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Reviews For: CG Antenna SB-2000 USB Radio Interface

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

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Review Summary For : CG Antenna SB-2000 USB Radio Interface
Reviews: 9MSRP: 99
Description:
radio interface connects your transceiver and computer. Operating digital mode and rig control via your computer
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.cgantenna.be/sb2000.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0093.9
LA9DAA Rating: 2014-12-04
Works without problems Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
No problem in setup or operation
It lives ut to my expectations; Works as advertised
Using homemade Interface cables
PA3ALF Rating: 2012-12-12
Works as advertized Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I am using the SB-2000 in combination with a Yaesu FT-950. I am using several programs like HRD and dm780, Digipan, WSPR. All works fine. Be carefull to set up your soundcard input and output levels correct!. However it would be nice to have LINUX drivers.
KD0ILM Rating: 2012-09-11
Great device Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I got a heck of a deal on one of these at Dayton. Spent a lot of time with the owner of the company who is a ham from China. I am new at digital and it hooked up and ran flawlessly right out of the box. I recommend it!
GI0ZGB Rating: 2012-04-27
Problem Sorted Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Update, turns out my SB-2000 had an intermittent fault on the pot controlling output, that problem being resolved with a better quality pot and good 'ol lead solder.
The data signal is fed to the RTTT/PKT connector, and not to the mic connector, so it will not TX data in USB mode. However, if you select PKT-USB it will TX just fine. I upgraded to RigExpert TI-5 and am currently running MiXW, Fldigi and HRD 5.20, the latter being very buggy, but all three getting the job done with SB-2000 as well.
The CG Antenna website is little better than useless, apart from drivers and manual we're on our own, in stark contrast to the RigExpert website. The unit was easy to install using drivers via Windows7 update.
TA2RX Rating: 2011-02-24
Wouldn't buy one if I knew Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have used the SB-2000 with Yaesu FT-950. Initially I had problems in setting it up. Thanks to the seller's (Martin Lynch and sons) supportive staff this was solved after some struggle.

There are two major problems with this device:

1. You need a different cable for each and every rig, even if they are produced by the same manufacturer, meaning you have to pay an additional 20 Euros for each rig you own. (I had to buy different cables for my FT-950 and FT-857, for example.)

2. It is deaf. You have to use it over the data port of a Yaesu. I do not know if the problem is with Yaesu's data port or the device itself but SB-200 heard only a few stations on BPSK31, using HRD + DM 780, whereas a Rigblaster Nomic hears tens of them.
SV1HKD Rating: 2010-11-30
SB-2000 & LOGGER 32 Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have SB-2000 from October 2009.It is a chip interface but it works fine with Yaesu ft-2000d & with Kenwood ts-480sat by LOGGER 32.But it's importand if you want to have radio control by cat and rtty by mtty with extfsk the same time, to dowhload a vitrual com program.(I work VSPE).You have to create a splitter and you must use the same virtual port for control cat & exfsk.(if the port from interface is com 4 you must create(DEVICE)-spliter com 5.Now your new virtual com is com 5.You must set to your log program radio cat com5 & extfk program port also com5(In extfsk menu DTR FOR FSK & RTS FOR PTT).In LOGGER 32 mtty radio ptt settings are PTT by serial port, keying rts+dtr,using extfsk. In splitter settings NO RTS ,NO DTR and speed 9600.Every time you need to work must open VSPE program and everything it's ok.
Now i love SB-2000 and i have run many times psk31,rtty,sstv etc.73 de Notis(SV1HKD) from Agrinio in west greece.
M0AZE Rating: 2010-03-06
Be sure it will work before you purchase Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I primarily purchased as it stated that it would work with Apple Mac - it's proved not to be the case even when interfacing to Icom 756 Pro III (initially it would not work to TS870). The supplied driver disk is not a full size CD so it would not install via this method and I had to search for the driver and in the end had it sent via mail.

I was so frustrated that I enlisted an old Windows XP laptop and with Ham Radio deluxe it's proven to be very unreliable and I've given up.

I will now try an alternative and go down the tried and tested route and just put this down to experience. The You Tube video is very intuitive and I have seen it work. It's sold as plug and play and certainly looks to be that way, it just didn't for me.

Manufacturer Web site is very poor - copy of user manual and drivers for Windows only and that's your lot.
EA7EE Rating: 2009-10-08
Surprisingly Simple and Powerful Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
USB interface simple, easy to wire up and set up. I can use PTT and FSK/CW signal in the same COM port using a virtual interface software (http://personales.ya.com/eb4fmt/Manuales/Puertos%20Com.pdf), as example for TS-2000X. RCAs connectors for soundcard are more secure. The price of the cables is only 20 euros and are very well finisheds with EMI cores in CAT cable and manufactured in China. HI HI.

I was pleasantly surprised by its smooth operation. Negative Point is that used with a TS-2000X CAT only supports max 19200 and IC-746 CAT only 9600 baud max (there is some signal filter I think). I switch rigs in operation with just changing the 25pin connector cables. I do not need to touch any jumper configuration!!

There is a video in youtube from Martin and Linch that show the interface.

73s
Manuel
G4RNW Rating: 2009-08-14
does just as it says Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Very pleased so far. I use it with HRD/Digimaster780 (Just updated to HRD version 5) with Icom 756 Pro111. Had a little bother 1st time running, as it stuck on TX as soon as HRD opened up. This was cured with a phone call to supplier Martin Lynch & Sons. RTS/DTR should have been un-ticked - I am no PC expert ! Can now do PSK31, RTTY, CW and various others from the lap top with auto logging. CW decoding not v good, but maybe A bit more familiarity will cure this. Otherwise I can't fault it. The CW problems mostly a feature of HRD.