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Reviews For: Timewave DSP-9+

Category: Filters, Audio: (DSP and others)

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Review Summary For : Timewave DSP-9+
Reviews: 21MSRP: 199.55
Description:
DSP noise filter.
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.timewave.com/dsp9p.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00214.7
SCANDOGTWO Rating: 2007-01-09
NICE DSP FILTER!!! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
TIMEWAVE DSP-9+ INCREDIBLE FILTER.
CAN IMPROVE VIRTUALLY ANY TX OR RX.
IMPROVE YOUR RECEPCION AND PICK UP ANY LOW SIGNAL.
VERY RECOMMENDED FOR RADIOS WITHOUT DSP.
WA4053SWL Rating: 2007-01-06
Excellent DSP filter! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Buy one of these in e-bay for $85.00 in box and I can say that it is of great help with week signal in SSB and CW [Random Noise Reduction + AGC push in], the Tone Noise Reduction also is fantastic to leave it constant push in, for digital mode it has an extremely effective combination of filters.
73 and good DX.
W5KG Rating: 2005-08-13
A Good Addition to Shack Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Not as good as DSP in newer rigs but it works very well with older rigs. I use mine with SB 102 and TS 450S. The auto notch makes it worth the money.
If you can get one at a ham-fest at a good price you wont be disapointed.
VK3KBC Rating: 2005-07-09
Great for CW and RTTY and OK for SSB Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased my Timewave DSP-9+ second hand from a hamfest for AU$60.00. I was intending to use it on SSB with my TS440SAT.

When I first tried it out, I found the DSP artifacts made the SSB voice sound 'odd' and it took a bit of getting used to.

After a while and a bit of trial and error, I found that if the IF shift on the TS440 was a little on the low side, and the radio's bandwidth switch was set to wide, the DSP-9+ would produce a very good quality audio for signals right down to the noise floor.

This is fine when the band is not crowded, but becomes a bit of a problem when selectivity is required.

With the radio filter set to narrow, the recovered audio is a bit harsher and more artifacts are noticeable.

If the audio is barely discernible without the filter, it will often be discernible with the filter using these settings.

The unit behaves differently with respect to different sources of noise however.

Generally it does well, but some noise is difficult to remove and for SSB, I would only rate it a 4 out of 5.

The unit does really well with RTTY and CW though.

The different bandwidths that can be set for CW really make a difference and with the TS440 filter on narrow and the DSP-9+ on narrow, the recovered audio is clear and sharp down to very low signal levels, albeit that the recovered audio sounds a bit like you're working inside a submarine on these settings.

With the wider filter settings, the CW audio is quite good.

The auto audio notch filter is very good and will remove the carriers that tune on your frequency whilst you're trying to receive a DX station, although there is some interaction when you select the notch and the noise reduction simultaneously.

I have compared the unit with a BHI NES 10-2 DSP Speaker and for CW and RTTY, the Timewave DSP-9+ is better in my opinion, but for SSB, the NES 10-2 is better in almost all situations. The DSP-9+ does compete well at times, but more often than not, the NES unit has far fewer artifacts and has a much lower noise floor with a better recovered audio than does the Timewave unit.

I have also recently purchased a W9GR DSP II and am very impressed. I will post a seperate review for it.

Overall, for SSB, I would definitely choose the NES BHI 10-2, then the W9GR DSP II, and then the Timewave DSP-9+ in that order.

For someone only interested in improving the audio quality of SSB and FM signals, the NES unit is recommended.

For CW and RTTY, the Timewave and W9GR units are both very good and the NES unit is not very suitable in my opinion.

If you can get one of these Timewave DSP-9+'s for the right price, then buy it if only to get rid of the occasional carrier on the frequency when chasing DX.

It will improve the audio on noisy bands and make listening easier in most cases but not all, although you may have to sacrifice reciever selectivity to gain a more pleasant sounding recovered audio.

If you're a CW fan, then you won't regret one of these if you need to filter out adjacent signals and noise.
WK4RC Rating: 2001-10-09
Great Performer Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought this unit a number of years ago and used it with much success on my TS450S during a number of CW Sweepstakes. Could seperate adjacent signals with ease and pick out the weak ones! Use it with my TenTec Argosy and really enjoy the NEW performance given to this rig with the Timewave hanging on it! I would not part with this unit and plan on using it on all of my old TenTec's whenever I need to cut band noise during the solar downturn. If you have an older rig or want to pick up on a fine older rig without the DSP built in this is the way to go and save some money in the process.
W6PMR Rating: 2001-10-09
Glad I didn't pay retail! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought my DSP9+ used a the Livermore swap in Northern Cal. and hooked it up to my TS940sat.
Disapointing performance at best. It did nothing but induce an "worming" sound to SSB, reduce audio quality, and did less of a job of getting rid of noise than I expected. And I did not expect a lot.
I do not use CW or any digital modes, it might work better for those ops that do.
Mine is going back out on the swap table next month.
ZL3AG Rating: 2001-06-20
Good, but suggest a rig with IF DSP Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I got one of these in 1994 to follow a TS430S. It did a good job but did not pull out unreadable signals from the noise. It in reality made a good signal better.

It was expensive and the resale had lost momentum as rigs began to have DSP as standard.

I quit it last year when I upgraded to an IC746. The IF DSP is much superior.

I payed NZ$430 and got NZ$250 when sold.
N4JGO Rating: 2001-04-13
Outstanding Product Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I am using the DSP-9+ with my Drake TR4. This product has put the FUN back into ham radio. If you haven't experienced any of the Timewave products, I suggest that you try one and hear what you are missing.
G3VGR Rating: 2001-02-18
Very effective filter for CW Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought the DSP9+ at a hamfest and use it with my IC735 and also various QRP rigs. It certainly makes CW operating a joy. Weak signals which are hardly audible become Q5 copy with the DSP9+. I would recommend this product for "supercharging" an older rig.
KF9VH Rating: 2000-12-05
Great product Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I also have the 9+ and am very happy with it. It does everything Timewave says it will do. With all the qrming on 75 meters I would not be without it.