Hello Marko and PCS team!
This is just a quick note on your forums to tell others that might read this, about the reliablilty and quality of a PCS Tx...
Basically, I brought a MAX-1 Tx from PCS about two years ago.
Once I had built the Tx, I used the HF CRO we have at work, to measure and look at the harmonics and spurs of the carrier signal.
They were all exactly as claimed on the site, with the harmonics well down.
Actually, the performance was even better then that claimed(on the RF side of things) when run at about 2-3W of output.
This is purely academic of course, as even at 6 or 7W, the figures were all as claimed.
In a nutshell, PCS's scope shot from their tests on their Tx'ers is true - you can get an exceptionally good quality Tx for only a little over a hundred bucks!!!
There were a couple of things that I would have done differently with MAX-1, and I am happy to see that these issues have been addressed in the MAX PRO I design.
My concerns were:
* RF output transistor got too hot on MAX-1. This was easily fixed with(guess!) a bigger heatsink then the one supplied in the kit!
This issue has been solved too, in the new MAX PRO I Tx...
* MAX-1 had no audio-input adjustment. This too was easily fixed, but I see that the new MAX PRO I has had this fixed too...
All in all, MAX-1 was a great Tx, having even survived a parasitic-oscillation - this usually kills all but the best Tx'ers INSTANTLY...
But, I switched off, let it cool, applied power as a test, expecting no carrier, but bugger me, it was good as new!
I fitted a bigger heatsink after this event, and subsequently have had no further problems.
My station went into 24Hr operation in November 2001, and has been going flawlessly since.
I reccomend PCS transmitters to anyone looking for top-of-the-line quality, at a fraction of what you would expect to pay for such quality.
Sincerely,
The Grogster
100.8FM(Powered by PCS!)
NEW ZEALAND.
PS: I have just brought a MAX PRO I kit for another station...
