[G0HZU_JMR]

I removed the crystal filters from my board and sadly only one of them works properly. It may be possible that I damaged them taking them out but I used a decent solder sucker and only minimal heat. The retaining screws are a tight fit in the PCB so it may be possible that removing the filter stresses the filter in some way. I did try to be careful but either way, only my LSB filter works properly.

I did also buy a set of these filters 'loose' and I found that two of the second set seemed OK but the USB filter was showing signs of problems with some asymmetry in the passband. But nothing too major.

So it looks like these filters may have reliability issues. Both of the LSB filters and one of the AM filters work fine so I'm happy enough in this respect. I'm not sure I can face the hassle of sending the others back so I may just take them apart at some point. The USB filter from the 'complete' IF board is very poorly as it shows loads of loss and a narrow passband. The faulty AM filter shows a big bump in the ripple and return loss at the top end of the passband.

I guess it's a case of buyer beware. I did notice that two of the filters in my board had loose screws before I even attempted removal. But I don't know if these were the two that were actually faulty.