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Reviews For: International Radio (Inrad) Crystal Filters

Category: Filters, RF: bandpass, duplexer, lowpass, highpass, RFI/EMI

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Review Summary For : International Radio (Inrad) Crystal Filters
Reviews: 48MSRP: 115-155
Description:
Maker of OEM type IF filters for various transceivers. mailto: sales@inrad.net
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.inrad.net/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00484.8
N1LQ Rating: 2001-05-04
Simply the Best! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have re-filtered several TenTec radios with INRAD filters,including Corsair II's, Omni V's and Omni VI's. The 2.8 Khz SSB filters are fantastic for improving both selectivity and fidelity on Rx and Tx. The 10 pole 2.4 SSB filter is like no other available anywhere. Their CW filters also rise above stock performance.

While INRAD filters improve skirt selectvity on SSB and CW an unexpected improvement is in their symmetry. USB and LSB now sound identical. No audio pitch differences when switching modes. No need to fiddle with the PBT mid-point position.

Thanks George and Georgia! Simply the best!
AK2A Rating: 2001-05-04
Work but worth it! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Only place to get REAL sharp selectivity - I use 125hz filters in my ts850 and icom775. cascaded 250 and 125 hz filters-the ultimate cw razors. Im very happy with my inrad filters. I have 2 FT900. One has Collins 500hz mech filter, the other has inrad 250. Difference is like night and day in favor of inrad product. Tnx , George
VE7MDL Rating: 2001-05-04
Filters for IC-746 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I installed both the 9 MHz and the 455 kHz 1.8 kHz wide filters in my IC-746 to replace the Icom 1.9 kHz filters. What a difference! The radio is a lot more quiet and the improved shape factor is noticeable. I live in a noisy location, so I need all the help I can get.

Note that the filters are so sharp that I have to tune the passband to optimize the signal for each station, so the filters are not suitable for nets, but that's OK with me.

By tuning the two IF passbads separately, I can get a very decent non-ringing selectivity for CW and digital modes as well. It's like buying a new radio!

Yes, the installation required soldering for one of the filters, but INRAD did make that clear and supplied all the required parts.
K6SDW Rating: 2001-05-04
Work great, not always fit! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Installed IRF cw and ssb filters in Kenwood TS690 years ago and they work great - you won't be disappointed in performance! But, as others have indicated here, not all filters fit physically as a direct replacement to OEM filters (this depends on radio, of course!) so be prepared to do some "adjusting" of the physical layout of your rig when installing filters.

Good luck.........73
W9DZ Rating: 2001-05-04
Good deal Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased an Inrad CW filter for my new FT-817 and am quite pleased. It was a drop-in, no soldering required. It uses a Collins mechanical filter. Probably the same one Yaesu sells at a list price $50 higher. Yaesu prices their 500 Hz filter at $179. The best discounted price I could find on the web was $149. The Inrad sells for $130 + $5 shipping. Inrad also offers a 250 Hz filter for the 817 while Yaesu only offers the 500 Hz.
VE4AMN Rating: 2001-05-04
Easy Install - excellent performance Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I installed the 1.8 MH first if filter on a brand new FT1000MP. Talk about being nervous in fiddling with a new toy! The instructions were very clear. Installation was a breeze, performance is excellent and at a much lower price than the OEM filters, which are marked up something ferocious. I also liked the instructions on how to get to the hidden menus on the radio. On the air, everyone that has the INRAD filters attests to the value. Highly recommended. He has filters for most radios, I also have the upgrade for the TS-520s which is also easy to intall and inexpensive.
N2CU Rating: 2001-05-04
Great! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I'm using a FT1000MP and have installed the 1.8kHz 3rd IF and 400Hz 3rd IF filters. These are plug and play items that are vastly superior to stock filters. The instructions were clear and concise. Customer service is second to none. When I ordered a 400Hz 2nd IF filter and tried it out, I found out that the matched pair didn't provide that much performance increase so George took it back at full value and I got the 1.8 instead. At Dayton, I will be buying the 1.8kHz 2nd IF filter mainly because the stock 2.4kHz is lousy for contesting. Any one who needs high performance filters knows that INRAD is the place to go.
W0KDX Rating: 2001-05-04
Stick with OEM Filters Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have had two transceivers which I decided to opt for the International Radio Filters. I was sorely disappointed. In my most recent radio, I found that when I ordered the filter, I asked if soldering was required and was told no. In fact, you had to solder components to the filter itself. The instructions had errors and the pictorials didn't match up to the actual part. That is something I told them they need to address for sure.

I don't have spectrum analysis reviews, but I can tell you just from using the ones I have, the 1.8 SSB and the 500/250 CW, the 1.8 ssb is useless and the 500 hz cw 9 mhz IF doesn't seem to do much at all. I switched to the stock ICOM 500 hz filter and big difference.

All in all, I would rather stick with the OEM filters. I think they play just as well and you don't run into the klooging up of your radio.