| N5GLR |
Rating:      |
2004-08-25 | |
| Excellent |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Just finished my DSWII-20 and it works great. The kit is staight forward and easy to assemble but, some components are not labeled/silkscreened on the circuit board. It's not a problem because the pictoral/diagram shows where everything goes and they're easy to locate by referencing other components. My eyes aren't what they used to be so, a magnifying glass came in real handy for part ID and for soldering. This rig is very well designed and constructed kit ... very professional.
Once assembled, the tune up is a breeze. Three adjustments and you're done. The freq. readout (in Morse) is very accurate, the keyer works great (full QSK), the tuning knob is detented and I like it, and it has a great receiver (sensitive but quiet and selective).
It worked the first time I applied power and I made two contacts last night. Power out is a tad over 3 watts on my non-QRP watt meter (must get a better one) and I received S3 (South Dakota) and S4 (Baltimore) strength reports along with "9" tone quality.
Based on this experience, I'll be starting a collection of these great rigs. I think 30 meter will be my next band.
Garry
N5GLR |
|
| G3CWI |
Rating:      |
2004-07-09 | |
| Excellent - another great kit |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Dave Benson's kits are always great - I have made up quite a few. The DSW2 is the KX1 for people who like to customise rather than build a "me too" radio. I built mine into a "trail friendly" enclosure and added my own log-book lamp. I also added the excellent Jackson Harbor pic replacement. The DSW2 performs very well and offers good value for money. Add an AT paddle and you have a great little performer.
Comments about SWR protection are - IMHO - ill founded. It has the standard Zener diode protection on the PA. I also would not blame the radio for burning out if I forgot to fuse the power supply (see G3VGR review). I have run mine several times into no load by mistake without problems. |
|
| W9AC |
Rating:      |
2004-06-08 | |
| Great Performer |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I finished the 20M DSW-II kit over the weekend. Total build time was about four hours. Calibration took less than five minutes as only two adjustments are required.
One component was missing: a 0.033 uF polyester cap, but I had another on-hand which kept the pace of building moving along.
The DSW-II has awesome QSK. I am able to hear the band in between code elements -- no key thumps or headphone clicks either. On my waveform monitor, the transmit keying produces a fast, but smooth leading edge and a gentle trailing edge which makes copy very easy, but without unnecessary key clicks.
Output power is better than 6 watts at full output. I like to keep QRP power to about 2 watts which seems like a good place to maximize your reach without rapidly draining batteries. I haven't tried the DSW-II down to the minimum power supply specification of 7 volts yet, but apparently it operates just fine, albeit at reduced output power.
The DSW-II certainly exceeds the performance of my original DSW and it is going to make a great camping and trail-friendly radio. |
|
| G3VGR |
Rating:   |
2004-05-23 | |
| No VSWR Protection |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| I have both an original DSW20 and a DSWII-40. Both were easy to build and performed well. My only complaint is there is no PA protection when connected to a load with high VSWR whilst tuning the antenna - a situation that often arises in the field with random length antennas. My DSW20 popped a few 2SC1947 PA transistors which were expensive to replace, so I eventually used a 2N3553 instead which is far more robust. The DSWII-40 PA went short circuit under high VSWR and as it was connected to a SLA battery without a fuse, the high current resulted in the PCB catching fire and is beyond repair. I'm now wondering what to use the pretty case for. However, it was quite a nice rig whilst it lasted. |
|
| W9HC |
Rating:      |
2004-03-23 | |
| WOW! What a kit! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Do you think that no radio kit could ever be worth waiting nearly three months for? I have one that might change your mind - as it changed mine. The DSW-II is a fun kit to build and even more fun to operate. At $150.00, it is quite a piece of radio engineering and value for the money. I first saw the DSW-II at FDIM 2003, and really liked the neat, compact design. The DSW-II is really a feature-loaded mono-band QRP transceiver, offering about 4-5 watts output. The 20m version is spec'd at 4 watts, but mine does just a tick over 5. The kit was a challenge for me, only because of arthritis and somewhat weakened eyesight. So I did just what any ham would do, I got a big magnifying lamp and a pair of tweezers! It took about 10 hours to build, but only because I chose to work very slowly and check everything 2 and 3 times. Even then, I made a couple of mistakes and learned that unsoldering from a double sided (plated through) board is harder than soldering to it to begin with...much harder. Imagine my surprise when I powered the DSW-II up for the first time and immediately got a 599 in a 15-minute QSO. The more detailed signal purity reports could not have been more encouraging.
I'm not sure that this kit is really a good choice for beginners, but neither is it unduly complicated. A good mini-course in soldering might be a good idea, as the components are small and the foil pads on the board are very closely spaced. Small Wonder Labs offers a service after sale "fix it" for only $40.00, flat rate.
Dave's service is wonderful. There were three small resistors (in a single packet) accidentally omitted my kit. He sent them immediately. His manual is well written, with few ambiguities. The section on winding toroids is a bit sparse, and I suggest the user sneak a peak at the Elecraft K1 manual (on-line) in order to get the turn counting done correctly (the K1 example pictures are a big and the description is a bit clearer). I would suggest that buyers download the manual BEFORE ordering, and further review it while waiting for your kit to arrive. Also, download the available manual supplement (from the SWL web site). It contains information that will be of use to many builders.
Once built, the DSW-II is a neat little radio. The built-in keyer is flawless, and the QSK is first-rate (way better than my IC703). The audio frequency output is adequate. I have made one mod already, placing an in-line power switch on the 12v. power cable. Otherwise, the radio is turned on and off by plugging in the power. Something about that just didn't seem right.
I'm using Bencher paddles and a cheap ("Coby")pair of CD-player headphones with nice results. I don't care for ear buds. A pair of battery-powered computer speakers gave exceptional results also.
The DSW-II allows the user to reverse the paddles, go "key down" for tuning, change keyer speed, and all the necessary functions of a good HF rig.
Tuning takes a little time to get used to, like about 15 minutes. The operating frequency report to the user (in morse code) is "spot on" accurate. The RIT works very nicely, though I do wish that there was a more gross tuning step to make it easier to jump from the top of the CW band on 20 down to the bottom 25 khz. Maybe in the next version?
Calibration of the radio is easy and requires no test equipment.
In summary, this splendid little radio kit and its excellent manufacturer deserve every one of the 5/5 ratings it continues to get... including this one.
73
Steve
W9HC |
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| NK4C |
Rating:      |
2004-03-20 | |
| Outstanding kit! |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
Built the 20 meter DSW-II last October. Easy to
build using the excellent instructions, and
taking time to examine each solder joint. High
quality parts. Had to use caution when soldering
the four toroids to the pc board because of the
close pad spacing. Worked at first power-up,
outstanding selectivity, stability, and sensitivity. Have
had many good solid QSO's with it and an attic
dipole. Will build the 40 meter version soon. |
|
| N4QA |
Rating:      |
2004-03-14 | |
| Not just for CW anymore... |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I've been using K1SWL's DSW rigs for several years.
And, while they're a pleasure to operate in CW mode, I get a real kick out of running true FSK RTTY with them.
For details of how to run RTTY with Dave's DSW and DSW-II series rigs, see:
http://www.n4qa.com/dswmulti/dswmulti.html
The software is free...MMTTY by JE3HHT
and DSWMULTI by N4QA.
The modification hardware is simple(its design, also free).
Thank you Dave Benson for providing the QRP community with such delightful (and modifiable) rigs!
72.
Bill, N4QA |
|
| N4EJG |
Rating:      |
2004-01-18 | |
| Absolutely easiest build ever |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
This is the easiest transceiver kit I have ever built. Derived from the SW series, the build time is much less due to the clever use of flex cable and a daughter board. It took me about 5 leisurely hours.
The board is crowded, but of very high quality. There are 4 toroids to wind. There are three large surface mount inductors to be installed. None of these are tough to do as long as you take your time and use care. There are several SMT parts which come installed on the board. Dave provides the great step by step instructions that we in the QRP community are used to. As Heath used to say, Dave will not let you fail.
This rig would be a great club project as it goes together so nicely. A first time builder should have little or no trouble. The many Rock Mite builders should strongly consider this kit as the next logical step. This is the first DDS rig I have ever used. As always, one learns by working with a rig like this.
What do you end up with after you finish the DSW-II? A small, light CW tranceiver that you can operate completely by touch. The audio frequency readout is accessable by just touching a switch. The receiver is based upon the venerable SA-602 mixer. It is surprisingly hot. The QSK is flawless. The rig is a battery miser.
I am going to take this out into the field. The tuning steps on the DDS knob take some getting used to, but the detent actually is an advantage as it is harder to bump the rig off frequency. It is tiny, performs well and goes just about anywhere. You can even put a magnetic miniature key on the case! It was so much fun to build, I am considering the 40 meter version.
I am amazed at the high quality engineering, creativity and end product. Dave Benson has another winner.
73,
Ed
N4EJG |
|
| KB9YIG |
Rating:      |
2003-11-24 | |
| Great little QRP radio |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I have been using my DSW-II-40 since October 13, 2003 and continue to enjoy many nice QSOs with it. The kit was an easy build and from start to first contact was about seven hours. I continue to be impressed with what a great little radio the DSW-II-40 is and would not hesitate to recommend it to other hams. Definitely a 5.0 out of 5! |
|
| WD8JOL |
Rating:      |
2003-10-28 | |
| Superb monobander! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I recently completed the 40 meter DSW-II. It went together easily due to excellent instructions and very high quality parts, inluding beautifully etched boards. The ribbon connection to the front panel is a super idea. The enclosure is the best I've seen for a rig of this type. And does is work? You bet! I've made several solid QSOs with it and get excellent signal reports. It's a joy to operate, having features enough to be a primary rig for many. |
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