multiPIG+ review (was WTB multipig boards)

New Message Reply Date view Thread view Subject view Author view Other groups

Subject: multiPIG+ review (was WTB multipig boards)
From: Lloyd Lachow (llachow@yahoo.com)
Date: Wed Feb 25 2004 - 11:01:46 EST


--- KD5NWA <KD5NWA@cbayona.com> wrote:
> John, I have been thinking about buying a MP+ kit,
> actually I already have 
> three of the kits, but I'm not sure if I should buy
> the rest.
> 
> By the time you buy all the kits, you have spent
> quite a bit of money and 
> you still don have a case, but I like the modular
> approach to this radio.
> 
> So, my big question is, how good is the receiver on
> the MP+?
> 
> Is it quiet, sensitive, can it handle crowded bands?
> 
> Any feedback would be appreciated by you or any MP+
> owner.


     When I got my multiPIG+ done, I was a bit burned
out by the process, and I wound up shelving it for a
number of months. But I kept thinking about it, and
how it had all the bands, and how others had raved
about the receiver, etc.

   Meanwhile, I had put up my loop antenna, and gotten
a used ZM-2 tuner to use with it. So, one night, after
hunting Foxii for a couple of hours with my K1, I took
it out, to see what it could hear. The difference was
startling.

   When I went from a HW-7 to the K1, it was like
taking up full-time residence in heaven. The receiver,
and the bells n' whistles, were outrageously good,
better than I had ever experienced, since I really had
no experience with full-featured, commercial rigs.

   Then came the MP+, that night - I could copy the
same Foxii, with the same antler, several S-units
louder, with noticeably less noise. Since then, the K1
has made its way into a drawer, and the pigrig is on
the air. I love the receiver, and have worked a bunch
of stations with very marginal sigs into my shack -
such as Mark, the NY Fox, last night.

   I've done a bunch of mods so far, most notably the
dual VFO mod, to enable split ops, and more are to
come. It's sure not a rig for everyone, though...for
me, the prospect of dreaming up an enclosure, finding
all the bits needed for mods, figuring out how to do
the mods, all that - have been part of the enjoyment.
This is a rig that looks like some ham homebrewed it!
But with it, I get great signal reports, a whole bunch
of bands, the ability to peak up the BPF for the
section of the band I'm on - and some more
understanding of how the parts of the rig work
together. 

   If you want a QRP CW all-band tranceiver (which is
easily modified, or used in conjunction with other
projects,) with top-notch performance, for under $350,
this is really worth a long look, imo.

   Just don't bother winding the 60M toroids...8^D


    72!


     LL

=====
72 es oo, Lloyd, K3ESE - Reisterstown, Maryland FM19pl
 KX1#11 - multiPIG+#14 - K1#379 - 20/40M RockMites      
  Loop - EDZ - LW - Begali Magnetic Classic Paddles
      ARRL - ARS - QRParci - QCWA - FISTS #8774
             FPQRP #-476 - QRP-L - BORG #2
                  Fun = Skill / Power !           8^D

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail SpamGuard - Read only the mail you want.
http://antispam.yahoo.com/tools


New Message Reply Date view Thread view Subject view Author view Other groups

This archive was generated by hypermail 2b25 : Sun Feb 29 2004 - 23:50:08 EST