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Reviews For: microHAM USB Interface III

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

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Review Summary For : microHAM USB Interface III
Reviews: 34MSRP: 199.95
Description:
The USB interface III includes full optical isolation of all control signals (radio control, CW, PTT and Squelch) and built-in USB soundcard with front panel level controls for transmit via your transceiver's Accessory audio input and the constant level (pre-volume control) audio output.
Product is in production
More Info: http://microham.com/index1.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00344.8
PA0IVA Rating: 2020-04-08
Very good value Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Was looking for a cheap all-one product to enter the digital modes on HF. This is the one! About an hour of fiddling met with Yeasu FT-2000 and it works like a charm.
Make sure you set te baudrate to 9600 in the menu.
Made some nice connections with FT8, SSTV, RTTY, CW
It works almost out of the box with minimal effort

HB9TRE Rating: 2018-08-05
Easy and fast to install Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I use the Microham USB III with a FT897, a MacPro laptop and WSJT-X software... Installation and set-up took less than 1/2 hour (configuring audio on MacPro and CAT on WSJT-X took a bit of trial and error but similar to installing a WLAN router... just need to test a few different configuration parameters to find the right one.).
W9AC Rating: 2018-07-07
Well Designed Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've been using A uHam Interface III since 2015. It pairs very nicely with an Elecraft K3. It works so well, that I've resisted changing the Elecraft KIO3 board with the newest USB version.

The only issue was at the time of initial installation. Operation was intermittent and a cold solder joint was the culprit. I found it by lightly tapping across the PC board to find the point of greatest sensitivity. After reheating several pins, the unit has been 100%.

Highly recommended.
DL4EAX Rating: 2017-11-27
Cute and clever Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I am using two of them for a Yaesu FT-857 and a Kenwood TS-590S.

I have configured the USB Device Router Software to create two virtual COM ports for each radio. One for CAT and the other one for PTT and CW.

This and the option to create different (easy to switch) profiles for each radio, gives a lot of flexibility for all kind of digimode and contesting software.
K0XQ Rating: 2017-07-12
Top of the line performance. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Can't begin to describe how well designed and superbly performing this little monster is. I ended up migrating to microHam some years ago after having constant issues with a domestic manufacturer of similar equipment. I noticed a lot of serious contesters, and DXers for that matter, were using mH gear. My first venture into mH was the USB III and the microkeyer II. I was sufficiently impressed enough to order a MK2R+ to run both radios in the shack...one of the best decisions I have ever made.

With the USB III, right now I use it mostly with a Yaesu FT-817D, Elecraft T1 mini ATU, and a Win 10 laptop with DX4WIN 8.05, HRD 6, Win-Test 4.3, WriteLog 12, and both a Ventenna hfP vertical and a Buddipole dipole for a mighty mite QRP portable setup for DXing, contesting and JT-65/JT9 weak signal work. Effortless setup, seamlessly integrates with all 4 of the contesting /logging software installs, etc.

There is a bit of a learning curve with the microHam products..the USB Device router software that creates the virtual COM ports takes a few reads thru the manual, and the settings for each individual software piece can be quite complex at times. This is offset by what I consider to the the best written manuals in the industry.
SP7IDX Rating: 2016-02-03
Excellent Product Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Excellent for my small activation, This product deserves a 5+ rating.
N3WMC Rating: 2015-09-09
very good interface Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Had RFI and virtual com port problems with Rigblaster advantage running in Windows 10..Friend recommended Microham usb III.Set up was easy with my IC 7600 and Windows 10.THE Router software made setting up ports very easy..Very well made unit,cables shielded. Works flawlessly with HRD Suite and N1MM/MMTTY..Recommend to any one.
KA3YAN Rating: 2015-08-25
A very good interface for digital modes Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I want to begin by saying that there are very few digital interfaces (sound card or otherwise) that I haven't used. This review will discuss specifics relating to the microHAM USB III as well as compare and contrast it with other popular interfaces.

The microHAM USB III interface is a very small device which contains its own sound card and provides a means to interface your amateur radio to your personal computer for both control of your rig as well as decoding/encoding of digital signals over RF. All connections between the radio and laptop are galvanically isolated to prevent ground loops and other harmful interference. The microHAM USB III also provides a number of virtual serial ports for various rig control functions (PTT, CW, CAT, etc.).

The microHAM USB III is a compromise in some ways when compared to the "Top of the Line" Navigator interface now manufactured by Timewave Technologies. The Navigator contains a UART RS-232 connection via USB that actually contains six physical serial ports where the USB III's serial ports are all virtual ports and are only present when the microHAM software is running. This has the potential to cause a hardware conflict if a new serial device is plugged in when the microHAM software is closed. On the plus side, I have not observed any adverse signal delays using the virtual ports over physical ports. Having a PTT COM port is very useful over a VOX PTT found on devices like the Tigertronics SignaLink USB. Also, the SignaLink USB requires an additional control cable (CAT or CI-V) where the microHAM and Navigator provide for rig control with a single USB cable.

Like the SignaLink USB, the microHAM USB III requires internal jumper settings depending on the rig being used. This isn't a big deal and doesn't require frequent changes once the jumpers are set. The Navigator does not require internal changes of any type or for any reason. We're hams though, so tinkering isn't really a bad thing.

The microHAM USB III's audio signal is mostly flat from around 300 Hz to 3000 Hz where there is some roll-off on each end. This affects nothing that I have seen as every digital mode that I have used falls easily into this envelope. This very nearly matches the Navigator's performance and surpasses the SignaLink USB's. It has been well document that the SignaLink USB does not have a very flat response over it's audio band pass, especially at the low end.

When I speak of the SignaLink USB's audio profile, the same can be said of the PK-232SC as the later uses nearly identical audio circuit components. I won't discuss the PK-232SC otherwise as none of the other interfaces include built-in MODEMS for Packet and TOR modes which make the PK-232SC unique in this field.

The microHAM USB III is absolutely tiny. When looking at photos, it appears to be the size of a Navigator or just slightly smaller. In reality it is actually smaller than the SignaLink USB. I was shocked at its small size. One issue that the small size caused had to do with the heavier weight of the radio cable compared to the lighter weight of the USB III. This made the USB III want to tilt backward when pulled by the cable. This of course isn't a show-stopper, but it goes to show how small the device is. If I had to guess-timate, I'd say the USB III is maybe 1/6 to 1/8 the size of the Navigator.

Unlike the other two devices, the microHAM USB III does require external power. I was a little surprised that it wasn't capable of running off of the USB port's 5 VDC as the SignaLink USB and Navigator both are. Not a huge issue, but it means that if your rig can't provide the necessary 12 VDC, you'll have to provide it through another means. My radio cable assembly has a set of Anderson Powerpole connectors for easy connection to the rest of my shack's 12 volt power.

Pros:
- Tiny in size, but giant in performance
- Galvanically isolated connections
- Firmware upgradeable
- Excellent audio response
- Roughly half the cost of a Navigator
- COM port for PTT and CW
- Single USB cable to PC
- Custom cables available for virtually all radios
- Radio cable schematics are free if you want to make your own cable

Cons:
- Proprietary configuration software must be installed and running for the USB III to work
- Custom radio cables are expensive and fairly complicated to make if you don't want to buy one pre-made
- Uses only virtual COM ports
- Requires external DC power
- With a radio cable, cost is twice that of a SignaLink USB
- Proprietary configuration software can be a resource hog on older/slower PCs
- No Linux drivers or configuration software available from the microHAM
- Not made in the USA (for those of you who care)
VU2CDP Rating: 2014-12-16
Very good Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Used them for our VU4KV operation and they worked flawlessly. Highly recommended.

73,
Deepak VU2CDP
N4XYZ Rating: 2014-07-29
Great Interface Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I received my interface packaged well. It has a DVD with the install software plus the manual. Instructions were clear and easy to follow. I have used the interface with just two programs but I am primarily an FLDIGI user. The interface works great and takes advantage of FLDIGI right channel CW keying and FSK. Plan to use it at home and on the road when I am RV portable.