| ON6CV |
Rating:      |
2005-05-27 | |
| Go for it ! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
W2IHY - iBox - Variable attenuator - Kit version
Hi all,
Well there's not much to say about this little magic black box except it works the way it should ! It's useful to achieve optimum impedance match from low-Z to low-Z or Low-Z to Hi-Z and vice versa. Interface any combination of balanced and unbalanced audio gear, so if you're interested by enhanced SSB (ESSB) or lo-fi SSB, this accessory will be mandatory to convert the high output of your audio processing chain to match the low input of your microphone pre-amp section !
Everything else is described on the website.
So, my review now... as always, I have something to say about everything even when it's perfect ! :-)
First of all, and this is very important, I choose the kit version because I think my soldering iron is a little bit rusty these days ! :-)
The kit is well packaged into a little carton box with all parts detailed and the assembly procedure is very simple and clear... so what ?
This is the only "criticism" I have to say about this iBox, the size of the plastic case is too small in my own opinion... in the assemply procedure, one have to cut some pieces of shielded wires, about 4 inches long, those shielded wires are not very easy to bend without damaging them... so in a box that is only 1 inch high, you'll have some troubles to put the printed board with the components and the audio input, 5 pins DIN audio output, variable resistor and the PTT RCA jack all in this litlle box ! As I don't like to hammer on the parts to get everything in place, I think it was time for a change... read below.
Components are too close from each other once assembled in the box, the risk of a short circuit between connections is obvious so be extremely careful.
Good luck also to put the bolts, washers and tiny nuts to attach the 5 pins DIN connectors to the case, if you have big fingers, try using tweezers instead, if you have Parkinson too, don't loose your self-control (just kidding !).
The assembly is very easy and should be completed in a couple of hours if the box was only a bit bigger, the job could be done for less.
To resolve this issue, I throw away the original black case and I switched for a bigger one with lots of room inside for the connectors with no risk for a short path. The box is now 6" x 3.5" x 2" (L x W x D) (150mm x 90mm x 50mm) with one connector on each side, nothing on top, nothing on the bottom...
I have changed a number of things inside too without modifying the original electronic engineering of course... I just make this iBox right for me, nothing more !
That was interesting with the kit version... you can tweak it ! If you're ordering the assembled version, just plug and play the iBox and enjoy.
Julius D. Jones done a very great job with that small accessory, if it's the VERSION 1, now I have the VERSION 1.01 and that's perfect like this.
I'm using now the iBox with tube studio quality pre-amp from Avalon U5, Behringer VX2000 Ultra-Voice and Focusrite Voice Master, EQ from Behringer, dBX 160A compressor, microphones are : Heil GM-4, Neumann KMS-105 and a brand new Studio Project TB-1 tube studio microphone... without the iBox, forget about using this stuff with a ham radio transceiver.
So as a summary, go the W2IHY website and get yourself an iBox, assembled or not, it will do the job perfectly !
Best regards, take care.
73, Eric de ON6CV. |
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| W9RPE |
Rating:      |
2005-04-11 | |
| Excellent |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| I use it every day. Works as advertised!!! |
|
| W3PH |
Rating:      |
2005-03-15 | |
| Great device, great support |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I needed a way to connect a Behringer preamp with a mic-level input on a PC - the iBox does this job perfectly, letting me run the preamp at levels that make it happy but dropping the output to a level that makes the PC happy, without limiting frequency response or adding noise.
There was a problem with the first iBox I got, so I sent Julius email asking whether he thought it was the iBox or the way I had it connected. He immediately tracked me down by phone, decided it was the iBox, and shipped out a new one that day with postage-paid box to send back the old one. Julius has a super reputation, and I've seen first hand that he deserves it.
I also bought cables from Julius to connect to several of my rigs, and the iBox works perfectly with those as well. The PTT jack on the iBox lets you connect a hand or foot switch - just the ticket for studio mics that don't have PTT switches. |
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| VK3AP |
Rating:      |
2004-11-17 | |
| The Solution! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
After a lot of research it looked like the iBox was a good solution to interface some of my audio gear
to the FT1000 and IC706MKIIG. A number of emails back and forth and Julius was able to answer all my
questions.
The iBox and cables arrived after only a few days of ordering. Pretty quick to Australia!
This is probably the easiest solution to interfacing ANY professional audio equipment to your radio.
The cable for the 706 was wired for another modular system and an email to Julius had the problem
resolved in minutes. Not only did he send me another cable, but an adaptable cable that can be used
on either Icom modular but also on the standard 8 pin Icom connector. AND wait, there's more!
No Charge for the replacement cable nor the shipping to Australia.
That's what I call service! A guy that seriously stands by his product and supports everything
he sells.
Thank you Julius.
Theo.
VK3AP
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|
| VK5KGC |
Rating:      |
2004-07-09 | |
| LOOK NO FURTHER |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Recently I embarked on the professional audio path, using condenser microphones, parametric equalizers and compressor/noise gate.
The problem that I was having was the inability to properly interface with the tranceiver.
I was having level problems, hum problems and generally dreadfull audio.I tried every trick that I could think of, but nothing worked.
I was told by some local amateurs here of the IBOX, and promptly placed my order.
I am absolutely delighted with the product. The hum is gone, level match is now cured and the audio is great.
I have nothing but the highest praise for the product, and the manner in which Julius responded to my many email questions.
Not to mention that it only took 5 days to arrive hear in VK land.
This is truly one of those well priced, magical products that deliver top performance. |
|
| K1XR |
Rating:      |
2004-07-01 | |
| Best New Purchase! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I run an Icom 781 xcvr to an Acom 2000A and out to a 10 element LPDA. The ground system at the shack is top notch, the tower is nicely removed from the close proximity of the house, and the antenna is certainly high enough (65 feet). Still, I could not remove the RFI I was generating back through the Audio Technica AT 3525 mic feeding a Symetrix 528E, nor was I pleased with the results of the processing from the 528E. I was in the process of selling the mic and voice processor and buying a stock Icom SM8 to be done with the problems once and for all. However, after speaking with Matt at
KA1THM Broadcast Audio Systems and Julius at W2IHY, I decided to pick up an I-Box and the associated custom made cables in a final attempt at eliminating RFI (30 day money back if not satisfied warrantee). Within 3 days of placing my order, I received the I-Box and two cables; one Mogami cable to interface the 528E to the I- Box and another nicely made Beldin DIN to DIN cable to tie the I-Box to the ACC1 input at the back of the rig (balanced modulator). I then connected my foot switch to the I-Box.
Upon fire-up, and monitoring of my signal through an Icom 751A, I noticed straight away the huge improvement in audio quality and the ability to actually adjust the various functions of the 528E vs. very limited ranges before. I must admit I was feeding the mic signal to the front panel 8 pin connector vs. the ACC1 jack. However, the I-Box now permits me to properly set the line levels and impedance to the rig from the 528E, which was not really a possibility using the "set" values as stock. Also running the Acom at full legal limit on 17 meters (which I usually don't do) as a test, I now have no trace of RFI on the audio or on the Scope I set up on the output. The pattern is absolutely a perfect christmas tree. 17 meters is where I did my first test since it was by far my worst band for RFI. I could not run an amplifier at all on this band or it would take out the audio through high levels of RFI. I have since checked other bands and the station is clean. I am getting constant unsolicted reports of beautiful audio (also running 2.4 KHz BW, never more) everytime I am on the air.
The bottom line is, get this product and clean up the signals through good isolation and proper line levels. You will love it.
Bruce K1XR
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|
| N0KHQ |
Rating:      |
2004-04-27 | |
| Great Interface |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Probably one of the most difficult issues to address in any sound system is impedance matching.
I see no reason why the "Ibox" could not be used in professional or home recording studios. This market for the "Ibox" may have been over looked.
The "Ibox" addresses several issuses experienced by ham radio operators using "any" type of out board sound reinforcement equipment:
1. Ground Loops
2. RFI
3. Impedence matching
4. Balanced to Unbalanced
Using the "Ibox" I was able to delete (2) units from my audio chain: (gained more room also)
1. Ebtech Hum Eliminator
2. Behringer DI-100 DI box
I bought (2) units, (1) for the Icom 756Proll and (1) for the Ten Tec Jupiter. I feed audio into the rear on each rig.
The issue is matching the balanced line level output impedance of the audio equipment to the rig unbalanced line level input impedance. This is not easily done......unless you have an "Ibox".
To the best of my knowledge there is no commercially manufactured device, other than the "Ibox", that will allow you to set this impedance exactly.
Here is another issue that some hams may be experiencing when running out board audio gear.
They run the balanced line level output of the audio gear into the the unbalanced mic input of the rig.....this is a big no....no.
Line level outputs (balanced) are in the voltage range and mic level inputs (unbalanced) are in the millivolt range. A definite mismatch. This issue is quickly recognized by observation of the rigs "ALC".
If you are concerned with RFI, Ground Loops, Balanced to Unbalanced and Impedance Matching issues.........
Do yourself a favor, buy the "Ibox", plug it in, and use it. You dont have anything to lose. Julius has an unconditional 30 day return policy, if you are not satisfied with the performance send the unit back and he will return your money.
Oh yeah, when Julius says he'll get the unit to you right away....he's not kidding. In my case, I had the units in (2) days.....now thats service.
Thanks Julius
John / N0KHQ / St. Louis |
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| N2KEN |
Rating:      |
2003-11-28 | |
| A perfect "10". Elegant |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I’ve been remiss in writing this review. I built one of the first retail Ibox kits when they became available early in 2003. I promised Julius, W2IHY, I would post an eHam review. He was very responsive to my questions and e-mails and was very eager to hear how my experiences went. I gave feedback to him by e-mail and in person at Dayton.
This unobtrusive little, black box instantly solved my audio problems and continues to work flawlessly. This is one of those products that solves many agonizing problems and does it with quiet elegance. At first glance the average ham will ponder what the heck the IBox is used for . . . Well frankly, this is not an accessory everyone absolutely needs. The market is primarily those with enhanced audio equipment. However, if you experience RF problems in your audio, need to match a line level output so you can feed it into your rig, or need to isolate your microphone (or audio processing equipment) from your rig to eliminate hum this is the product for you. It works!
I started experimenting with enhanced audio about a year ago and quickly encountered all of the problems I just mentioned. The output from the Behringer audio processing equipment I was experimenting with was too high to correctly match the microphone input of my rigs. I needed an attenuator. The simple one I built was only fair.
I had some hum in my audio due to using a balanced signal into an unbalanced input. Some type of ground loop or other source of hum existed. Annoying! I needed to isolate the audio processing equipment circuits from the radio’s microphone input. I tried an inexpensive audio isolation transformer with some success, but audio quality was only fair. I also had some RF finding its way into my audio signal. Whatta mess and I spent hours on experimentation. I built a crude interface circuit that worked somewhat. I actually learned quite a bit from the agony. But, I still needed help.
I unplugged everything and re-educated myself. Several excellent web sites developed by hams interested in enhanced SSB audio described the problems and the solutions. I read all these wonderful sites a few times until I understood the issues: matching, isolation and RF elimination. Coincidentally, this was just at the time Julius, W2IHY, was developing the IBox to address the needs of the SSB audio community. The “Murf box” was an early prototype and evolved into the IBox through collaborative efforts by some very savvy audiophile hams. Kudos!
Julius shipped an IBox kit to me as soon as it was ready for sale. The easy to construct kit (also available built) worked perfectly and instantly solved the array of issues. Actually, the kit took about two leisurely hours to assemble. One benefit of building the kit was to observe all the RF filtering both on the input AND output of the circuit. Another value-added is all the wonderful audio information and interfacing instructions Julius provides along with the product. The booklet has numerous wiring diagrams that I refer to all the time. Great! I recommend that you print-out the pdf file for the IBox instructions and you’ll see what I mean. The information alone is worth the purchase price. Thanks to Julius and all those who contributed to the development of the IBox! This product (and Julius) deserves a 10 not a 5. 73 N2KEN
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|
| KC5CQF |
Rating:      |
2003-10-26 | |
| Terrific Frequency Response |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I use 2ea of the W2IHY I-Box's. I use a Behringer MX882 mixer/spliter to route all of my "Rack" audio, computer audio, etc. to the transcievers.
I am using one I-box for my TS-870s going into the Mic plug. This rig is used for SSB and Digital. The attenuator works flawlessly in dropping the Line level audio to Mic level. The isolation transformer does a great job of removing any hum and rf while passing all the audio frequency spectrum.
I am using another I-Box on my FT-102 going directly to the AM modulator. I use this rig for AM. The attenuator is perfect for fine tuning the Line level audio signal into the modulator.
This unit works perfectly and I would recomend it.
Mike
KC5CQF |
|
| K4FRC |
Rating:      |
2003-05-13 | |
| Clean audio from W2IHY ibox |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
Julius has done it again! With the ibox from W2IHY I have been able to once and for all match my rack mounted audio processing gear with no hums or buzzes. The audio that goes into my eq and compressor/limiter is the audio that comes out into my Kenwood TS-870. Adjust it once and walk away from it. Of course it goes without saying that the workmanship and quality of the ibox are both top notch.
There are no signal hitch-hikers along for the ride, just clean audio. |
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