John, I owned a MW550P and had mixed results. Initially the preamp was noisy, compared to a Wellbrook preamp and a A.R.R. preamp which added no audible noises to a signal. The noise only occurred with the MW550P at home with strong MW stations nearby; on DXpeditions to the coast it was nice and quiet. I had to send it back to Palstar. The reworked unit performed pretty well and the noise was greatly reduced, but I was always disappointed with the preselection below 580 kHz or so. The peaking or preselection was minimal to zero from 580 downwards, which was a shame because that's where I needed it the most due to certain local powerhouses.
I'd recommend getting one if you can be sure of returning it if it doesn't work out. Also, be sure to assess your receiver, antenna, and local RF environment to judge whether or not you really need a preselector. It may not be needed at all to help you hear more DX. You may want to check the archives of my former blog at www.sdr-1000.blogspot.com to read the entries about the MW550P. 73, Guy ----------------------------------- Message: 5 Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2006 05:20:29 -0500 From: John Hunter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [IRCA] Palstar MW550P To: ABDX <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, IRCA <[email protected]> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Hey everyone, I got a little Christmas money and was thinking of buying a Palstar MW550P. Are they any good? I want to get a few opinions before I blow money that could best be spent elsewhere. Thanks in advance. 73 John Hunter Rossville GA _______________________________________________ IRCA mailing list [email protected] http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: [email protected]
