Upgrade Watkins Johnson HF-1000A & HF-8711A From 8 KHz to 16 KHz IF Bandwidth

Description

This sale is for a U12 - EPROM chip to enable your Watkins Johnson receiver to be upgraded to enjoy an additional eight new and wider bandwidths up to 16 KHz IF instead of the factory limited 8 KHz bandwidth.  Imagine tuning that strong station on the AM broadcast band or shortwave and hearing improved audio offered by the wider bandwidths.  We believe that the HF-1000A receivers came from the factory with the widest available bandwidth of 8 KHz.  Here is a list of the wider bandwidths offered by this chip:
8.8   KHz
9.6
10.4
11.2
12.0
12.8
14.4
16.0
It is our understanding that all of the WJ-8711A receivers had the wider bandwidths available from the factory, but perhaps you have a WJ-8711A that has earlier firmware.  If so, then this chip will enable you to install the later 04.01.10 with the upgraded U12 chip.
Please note that if you happen to own an HF-1000A receiver that is a "hybrid" containing the WJ-8712 control board, you are advised that this EPROM is not to be used as it may damage your receiver.  We suspect that most owners of the HF-1000A receiver do not need to worry about this, but if you should be aware that the WJ-8712 control board is being utilized, we strongly recommend that you do not attempt to install this EPROM chip just to be safe.
We have included a couple of pictures at the top of this listing to show you the location of the EPROM chip to be changed.  Please note that it is our understanding that the other DSP chip labeled as the U56 chip must be 3.0 version or later.  It is important to verify that your receiver DSP chip is 3.0 or later so that you know that this U12 chip will work in your receiver and so that you do not potentially damage the receiver by installing a non-compatible U12 chip.  Please refer to our picture to recognize the location of this chip.
Installation will take about 30 minutes time.  You will need to unplug the receiver from AC, remove the top cover, locate the current U12 chip next to the Condor power supply and then carefully pry it out of the socket.  We have exchanged EPROM chips in a couple of other receivers and have found that it works to use a small flathead jeweler's screwdriver to carefully slide beneath the IC chip and lift/pry it upwards.  For practical purposes, the handle of the screwdriver is facing the rear panel of the receiver.  You then work/push the screwdriver blade further underneath the chip as you continue to pry it upwards and the chip will soon pop out of the socket.
To install the upgraded U12 chip, you must make sure that you place the chip in the socket in the correct direction with the indentation facing toward the rear of the receiver as shown in the picture.  You may have a method of installing that is superior to ours.  For our purposes, we took the time to place all of the pins of the chip into the socket holes that face the Condor power supply first and then used our thumb to carefully press inward on the pins on the opposite side of the chip so that these pins also aligned in the socket holes.  Before asserting downward force, you must verify that all the chip pins are aligned to avoid damaging or bending the pins during insertion.  There is only a small amount of room on the Condor power supply side preventing you from getting a good view so you may want to use a small mirror to verify that the pins are correctly aligned in the sockets.  Once we verified all the pins were aligned, we carefully pressed the chip downward until it was firmly seated.  We then did a visual inspection to verify that the pins were all in the socket holes.
At this point, we connected an antenna and powered on the receiver and noticed that the widest bandwidth available still offered only 8 KHz.  However, we remembered that the receiver offers the option to lockout certain bandwidths and when we got into the special function menu to set or lockout bandwidths, we found the several new wider bandwidths were locked out and so we just enabled them. To do this process, you:
engage and then rotate the "special function" encoder
locate "IF bandwidth select"
press the IF BW button
rotate the special function encoder to scroll through the various bandwidths individually until you come to the wider bandwidths and then press the IF BW button as needed to enable each of the desired wider bandwidths
After enabling the wider bandwidths, we tuned the receiver to a strong signal and then verified that all of the new wider bandwidths worked properly.  Once this process was completed, we then reinstalled the top cover.
This process may sound complicated, but try explaining in words how to tie your shoe and you will understand that the process may seem more complicated at first than it truly is when you engage in doing it.  We are not particularly adept in such things of a technical nature and managed this procedure with no one explaining the procedure to us and so shared our layman's installation technique.  It is quite possible that there is an improved method of installation that you may be able to logically identify and utilize.  We found that it took nearly as long to remove and replace the top cover screws as it did to actually remove the old and then install the upgraded U12 - EPROM chip.
Please note that while we guarantee that this chip works properly, there is always a risk when you are doing such a procedure and we can assume no liability for such a risk.  If you damage the chip, or in the process, damage your receiver somehow, we cannot be held responsible.  While we believe this risk to be minimal, we do want to stress that you do this procedure at your own risk.  The chip will be properly packed so that the pins are not damaged during shipment to you.
Please use the Ebay shipping calculator to determine your shipping cost.  This cost includes proper packing materials for safe delivery and insurance cost against damage or loss.
Those buyers living outside the USA are also welcome to purchase from us.  We have shipped to 103 countries during the past 21 years on Ebay and we are happy to ship virtually anywhere in the world.  You may use the shipping calculator to determine your shipping cost.
Please keep in mind that this cost does not include any import, customs, or VAT fees.  If you are uncertain of these costs, we ask you to check with your local post office prior to making a purchase from us.  Thank you!
Payment to be via Paypal within 3 days after purchase.
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