Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: Donner's Digital Interfaces

Category: Interfaces, Radio to computer, amp, rotor, coax switch, internet

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : Donner's Digital Interfaces
Reviews: 103MSRP: 40
Description:
Very reasonably priced, quality manufactured radio to computer interfaces for PSK31, Hellschreiber, SSTV, MFSK, and all other sound card modes. Fast service too!
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.donnerstore.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001034.8
AB0SI Rating: 2003-11-07
Simple; great support Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Simple, well constructed, it works. What else could one want? How about excellent support? I asked Gary a simple yes/no question and he sent (very quickly, too) a VERY helpful reply answering the questions I should have asked.

A true plug-and-play solution.
W4CSI Rating: 2003-07-30
Solid 5 on all aspects Time Owned: more than 12 months.

A little over a year ago, as a newly re-licensed ham, I decided to try PSK31. After a lot of net-surfing I ordered an interface from Gary for my Kenwood TS-570. When it arrived, I plugged everything up, used the tips furnished with the package to set up the soundboard, and have been working PSK31 since with much enjoyment. On one occasion I had brain fade and thought the problem was with the interface. I called and spoke with Gary in person, who got me straightened out. Great product, great service, and excellent value.
AB7JK Rating: 2003-07-12
Not simple but works Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
When I first received this interface and hooked it up it was no-go. It seemed to be miswired as the keying line turned the VOX on and off instead of the mic input. A few e-mails to Gary Donner eventually got my setup working properly. I seemed to be getting RF feedback even though my ground setup seemed to be very good using other modes. I found installing a Radio Shack RF choke on the audio lines probably helps. I guess until getting a digimode station set up becomes a science (some industry standards by the rig manufacturers) rather than an art form, there will be alot of frustration for digital ops. I give Donner's 5 stars for service and a 3 for ease of interface set up.
KB9YUR Rating: 2003-06-10
Great Product for the price! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After reading about PSK31 and all the other digital modes, I finally decided to give it
a try. My original intent was a Rigblaster Pro (which I may still get in the future), but
the price was a bit high for something I might not like later on. So after reading all
the positive reviews here, I decided on Donner's Digital Interface for the Icom 746 and
275H. Hookup was done in under a minute and when I ran Digipan for PSK31, it
worked the first time on the 275H. The only minor problem I had was that it didn't
work on 2m on the 746. A few Email exchanges with Gary solved that issue by
running Pin 3 to Pin 6 on ACC(2) on the 746. In terms of quality, this is a well
built product and does exactly what is promised. Service is first rate and I look
forward to trying out all the other digital modes. Highly recommended !

George ...
AB7R Rating: 2003-05-27
This is really "plug n play" Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I had a Rigblaster Pro. Lots of great features on it. But my new rig has most of them built in. Sold the Pro and got the Donners. Plugged it in and away we go.

Note for Orion users -- You will have to go into the interface and turn the trim pot all the way up. That way you only need to set your Aux input at about 50 and lower settings on the soundcard for better IMD.

W2CSH Rating: 2003-05-27
Excellent Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I own a Rigblaster plus. I used to use it with a Ten Tec Scout and Omni V. I recently purchased a Ten Tec Jupiter which provides a 5 pin DIN plug on the back specifically for digital modes. The DIN plug provides audio in, audio out, PTT and a spare line for future use. Ten Tec provides a breakout cable with 5 RCA jacks to connect to a radio interface. I emailed West Mountain Radio concerning the use of this connector with the rigblaster and they stated that their interface was designed to use the mic plug and if I wanted to try to use the DIN connector I was on my own. Well I came across the Donner interface while surfing the net and lo and behold they make a custom setup specifically for the Jupiter. I ordered one immediately. Donner was great to deal with. I opened the box, connected it to the radio and computer and haven't touched it since. It's as close to plug and play as you can get. I never looked at the directions and it took all of two minutes to have it working. If you own a Jupiter, Pegasus or Orion the Donner is the interface to own and after spending all that cash on an Orion you'll appreciate the 40 dollar price tag. My Rigblaster is going on ebay this weekend. Looking back the Rigblaster was expensive and not the most user friendly interface in the world. I could have saved 50 dollars and many hours of aggravation had I purchased the Donner interface to begin with.
KP2BH Rating: 2003-03-22
great and good service Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I give gary a 5. The interface construction is a plus.after the sale is the service and gary thru emails help me a lot configuring the program to work with the interface and the TS570.thanks a lot gary you really help me.
WX8B Rating: 2003-01-14
Great Product Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased one of the Donner units a year or so ago for my Yaesu 757. I worked perfectly so when I upgraded to a Kenwood TS-570, I picked up another unit last month. The construction is good, the price is right, and the people are wonderful. I live near to them, so I picked up my unit in person.
KY6O Rating: 2003-01-14
Better than I expected! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I had just purchased my Yaesu MK V Field, and knew I wanted to get active in digital modes. Many people on the msg boards said "Just plug a cable into your sound card!". No, sorry, I tend to err on the side of convention, and have experienced the agaony of trying to isolate a ground loop (Or worse, voltage!) from something that someone said "ought to work". So I sent off my order to Donner's Digital Interfaces. First nice thing? Specific interfaces for each type of radio. I had written to 1/2 a dozen vendors, and always received the same stock "Yeah, it should work" response. Donner's site let me select my specific radio, and the cost was < $50. The package arrived in less than a week, and I was amazed that they even color-coded the hookup plugs! This is a "no-brainer" installation. I was active on PSK-31, using WinPSK, inside of 1/2 an hour. It would have been only seconds, except I had forgotten to reduce the output "master volume" from my PC sound card, and it was forcing the VOX into constant transmit. My first contact was with a Maryland station, who gave me 599 on 20m, and then several stations in Japan. My only issue? The cables to the rig are actually longer than necessary, so I had to "hide them" behind my desk. Darn! ;) Great people to deal with, they sent me an order confirmation with 10 minutes of placing my original on-line order, and shipped it via UPS in a very secure box. You can't go wrong with this company.
WB9NFD Rating: 2002-10-01
Good Buy for $40 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Received my interface 2 days after the phone order.
Use with a IC-746 and with this radio the audio is taken and put in to the 8 pin din plug in back of radio. This leaves the mic in place. With the SM-8 mic I can switch off and on mic audio at any time. Works very well this way.
A great interface for the money.

Richard WB9NFD