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[TenTec] Model 546 Series C

To: <tentec@contesting.com>
Subject: [TenTec] Model 546 Series C
From: k4wj@att.net (John/K4WJ)
Date: Mon, 25 Oct 1999 15:05:04 -0400
It has been bothering me that some folks are calling the Omni C a "Omni D 
Series C" since over the years that I've owned my Omni C I have never heard 
of it as a Omni D Series C.

The front panel of my Omni has only the word Omni above the Ten-Tec logo. 
There is no letter "C" after it. My owner's manual has the word Omni on the 
front. There is no letter "C" after it.

On the back of my Omni, below the heat sink and between the external 
speaker jack and linear connector, it is stamped,

        HF TRANSCEIVER
        MODEL 546 SERIES C
        TEN-TEC, INC.
        SEVIERVILLE, TN 37862
        MADE IN U.S.A.

All of my repair invoices refer to the transciever as 546 and then the 
serial number follows. There is no model or series letter.

I got out my old QST magazines and found the following.

Omni Announced in October, 1978

The October, 1978 QST  has a TEN-TEC advertisement that announces on pages 
128 and 129,

"there's a world of difference in TEN-TEC's  all new hf transceiver-- OMNI"

The Omni was avaialble with either a digital or an analog frequency 
readout. The specifications for both OMNI models were the same except for 
the readouts

" ANALOG OR DIGITAL READOUTS . OMNI A features an analog dial with 1 kHz 
dial markings. OMNI D has 0.43" LED readouts with the 5 most significant in 
red and the 6th in green to show 100 Hz increments."

The price for these beauties was "Model 545 OMNI-A $899" and the "Model 546 
Omni D $1069".

Both transceivers pictured in this advertisement have digital readouts and 
have "OMNI D" printed above the TEN-TEC logo on the front panel. In other 
advertisements I saw pictures of the Omni A and it had an analog dial and 
"OMNI A" above the Ten-Tec logo on the front panel.

August, 1979

It appears that this is the first time Ten-Tec advertised the series B. 
This advertisement announced,

"New OMNI/SERIES B Filters The Crowd". The advertisement claims "NEW I-F 
RESPONSE SELECTION"  and "NEW NOTCH FILTER" and new prices.

The prices were, "Model 545 Series B OMNI-A $949" and the "Model 546 Series 
B OMNI-D $1119". Pictures of the digital model show OMNI-D printed above 
the logo on the front panel. Ten-Tec continued to offer an analog and a 
digital version of the Omni.

May, 1980

In QST on page 109 I found the first Omni - Series C advertisement. It 
said, "new features, new performance + all 9 bands". The price line says 
"Model 546 Omni - Series C...$1189" The front panel has "OMNI" printed 
above the logo and the A and D were dropped.

The digital "Model 546 Omni - Series C" replaced the analog "Model 545 
Series B Omni-A" and the digital "Model 546 Series B Omni-D" in May, 1980.

In summary, the Ten-Tec OMNI models were as follows,

Omni Analog Models
Model 545 OMNI-A $899 announced around October, 1978
Model 545 Series B OMNI-A $949 announced around August, 1979

Omni Digital Models
Model 546 Omni D  $1069 announced around October, 1978
Model 546 Series B OMNI-D  $1119 announced around August, 1979
Model 546 Omni - Series C  $1189 announced around May, 1980

I don't know why some folks refer to their 'Omni C' as the 'Omni-D Series 
C' because the latter never existed. If anyone has information that it did, 
then I sure would like to see it. Since there was no analog version of the 
C series, calling it the Omni C should be good enough.



73..de John/K4WJ
*********************************************************** 
John/K4WJ in Pembroke Pines, FL
    QTH  26 00 51 N
         80 16 16 W

K8PXG from 18 Jun 59 to 11 Feb 97
K8WJ  from 12 Feb 97 to 07 Apr 97
ZF2HZ from 17 May 84 to 31 Dec 84
***********************************************************


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