| KC2QFF |
Rating:  |
2023-01-30 | |
| It Works!! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Please remove...thank you... |
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| W8RMV |
Rating: |
2022-05-03 | |
| QRM reduction, BUT attenuates desired Signal a few S units |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I got this TimeWave ANC4+ (latest model) as a gift. When I got the 4+ it did not come with any connectors or manual. I searched TW's site & only found the 4's manual. TW has not updated the site to include the 4+. Bad sign IMO. I already have a MFJ-1026 & thought it would be good to compare it. First, The ANC4+ is built like a tank. Very nice construction!! Way better than the lightweight 1026. After installing the 4+, I tuned in a QRM area on 75M. Right away I noticed that as I engaged the 4+, that desired signals went down 2-4S units!! So there is quite a bit of insertion attenuation that I had not experienced with the 1026. I called TW & was told that is normal! Hard to believe they would design that much attenuation into the box. I then tried to eliminate the QRM and found that it was as good as the 1026. I also noticed that if the ANC4+ is powered off, it would key the amplifier thru the Tx key line. So if you can tolerate the significant insertion loss and passive keying of the Amp, then you may find the ANC4+ valuable. |
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| K1GWW |
Rating: |
2021-12-07 | |
| ANC-4+ New Model takes care of LOCAL noise |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
A GOOD rating was given due to this device's complexity. Although I am pleased so far, this device is not for everyone or every shack. If you have a panadpater you can clearly see if you have a local noise problem, and I do. Household appliances and unknown things create havoc with several bands in this shack. Those noise sources are not always there (for instance - washing machine), but when they are this device does a splendid job of dealing with them. The visual aid of my HDSDR panadapter makes the PHASE and GAIN adjustments VERY easy, and I am surprised the manual does not mention this. You can see the local noise disappear and the DX appear as the noise floor is reduced. Consequently, I strongly recommend using this with a visual aid like a panadapter.
At first install, the noise antenna is a vertical wire (~20 ft) up the side of the house and that is probably too long. With this antenna the ANC-4+ operates very well with almost NO NOISE GAIN. Everyone (including the manual) says the noise antenna is important and there are multiple examples of what to try. I will continue to experiment with this in the true HAM tradition, but so far, I am glad I bought it (supply chain issues aside). |
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| NC6B |
Rating: |
2021-11-15 | |
| Works Great |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
The unit works excellent.
I have but my own antenna for it. The antenna is modified tri-pole., that is it consist of a dipole made from a 20 meter ham stick a 40 meter ham stick and a five foot whip on a 24 inch extension. |
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| N7BWB |
Rating: |
2021-03-21 | |
| Excellent Product with Additional Benefits |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I've had the original version, the JPS ANC-4 for well over 10 years and it works as advertised. As noted, for noise reduction it is imperative to have a proper *noise* antenna that adequately hears your noise. I get by with a 10' length of wire laying against the baseboards in my shack. It takes practice.
Being a MW DXer, where the ANC-4 really shines is phasing my OCFD against my W6LVP loop. I use the dipole as the "noise" antenna and with careful tweaking becomes a very effective receiving system, steering the antennas to null and peak MW stations on the same frequency. I don't even need a rotator for my loop, it is that effective.
If you are having QRN problems with locally generated noise, you would be well served to give this product a try. If you like experimenting with receiving antennas, this may be the most fun in a small package that you can find.
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| K7RFI |
Rating: |
2020-11-30 | |
| works fine for 4o and 80 meter noise. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| great noise canceler. i added another switch to my foot switch to cut the power during transmit. it works fine with outboard tuner. takes a little tweaking. The noise antenna is critical!! |
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| KG4LLQ |
Rating: |
2020-10-11 | |
| Great Product! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I had a standby generator installed last month & the control lines & power line to the ATS are run in the ceiling over my shack. Consequently the noise & "birdies" from these lines created a noise level of S9 on 80, 40, 30 & 20 meter bands even when the generator is in the standby mode and not operating. I just received the ANC-4 and am able to reduce the noise down to S1 or less using the 5 feet of receiving wire. This products works great! |
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| K5EY |
Rating: |
2019-08-03 | |
| Operates as expected |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| My line noise averages S5-7 across the bands during the daytime, and 20 meters is almost unusable. Out of desperation I ordered the Timewave ANC-4 and believe you me, my life has changed. I have read reviews that say the device is kind of tricky to tune, and some folks say they couldn't get a good noise null. Well, I had absolutely no problem taking my line noise down to S0-1. I did have to experiment with different noise antennas and found that the one that worked best for me was a simple 20 ft. piece of wire strung in the bushes outside the shack window. This antenna gave me a good sharp noise null just as the manual described. I also tried using a dipole cut for 30 meters, and this worked fine as a noise antenna, but I think it was a little too much for the ANC-4. The short wire supplied with the ANC-4 was not enough, although when I added 5 feet it worked -- I got a noise null, but not nearly as sharp as my 20 ft. in the bushes. The ANC-4 is built like a brick! Literally... The thing must weigh 2 lbs., and the enclosure is very heavy gauge aluminum. I would highly recommend this device to anyone who is having line noise problems. I don't know how it works on other types of interference. The only thing I don't like is the use of an RCA phono plug for the noise antenna. It would be nice to have a coax connector in the event the user wanted to use a short non-resonant dipole in the bushes. |
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| W6LBV |
Rating: |
2019-07-30 | |
| Bringing |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
In April, 2014 I filed an E-ham review on the ANC-4. At that time the product did not solve my external HF noise problem, but that was not the fault of the ANC-4's design or construction. Rather, in my particular case the ANC-4 main antenna input channel was highly overloaded by the arcing from 12 kV aerial power distribution lines located very close to the station’s main HF Yagi. The noise into the main receive channel from the power lines was so overwhelming that nothing I could do with the separate noise antenna channel could equal the noise signal level from the Yagi. And without “equal but opposite” noise in both channels, the phasing scheme won’t work.
Years have passed, and there has been a major change in the environment in my neighborhood. The overhead utility power distribution network finally has been removed and rebuilt into underground conduits, and the old, weathered overhead lines and utility poles are gone. I and my home station have emerged into the sunlight of the broad, golden headlands!
As soon as the power distribution change was completed and before the ANC was put into use, the environmental noise levels on 20 meters dropped from a typical daily level of about S-7 to a new daily average of about S-1. Some days the effective noise level is S-0, and on “bad days” it might rise to S-2. All this with no changes in antennas, locations, feedlines, etc.
But there is stll some remaining environmental noise from galactic sources and/or from human activity in the neighborhood. And that noise still needs to be dealt with. So the ANC-4 came out of retirement.
Now, with today’s “reasonable” environmental noise levels it performs exactly as described in the instruction manual. In most cases a sharp null in the noise level can be achieved with careful tuning of the noise gain and noise phase controls. In many cases, especially on the lower HF bands where noise always dwells, by using the ANC-4 I can drive the background noise level down to S-0 and watch it disappear entirely from the waterfall. I now enjoy 5 to 6 S-units of noise reduction from the ANC-4, without taking any additional steps.
I think there are two “take home” messages here. First, when setting up the ANC-4 in a new location, one should use an O-scope or spectrum analyzer to check both signal channels (main antenna and noise pickup antenna) and determine whether the background RF noise levels are roughly equivalent in each channel. If they cannot be brought to rough equivalence, there is no point in continuing with the device.
Second, if the local power line noise is indeed overwhelming the station and the external utility hardware is already old (in my case the utility network had been in service for about sixty years), the situation probably cannot be corrected without installing new power equipment as replacements. The passage of time will eventually decompose anything standing continuously in the weather. Removal of the old and replacement by the new power distribution equipment is almost the only solution; it certainly was in my case. And good luck in trying to convince your power company to do that!
And then sit back and enjoy what the ANC-4 can do. (Reminder: set the broadcast AM band traps in the ANC-4 as needed.)
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|
| NG5O |
Rating:  |
2019-04-17 | |
| Did Nothing About My Noise Problem |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Installed PRECISELY in accordance with provided instructions. Good reviews must be for locations where noise sources were very different from mine.
I see heavy and continuous S5-S9 noise every day on 40 and 20, and, for the prima donnas who imply that it must be something in my house, IT'S NOT. I switched off all power at the outside breaker, and it didn't make any difference. Outside power line noise? Possibly. But this thing had no effect on it.
Bottom line, this device must be a crap-shoot - another "you pays your money, and you takes your chances".
Might work in specific circumstances, but my impression is that it WILL NOT work in a lot of others, mine included. $200+ down the drain here.
YMMV |
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