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Reviews For: Monitor Sensors TVTR1 630m Transverter

Category: Transverters

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Review Summary For : Monitor Sensors TVTR1 630m Transverter
Reviews: 10MSRP: 660
Description:
The Monitor Sensors 630m Transverter enables any Amateur
Radio Station, equipped with a conventional HF
transceiver, immediate, all mode, access to the new 472-
479 kHz, 630m band.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.monitorsensors.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00105
KL7L Rating: 2019-09-27
If there was 6 stars allowed Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.


Plug and play - simple, intuitive, well thought out,
with an FT891 at 5W drive I can change 475kHz power using the software selectable input attenuator from a clean 6-60W. Rx is clean even on huge main Marconi and provides very good results. Shipping box, instructions and back end support is 6 stars. Best transverter Ive ever used. Its already worked VK>W on JT9. Would have liked a separate rx antenna port if there was anything further that could be added in future revs.
VE1YY Rating: 2019-01-21
As Others Have Said! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Why repeat the fine characterizations of the many other satisfied customers when one can be brief.

1. Works flawlessly
2. "Filters out" operator, power supply, and load "insufficiencies"
3. Excellent technology (hardware, software)
4. Updatable software (tho not tried here)
5. Price is right (well, maybe not after dollar exchange rate but what can one do about that?)

Count VE1YY as another satisfied user.
KA9WFI Rating: 2018-03-14
Foolproof Transverter Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I’ve been using the TVTR1 for 4 months so far and I’ve made more than 100 contacts on 630meters using JT9.
The service that Roger provides is beyond comparison!
I had a minor issue with the cooling fan and emailed Roger.
He promptly replied explaining that I could send it in for warranty repair or check it myself first.
He included detailed instructions and photos of the disassembly procedure. He also reassured me that since he was authorizing me to open the case, if I messed up something, they would cover it under warranty also.
It turned out that an errant drop of glue was interfering with the fan blade, glue drop removed, and all is perfect again.
It is next to impossible to screw up while using the transverter.
It will go into bypass if too much power is on the input, over temp, high SWR, ETC.
Installation was plug and play with my Kenwood TS-2000.
K4LY Rating: 2018-01-28
Excellent transverters Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This review is for both the 630M and the 2200M Monitor Sensors transverters which I own. Roger Crofts, VK4YB, deserves ham radio accolades for designing and selling transverters for these new MF and LF bands. His transverters are the easy way to QSY to our new ham bands. Roger, himself, is a pioneer in antenna and propagation experimentation on these bands.
I have owned the 630M transverter for almost two years and the 2200M transverter for almost one year. They are plug and play, assuming you have a resonant antenna and a 80M transceiver. Their protection circuitry is every bit as good as your high priced HF transceiver. So you are protected from expensive damage and repairs if you loose antenna resonance or you overdrive the transverter. I agree with all the positive comments of the other reviews. I would add this. The Monitor Sensors receive capability is fantastic and probably better than your high priced transceiver at the 630M and 2200M frequencies. The M.S. transverter is linear and allows SSB and weak signal modes which require linear operation. I was a party to the first U.S.A. SSB contact on 630M and have made FT8, JT9, and CW contacts. On 630M WSPR, I have copied VK4YB's signal from SC and been decoded in Europe, South America, and Hawaii many times. The 60 watts output on 630M provides for maximum U.S.A. legal 5W EIRP with a good 630M antenna and enough power to make contacts over 2000+ miles even with a 160M INV L loaded with a coil for 630M. The 50 watts output with the MS 2200M transverter provides almost maximum legal power with a very good 2200M antenna, and enough EIRP to be heard over 1000 miles on WSPR and make contacts almost that far with a minimal antenna like a 160M INV L loaded with inductance loading for 136 kHz.
The Monitor Sensors transverters are quality products with excellent warranties. You won't go wrong buying one.
NC0B Rating: 2017-11-17
Outstanding product Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have owned the 630m transverter for about a month, and have been running WSJT X and CW for three weekends. In that time, I have worked Hawaii from Colorado, along with the Cayman Islands, plus 12 states using the transverter and an IC-7300.

I couldn't be happier with this product, and have no complaints. I can copy Roger, VK4YB, any weekend using WSPR or JT9. Unfortunately I'll need an amp to have a power level similar to his so we can log a QSO.

I am using my 160 meter Marconi T antenna with a second tuner. Most transceivers at my QTH need an external high-pass filter to keep AM broadcast stations from overloading on 160m. The inverse is NOT the case, with the Monitor Sensors transverter's excellent front end having no need for any kind of external filtering. AM BC stations are as strong as -10 dBm, as measured with a spectrum analyzer. That level is S9+63 dB!

Interfacing with the 7300 was straight forward, and when the transverter is powered OFF, it automatically is in bypass mode. Its fault protection is excellent, protecting against operator error.
KB5NJD Rating: 2017-10-02
Great signal quality and receive capability Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I've been using the Monitor Sensors 630m transverter since Spring 2017 and have enjoyed the features and reliability of the unit. A number of built-in safety features prohibit a distracted ham from making an error that could result in a catastrophic failure and the PA can operate safely over a variety of load conditions. The built in SWR meter is nice for making quick touch-ups and adjustments of established systems.

One of the most impressive features of the unit is its receive quality. Having used a number of receive converters over the years, they all seem to pale in comparison to signals that come out of this box. The switchable low noise preamp / attenuator does a very nice job when listening with receive only antenna (externally switched) and brings signals from small aperture antennas up to usable levels. I hear signals from Oceania using this receive section that are just not there using some of the other receive converters that I have on hand.

Transmit signal quality is very clean and suitable for linear modes. Power levels are ample to drive modified tube amplifiers and the stock 50w continuous duty PA offers me plenty of output to drive my antenna to legal EIRP values.

Frequency stability appears to be plenty good for CW and most real-time digital modes. I've not evaluated the unit for very slow QRSS modes.

Having updatable firmware has also been a nice feature and Roger has already made an adjustment for my unit that has proven valuable.

Customer service has been great and questions have been answered quickly. My unit arrived in two-days from Brisbane to Dallas via DHL.

This box replaced a desk full of equipment that was in use for the last five years. Its been nice to unclutter the operating position.

I look forward to purchasing the 2200m model soon as well.

73!

John KB5NJD / WG2XIQ..
VK4QC Rating: 2017-02-07
Works flawlessly Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Roger gave me a TVTR1 630m transverter unit for evaluation to use with my Anan-100d SDR working into a Marconi T antenna.

The unit must be one of the easiest to setup and use as you only have to connect the DC 13.8V supply, the RF in and Ant cables then tune your radio to the 1.8MHz band with an output power of only 5W for approx 70W output.

Optimized for the MF band, it automatically detects the 472KHz band and displays the frequency on the digital display. There is also a built in Rx preamp so reception is outstanding.

It has a fan at the back for cooling and always ran cool even when working WSPR with a 2 minute key down cycle.

The digital display can be stepped through the various functions for SWR, FWD PWR, REF PWR, DC voltage and many other readings.

Stylishly designed in a black anodized case with heatsink on the back.

It's a very robust unit and the built-in safety features such as high SWR, high reflected power, high supply voltage, means it can withstand rough treatment, not that you would!

I worked many stations on 630m with this transverter and can thoroughly recommend it.

I believe there is a 2200m version in the pipeline.

73, Peter VK4QC
VK2RR Rating: 2017-02-03
Easy 630m Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
630m is an exciting new band to experiment with, but not without its challenges when you consider antennas and then what transceiver is equipped for that band without some intricate surgery????
Well the Monitor Sensors Transverter changes all that transceiver hassle. If your radio has 160m then this is simply plug n play. Just because I'm a Black Box operator, doesn't mean I don't have an interest in these new bands. And you guessed it the Monitor Sensors TVTR is in a Black Box. Much has been said about the tech aspects, but what about its simplicity to get operating on 630m. Just 5 watts of 160m input for 70 watts output on 630m just for hooking it up to your power supply and screw in a patch lead from your rig and connect the antenna...
Oh and another thing. I have a local AM broadcast station very close to me in town and the installed 7 khz roofing filter just keeps it all out of my rx. Fantastic.This TVTR makes it so easy to access this new band that I'm sure there will be a lot more sigs appearing in the near future.
VE7SL Rating: 2017-01-25
A top of the line piece of gear! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
For the past several months I have been beaconing overnight on 630m WSPR mode using the new Monitor Sensors transverter designed by Roger Croft (VK4YB) and Ralph Loveday, in Queensland, Australia.

I'm pleased to report that no problems have been experienced after the many months of 12 hour nightly beaconing punishment. Nightly signal reports often range from Hawaii / Alaska and eastward to New England, even through the noisy summer months.

When I first started using the unit, I was immediately impressed with how simple it was to set up and to get operational. It sits inconspicuously beside the main station's transceiver, taking up less space than the typical station speaker unit.

One usually associates 'transverter' operation with a rat's-nest of cabling or re-cabling to accommodate the new addition. The transverter arrived with all necessary cabling, even a nice Anderson power pole connector to connect the user-supplied 12V power source. A second pair of 12V contacts is also available for sharing with other station needs. One feature that I quickly appreciated was the dual RCA jack on the rear panel for controlling the transverter's PTT keying line. With my transceiver's PTT line already being used for another purpose, it was simply a matter of plugging-in(cable supplied)and sharing the line with the second jack ... no need for unplugging or using an external adapter to split the PTT line. Switching from 630m to normal HF operation is simply a matter of turning the transverter 'off' ... all HF operations are back to normal with antenna routing taken care of. There appears to be a lot of thoughtful engineering packed into this little box.

A look under the hood shows a well-planned and efficient use of space. If Collins Radio were to manufacture a 630m transverter for the military, I can't imagine it being any better than this!

Although rated at 50W output, my transverter produces ~ 70W output when run at 12.6 volts. Up to 90 watts out can be realized at higher voltage, up to as much as 16 volts. Power is generated with six carefully-matched Lateral MOSFETS, three aside, in a parallel / push-pull configuration.

The transverter's multi-colored screen combines with a multi-function menu, allowing a visual on-screen display of numerous parameters such as RF output power, DC supply voltage and current draw, SWR, exciter drive power, heatsink temperature, graphic SWR display and various warning screens.

The transverter requires 3-5 watts of 160m drive from the station transceiver for full output power. Built-in safety circuits prevent overdrive from causing any damage. Similarly, transmitting into a high SWR or with no antenna connected is no cause for concern. Temperature sensors will trigger shutdown should the heatsink rise above 100 degrees C. Software also prevents out-of-band transmission.

This is a microprocessor controlled linear-transverter. This means that operating system software can be readily updated (via the supplied micro USB cable)as new features are implemented. It also means that any mode your transceiver is capable of operating on can be produced on 630m. At present, the most popular modes on the band are WSPR, CW and JT9 but I suspect this order may change once the band is opened up in the U.S.A.

I often use the transverter to drive my homebrew FET amplifier at around 400W and with this arrangement have worked Roger, VK4YB as well as Eden, ZF1EJ, on 630m using the weak-signal JT9 QSO mode. Both Roger and Eden were running a 'barebones' Monitor Sensors transverter.

Being a linear transverter this is a versatile piece of gear and with a carefully built antenna, very capable as well. If you are looking for an easy way to get on 630m, I can highly recommend this unit.

Steve - VE7SL - Mayne Island, BC
VK4BM Rating: 2017-01-24
A simple to use top performance 630m transverter Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Wanting to try out the 630mtr band, I had a look as to what was available to me.
I came across The Monitor Sensors TVTR1 630mtr transverter. Without doubt from the first time I used this transverter I have been more than impressed.
The transverter is used with an old Kenwood TS440 and my antenna is a 160mtr half wave dipole, so with the matching unit, it’s works as a Marconi ‘T’.
The ease of operation of this transverter is outstanding. Everything has been thought of. Built in safety circuits that prevent overdrive, even transmitting without an antenna will not cause any damage. It’s virtually bullet proof.
Rated at 50 watts output, I found that mine will run happily at 12.8v, producing 75 watts. More output is available by suppling the transverter with up to 16 volts.
How does it perform? Faultlessly. A quick look at the specification on the monitor sensors website will show just how good it is.
It has a multi-coloured display with a multi-function menu that allows an on-screen display of the parameters such as, RF output, DC supply voltage & current, SWR, exciter drive power, heatsink temperature & various warnings, all selected from a rotary control.
Without doubt one of the best transverters I have ever used and a fantastic entry into the 630mtr band. Engineered to perfection and a 2200mtr version is on the way. This I am looking forward to owning. If it’s half as good as the 630mtr version, it will be unbeatable.