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Reviews For: Array Solutions Bandmaster III Universal Radio Band Decoder

Category: Antenna Switching, Phasing, Controllers

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Review Summary For : Array Solutions Bandmaster III Universal Radio Band Decoder
Reviews: 5MSRP: 329
Description:
Small but Powerful, this Band Decoder has more features then
any Band decoder made and it even costs less then the
closest competitor. Now that's a great deal! Made in the
USA and supported for life.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.arraysolutions.com/Products/bandmaster.htm#top of page
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0054.8
KO7I Rating: 2016-06-13
No documentation provided Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I had to contact Array Solutions separately and ask for a web site location where I could download some documentation. For the record, go to www.hamation.com for documentation.

On the Hamation web site buried several layers deep is this warning:
Please DO NOT CONNECT YOUR RADIO to the unit until after the radio configuration has been done. You must select the proper radio interface before connecting the radio.

This really upset me.

I purchased the BM3, a BP2, and a patch cable for my K3S, $1,100 worth of gear and they did not even provide a WARNING LABEL on the box of the BM3? What's up with that?

That said, once you go to the Hamation wed site, download and install the driver SW and configure the BM3 to operate in band data mode for my case, the BM3 does work seamlessly as advertised. I will give them a full 5 for that - at least.

Bottom line, if you purchase one of these, DO NOT CONNECT IT TO YOUR RADIO UNTIL YOU HAVE PROPERLY CONFIGURED IT TO THE RADIO.

Don Jones KO7i
Arlington, WA
K6RB Rating: 2013-07-24
Does the job Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I use the Bandmaster III with the Array Solutions bandpass filter III and an Eight PAK switch. It's part of an SO2R station featuring a pair of K3/P3 radios and Alpha 87A and KPA-500 amps. The goal was to switch a band on either K3 and have the proper BPF and antenna always be selected automatically. Having the switch, BPF system and decoder all ShackLAN compatible simplies things immensely. The system has been in use for over two years, now, and has been really robust.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by K6RB on 2011-10-06

I use two of these with an Eight Pak to automatically switch bandpass filters and send antenna info to the Eight Pak. They work flawlessly.
W8BLA Rating: 2013-05-19
Still excellent Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Update to my previous review I now have two of the Bandmaster III and two each of the Bandpassers and Bandpasser -WARC's and waiting for my Final step in the SO2R setup, being the eight pak With that I will be fully automatic and have the ability to automatically or manually control all the radios and antennas connections on the fly Touch the band on the K3 and everything follows. These are really amazing coupled with the Bandpassers .The isolation is great I see nothing and I hear nothing on the other K3 no matter where its parked! The service from the guys at Array is the best If your wanting an SO2R done right - Call them!
NN4ZZ Rating: 2011-12-19
Bandmaster III works great! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I installed one of the bandmaster III units to control 2 cascaded ratpack relays (also from Array Solutions). One of them is mounted just outside the shack and it selects one of 4 antennas so I have just one coax coming in to the shack. One of the four antennas is a 5 band quad and I use the other ratpack to select the appropriate loop or band on the quad. The bandmaster allowed me to eliminate both of the manual switches for the ratpacks and automatically select the correct combination for any 1 of the 8 bands. I built a small cabling enclosure to make the wiring easier and support the logic (5 diodes for the quad) to control the 2 ratpacks. I included quick disconnects on the ratpack cables so I can still plug in the manual switches if I want.

I can’t count the number of times I had one of the switches set wrong when rushing to switch bands.

Thanks for a great product. Al / NN4ZZ
N3MX Rating: 2011-06-24
Excellent Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I use two of these with matching Filtermax III's and they work flawlessly in my SO2R setup. Quality inside and out. Setup is as easy as it gets. Their new 4 wire control system makes it easy to setup your station for complete automatic switching. Array Solutions makes quality equipment and stands by it with excellent support.