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Reviews For: KH6TY Digital VOX Sound Card Interface

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

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Review Summary For : KH6TY Digital VOX Sound Card Interface
Reviews: 2MSRP: 30 complete kit, $8 board only
Description:
Interface featured in March, 2011, QST. Uses audio from computer to automatically place radio into transmit mode. Has audio isolation transformers for both transmit and receive audio, and adjustable transmit audio level.
Product is not in production
More Info: http://sites.google.com/site/kh6tyinterface/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
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K6YXH Rating: 2011-04-24
Great idea! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I built the kit this morning and tested it on my FT-8900. Works great. Instructions are superb. Concept is brilliant! Skip sends the DIN cable with a male and female connector - you cut off the female part, but can use it to connect to a radio that doesn't have a DIN, like an HT. I exchanged data with an HT that was using "air coupling" between the radio and an iMac.

I also have a TigerTronics SignaLink - another brilliant solution to audio interface and PTT.

Now to order some more!
AB0RE Rating: 2011-01-30
Works great on MT-63! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Last time Skip had a soundcard interface featured in QST (June, 2009), the boards sold out fast. Skip made the design even better, offering an audio isolation transformer for transmit AND receive audio in this design, and replacing a fixed resistor with a variable resistor so transmit audio level can be adjusted on the board. This kit is offered either as a complete kit with the board, all components, an enclosure, and all cables... or one can purchase the board only.

Skip allowed me to order a couple of pre-production units. The kit itself is very simple - about 15 components need to be mounted to the board. The transformers were already placed in their correct position with one of their leads soldered in place. Instructions were very straight-forward and the components on the board were well-spaced. The kit took me about a half hour to solder together. It took about another half hour to prepare the enclosure and secure the cable to the board (3 holes must be drilled for the transmit/receive audio jacks, and for the cable that plugs into the radio). This would be an okay kit for a first-time kit-builder.

How's it work? I've used it to communicate via MT-63-2000 to both a Tigertronics Signalink and a Rigblaster. It works very, very well. Using VOX-based transmit in this board's design makes interfacing it to the radio much easier than trying to figure out the settings in the software for serial-based PTT. This is $30 very well spent and the best part is being able to say you made it yourself!