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NK3T, are u sure it was a West Mountain?
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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NK3T's review sounds more like the MFJ Rig interface rather than the West Mountain Rigblaster. I have a Rigblaster plus and the quality,workmanship,support and manual could not have been better. I own a rigblaster plus and use it with RTTY(fsk), PSK and CW without any problems whatsoever. The Plus allows the fsk/cw via a comport and even has internal LEDS to diagnose any problems with the keying line. It allows you to key on RTS or DTR. The quality of the pc board and cabinet are second to none. I'm curious if NK3T can check and see if his unit was actually a West Mountian Radio.
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