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Reviews For: Small Wonder Labs Repair & Alignment by W3DVX

Category: Amateur Radio Equipment Repair

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Review Summary For : Small Wonder Labs Repair & Alignment by W3DVX
Reviews: 21MSRP: 60/hr. Const: contact for quote
Description:
Williamsport, PA. W3DVX since 1955; Amateur Extra since 1957. Built dozens of Heathkits, Elecrafts, and SWL products. Electrical Engineer (computer h/w & s/w).In addition to building new kits, will finish kits for you if you need help. Repair of all SWL products. Reasonable rates. Also see reviews listed under "Elecraft Repair & Alignment by W3DVX."
Product is in production
More Info: http://WilcoxEngineering.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00215
WB2PEM Rating: 2010-10-23
Small Wonder Labs PSK-20 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I recently sent my newly built PSK-20 to Alan for alignment and a general checkup. Alan called me with a progress report as soon as he received it and later when it was ready to ship back. The service was very fast. Total cost including shipping was very reasonable. Radio works better than my primary PSK transceiver.
K2DKT Rating: 2010-09-26
Great service! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Alan, W3DVX, responded rapidly to my pleas for help and I sent off my recently completed SW+40. He found the problems quickly (a faulty regulator and toroid leads that had not been sufficiently scraped), kept me informed and speedily returned my functioning transceiver. He even provided some helpful suggestions for my next attempt at kit building. Prices are very reasonable. Highly recommended!
QRP817 Rating: 2010-07-23
Fast & professional Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After Dave at Small Wonder Lab couldn't find the time and energy to repair my SWL 40+ CW rig , I sent it to Alan for repair (receive worked after I built the kit, but transmit didn't). He maintained good communications with me, and turned it around quickly. Recommend him. Charges are reasonable.
W7BRM Rating: 2010-07-17
Absolutely recommended for QRP repair Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Wow. That's all I can say about this service. I sent Alan a 20 mtr QRP rig I had picked up on eBay, which I thought I had dropped and damaged. He aligned it, tweaked the power up a bit, adjusted the frequency range as I had requested, and the total cost to me, which included shipping both ways, was about $75. Truly a great value for the money, and I unhesitatingly recommend it.
KC2VNI Rating: 2010-06-27
Rockmite Radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This radio was a challenge so I sent it to W3DVX. He built a 14.060 MHZ version of the Rockmite which is encased in a "Mity Box" (done by a machine shop called "American Morse").

In this case, I'd like to point out something else I did with W3DVX:

We thought about battery boxes for these small rigs. In this case, portability and weight were large factors so I decided to get the following parts:
1) Radio Shack automotive in-line fuse holder
2) Anderson Power Pole for 15A
3) Radio Shack Battery Pack that holds 8 "AA" batteries.

I described what I wanted to W3DVX and he built it. He made several suggestions to improve on the design I came up with.

Again, I would recommend his work. He is thorough and honest.




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Earlier 5-star review posted by KC2VNI on 2010-06-09

W3DVX does a terrific job.In this case, I found out that the Small Wonders Labs CW transceiver was over my head as far as my ability to build it.

I sent it over to W3DVX. He put it together and sent me progress pictures of the project in the middle of the build and at the end of the build.

He's phenomenal in terms of his service.

I look forward to using W3DVX again.
K4ALE Rating: 2010-06-03
Great service Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Alan was referred to me by Dave Benson at SWL for a problem with my PSK 20. Alan's communication was great. He got to my problem quickly, handled the warranty claim, re-aligned the rig, and shipped it back fast. The rig works great--a contact with England yesterday on a little qrp half-square antenna at 25 feet. His fees are quite reasonable.
KB3SII Rating: 2010-05-21
Quick PSK-20 build Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Alan built my PSK-20 kit in a week using toroidguy pre-wound coils. Workmanship was superb and the alignment was accurate. Alan charges fair prices for great work including all minor mods and tweaks that he has learned while working with Dave's PSK series transceivers. I use an NUE-PSK unit and they work well together for field ops. I plan on adding a N3ZI DDS2 so I can tune the whole band, including the SSB portion.
W1JDD Rating: 2010-04-26
Stellar Experience Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
My Small Wonder Labs PSK-20 wouldn't transmit after my careful and meticulous assembly of it was done, and I ended up sending the radio to Alan to diagnose. It turned out that a transistor in the PA stage was bad (and was thus covered under the radio's warranty.)

Alan was happy to communicate via e-mail and telephone. What's more, he diagnosed, repaired, aligned, and shipped back the radio *within 1 day after he received it from me*.

Alan's professionalism and speed were both noticed and appreciated, and I highly recommend his services.
WA4EQW Rating: 2010-04-10
Nice Job Alan Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Thanks Alan. Received it back and am having a ball with it again. Thanks for the quick turn around. Would recommend your service to any ham who needs it.
73
Pat. wa4eqw
K4UJA Rating: 2010-03-26
Excellent professional service Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Following several highly successful Elecraft builds I requested that Alan look at a SWL PSK-31-20 meter unit to evaluate and align as needed and he did an excellent job. I then had him build another SWL PSK-31-40 meter kit and again the workmanship and care were first class and prompt. Alan is a terrific resource, professional, highly skilled and in my opinion fairly priced, a wonderful resource for those of us who are not builders or those who want professional help for kit projects. He quickly provides an accurate quote and an itemized bill when the works completed, I highly recommend Alan Wilcox, W3DVX.