Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: Rockwell Collins HF-2050

Category: Receivers: non-amateur adaptable for ham use

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : Rockwell Collins HF-2050
Reviews: 1MSRP:
Description:
First high performance commercial-military receiver to use DSP. Built in limited numbers for the Canadian military.
Product is not in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0015
KD5VC Rating: 2005-02-03
Great Receiver Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This receiver is really as good as you have heard. The audio recovery is about as good as you are going to find, the AGC works well without pops and clicks. The noise blanker does work well on impulse noise. The front end of this receiver is very quiet and sensitivity is very high, with the MDS measuring in the .02 to .03 uv range. The controls are easy to use, although there are a couple of buttons marked with features that were not operational in the final design. Backlighting for the display would have been nice, but the displays are fairly large and easy to read. The receiver has built in test functions that can be exhaustive. On power up you get a quick test of the parameters, there is a "Test" button which allows you to test "everything". The receiver can be remote controlled, though I do not know of a software package that supports it.

There is one design requirement that has not been observed on some of these receivers causing questions about their reliability. The power supply in the HF-2050 must be mounted hard up against the top cover. This design uses the top cover as a heat sink. If there is space between the top cover and power supply the power supply will run extremely hot causing failure of power supply components (electrolytic caps first). The vent holes on the top of the receiver are pretty well blocked by the power supply, so you can not move enough air into and out of the power supply compartment to cool the power supply by direct air flow. It must be cooled by conducting heat to the top cover. Then you need to insure that air is flowing across the power supply area of the top cover.

These receivers worked for years for the Canadian military with acceptable MTBF. They will do the same for the new owners.