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Reviews For: CLEAN RF VARIABLE RF SAMPLERS

Category: Tools & Test Equipment for the amateur radio work bench

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Review Summary For : CLEAN RF VARIABLE RF SAMPLERS
Reviews: 31MSRP: Varies
Description:
VARIABLE RF SAMPLERS
SPLATTER VIEW
AM MODULATION MONITOR
Various models and combos.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.cleanrf.com/index.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00315
N1NAZ Rating: 2011-12-28
A Necessity for adjusting Modulation Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Very well built and a nice addition to the shack. With a scope and the sampler inline you can monitor your modulation and adjust for clean transmissions.. As far as price is concerned, after spending money to setup a nice shack why would you skimp on (quality) test equipment that keeps your transmissions sounding great, and in speck.
KG8LB Rating: 2011-09-08
They work well as claimed . Excellent support. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Well done !
Price comments aside, there is a cost for doing business. Clean RF provides a fine website that is a virtual bible on clean RF and audio. The products are very nicely made, fully supported and they do what they claim . Yes, there are many ways to do this, using these products makes the job clean and easy. It would be nice to see scopes and the ability to demonstrate proper use should be mandatory on all SSB rigs, especially when running amplifiers.
The Clean RF products and support are helping to clean up the arirwaves wherever they are in use ! TNX , Clean RF .
K2WS Rating: 2011-08-25
Quality test gear will last a lifetime Time Owned: more than 12 months.
When I first got on high power in the mid 60's with 4 837's in Grounded grid I used an HO-10 Monitor scope. Tuning for best linearity was simple using that old scope in trapezoid mode and my HT-37 and 4 837's routinely produced clean SSB, AM and CW signals. I learned very early to AVOID overdriving the finals and tuning for maximum smoke - because it produced a non-linear signal causing splatter and reduced the life of the finals!
Today I use Clean RF's demodulator and RF sampler units with a Tektronix 2225 dual trace scope. The scope presents a large RF trapezoid whenever the linear is on. I depend on the test gear to spot trouble! It doesn't make sense "to cheap it out" here.
Clean RF has produced a quality product that works as advertised and will last a long while.
K5ZYO Rating: 2011-08-24
Excellent Product Quality Manufactured Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Ordered this product from Tyler based on both his well done web pge overview (pics, block diagrams,txt), and a fellow amateur who was already using it who highly recommended it. I already had a Tektronix scope and had previously built my own basic directional coupler, but this one is far superior to mine. Have a home brew amplifier I built (pair 813's), but wondered how the linearity really would look on a good scope when tuning. Now I know, thanks to Tylers excellent product. Also of note, Tyler is very prompt and informative after the sale, when communicating with him via email. I am very happy with this product.
KB9YSJ Rating: 2011-08-18
Great Tool Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I was Tuning my QRO 2500DX for years thinking I was doing it correct. Then I bought the Clean RF samplers because I had a Scope for years and was not using it. I hooked it up and saw my pattern, I saw shocked at how crappy it looked. Not linear at all.I was able to re tune the amp so it was a good trapezoid.I will never be with out the Clean RF sampler again.Now I build my own amps, and this tool helps immensely..Thanks Clean RF, Well made.
AC8DE Rating: 2011-01-11
Well Made Product, Well Supported Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
These products work very well. They are well made with high quality components. They work exactly as advertised and can be tweaked easily for any set-up quickly. I was looking to make such boxes knowing the time it would take when I found these from Clean RF. I am glad I found them commercially available.

What I paid for these boxes is a fair value at today’s costs, for the time it would take to DIY it. For the day I would lose to make them and still not end up with such a well made and nice looking end product, it was worth the $200+.

As far as I know, he makes the only commercially available product like this for a reasonable cost. (Since station monitors are no longer in vogue, you can’t find such devices anymore.)

Recap - A very well made product. Does what the manufacturer claims it will do. The manufacturer supports them well and everything is well documented. Custom parts high quality parts are used in the manufacture. I didn’t have to experiment for week to make them, because I certainly don’t have the time to do so. Kudos Tyler. Take ‘em to Hamvention for the masses! Lots of us hams use amplifiers and still there are too many splattering on the bands since they have no way of monitoring their amps’ outputs.
KE7TRP Rating: 2010-06-18
Got AM5K. Love it! Great product! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I used old style RF pickup for my O scope and I also used typical ham monitor scopes like the Yo100 and SB610.

I found this product and thought I would give it a try. The AM5K has features that others do not. There is an audio output so you can monitor your RF without using a Reciever. You also get a variable output for the feed to the scope. This unit also has a Trigger output for your scope. This produces a nice clean picture that is in sync with your voice. You can also set your scope so that the picture is blank and when you key up, the scope shows your RF envelope.

Even after having a nice watt meter (power master) I found my SSB station was out of tune. After I saw the pattern and retuned the amp, I was shocked at how clean my pattern was. I came on the morning net and people actualy noticed without me even mentioning a change.

For AM use this is really mandatory now. I can tune up any of my AM transmitters with ease and watch my envelope to KNOW, I have a clean signal.

You can build your own pickup, but realize what the extra features of this unit do before you waste your time!
K3GC Rating: 2009-12-29
Well worth it Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I read the reviews that complained about cost. I think this criticism misses the boat. First of all, Splatterview 2k does exactly what it says it will do.
It monitors thew linearity of the amplifier signal and does it well.
If you have the knowledge and ability to build your own you should do so. I went into this barely knowing what an oscilliscope looked like far less having the ability to make it work.
Tyler was extremely helpful both pre-sale and post-sale and got me up and running with minimum effort. It would have taken me literally weeks without his support.
The value of a product is as much in quality and support as the actual cost of the parts.
I could not be more pleased and recommend the Splatterview product to anyone who wants to take control of their signal and have the comfort of knowing it is clean.
NU9N Rating: 2009-01-24
An Excellent Accessory For Any Ham Shack! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The CleanRF RF Demodulators and RF Samplers work as advertized and are an excellent value for anyone needing precise monitoring of their RF envelope or amplifier linearity.

While the inside components are basic, they are high quality and are the exact values needed to properly calibrate for the power being used.

Yes, you could build your own RF sampler or RF demodulator and save a few bucks, but for those who want to just plug and play, these units are very simple to install. By time you purchased all of the parts (case, components, cables, and adapters needed), the time and cost to build one yourself starts to add up.

I have owned my "Splatter View" for over two years, trouble free, and have found it an indispensible part of my RF monitoring, knowing what's going on at every instant.

As far as I'm concerned, every serious ham should have the ability to properly monitor their RF signals, and these units make it simple to do so when used in conjunction with a good oscilloscope.

-John Anning, NU9N
N0SP Rating: 2008-10-12
Exactly as advertised Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have two of these units, one for AM transmission, other for SSB use with the amplifier. This unit is a quick, clean, easy way to interface your station with an oscilliscope. Not much is "cheap" these days, (except for some hams) it's not made in China, looks sharp, takes up little space and come complete with every connector and cable needed for immediate installation. You don't have to buy ANYTHING to put this to work. Instructions are easy to understand.
As for the previous reviewer's negative comments... notice he says nothing about it's performance. He complains "I could have built it myself!" Yes, I knew from the start that I could home-brew it. Many of us can home-brew lots of things we buy. I saw hams with home built demods for their trapezoid display when I was 13 years old. This AB9 guy (BTW, his call not in database) was evidently unaware that it's a pretty simple circuit. I remember teasing a ham who paid $39 for the "RX Noise Bridge"... I opened it up and found a bunch of styrofoam, two diodes, a resistor, and a pot. He simply said "It does what I want"... Well, so does the CleanRF gadget. Works fine.