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Reviews For: SHF electronik MVV1296VOX

Category: Receive Pre-amps

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Review Summary For : SHF electronik MVV1296VOX
Reviews: 4MSRP: $219 euro
Description:
23CM 1296MHZ MASTHEAD PRE/AMP
22db gain 0.8db n/f 180w ssb handling , rf switched or ptt , dc feed via coax line or ptt [rca socket on p/amp enclosure for wired 12v dc ] .
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.shf-elektronik.de/en/index.htm
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0045
KC4PX Rating: 2019-02-03
Excellent Masthead PreAmp Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have various MVV Masthead Preaamps from SHF Electronik. Siggi has been most helpful with one 1296 preamp which functions 100% with external power but failed to function with DC Via Coax. Siggi immedialtly indicate to ship the unit back while a replacement unit was already being sent via Priority MAIL. Little did we know that my returned preamp was stuck in customs due to Christmas holiday in 2016. It was sent via Priority Mail with proper customs documents. I received the replacement unit and worked 100%. However Siggi indicated my unit was received and returned by customs due to holidays in Germany - it arrived ONE YEAR LATER back to Florida. It was resent and Siggi finally received my return. Siggi was very supportive of this customs issue and I am glad we got all this finalanized. Today I have multiple Mast Mounted Preamps from SHF Electronik: One for 222, 432, 902, 1296 and 2304 and in the near future possibly their HP-MVV 144 1.5KW mast Mount Preamp. The company supports USA hams and they are a pleasure to work with. All the preamps work flawlessly and highly recommended.
M0BTZ Rating: 2015-05-08
Good value product for price compared to alternatives. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
A good switched masthead preamp for 1296 MHz for the price. Provides much of the same capabilities of the SSB Electronics SP-23 model at a fraction of the price. Cost of 229 Euro is about 166 GBP at time of purchase, thanks to the strong GBP.

As other reviewers mentions, this preamp is fixed gain, but this didnt really bother me as I can always add an SMA attenuator to the Rx i/p port of the transverter anyway to do the same thing if needed. Much easier to access too!

Same enclosure as SP-23 and perfectly adequate instructions in both English and German. Including schematic. Preamp is a 2-stage design with GaAsFET for 1st stage and MMIC for 2nd stage, with a 3-pole filter to give some selectivity. DC input is polarity protected and there is a preset pot on the board to setup the delay time. Works very well as a plug-in and go solution. It made a significant improvement to reception of my setup on distant beacons where I have 20m of LDF4-50 to a 42 ele homemade loop yagi.

Noise figure is around 1dB which is perfectly OK for terrestrial work (losses through relays included). You can do a lot better for EME use though!. Gain is 22dB

One thing I was not so keen on was the use of a phono socket for power input - works perfectly OK but I wonder about the waterproofing. Should be adequate though. I did modify the metalwork slightly to add a small hole to bolt on a P-clip to secure and strain releif the power cable. I would suggest any user should do this.

The unit claims 180W maximum power in SSB. I practice the maximum I would use is 130 - 150W from a 2 x 2C39 amplifier, so perfectly adequate for my needs. If I want to run more power than this then I will build a preamp with uprated relays to replace it. This preamp, however gets me on the air with a decent receive system now.

Overall, quite impressed with this good product from SHF Electronik, Germany and it delivers a lot of value for the price as compared to the overpriced (my opinion) SSB Electronics SP-23 model.
N2SLO Rating: 2015-05-07
Amazing Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I needed some "ears" on 1296. I have a 45 element loop yagi at only 25 feet. My ears have been poor to say the least. I am using LMR 600 (50ft), and an Icom 9100. I just purchased the MVV 1296 from Wimo in Germany, approximately $225. I also purchased the 432 VOX but have not installed it. this amp is amazing, the IC9100 has 13.8 Dc voltage option over the cable, and the receive improvement is dramatic. One station usually S 0-1 was now 59 and S-5. Another S-4 was no S-9+. This amp is great, highly recommended. See you on 1296 from FN 30.
M0BCG Rating: 2009-12-12
23cm masthead preamplifier Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
i didnt see a review or link for the SHF electronik products so thought id ought to add one .

i recently purchased an MVV1296VOX masthead pre amp from SHF ELECTRONIK in germany , cost is $219 euros .

the pre amp is in the same style case as the ssb electronics pre amps are and functions in same way .
it will also work with the ssb elecs sequencers .

in my case i am running it with an icom ic910x tcvr and 4 long yagis with elevation fitted @ 9m above ground and 2x2c39ba amplifier @ 80w .

this pre amp matches my IC910x perfectly .

i placed the pre amp in 2 places along the feedline , to note the differences .

firstly it was placed after the amplifier, in the shack .
it worked ok but showed S2 on the signal meter at all times without any signals present , including noise from feedline loss i guess, [16m of LDF450-A + 5m of LMR600 around rotator] .

secondly i placed the pre amp just before the 4 way power divider up on the top of tower .
this was a pleasing result with no signal showing on the s-meter and i think sensitivity about as high as i could expect to get without having too much gain from the pre amp stage .

to say signals coming in are dramatically improved is an understatement .
one 23cm beacon at 212km away went from a 519 to an indicated S5 on the meter , and another beacon 50km away went from S1 without pre amp to S9+5db with it , and when i tune to a quiet freq there is zero registered on s-meter when pre amp is on .

the SHF pre amps are much alike/equal to the SSB electronics ones but much cheaper in price [here in EU] , although the quality is the same as the SSB elecs versions .

same kind of relays fitted inside the SHF pre amps as you find in the ssb elecs ones , same plastic enclosures and mounting style .

the only difference i can tell between these and ssb elec versions is that the SHF pre amp is fully enclosed in a screened metal box and no access to the insides of it unless you unsolder the covers .

i know the ssb elecs types are also in screened cases but also have a hole where you can access a potentiometer to adjust the gain of pre amp, but SHF ones are fixed gain .

its purely personal choice as to whether youd run an SHF or SSB-elecs pre amp , but i can say that either would not dissappoint anyone .

i have ran my MVV1296VOX from a DCW15 sequencer and all works ok .

am hoping now to receive some EME signals soon .

now my wish is that SHF electroniks manufacture a high power 1.5kw 6m version [MHP50???] , because they will sell so many that they wont keep up with production !!!.

73 ian G5WQ