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Re: [TenTec] love my Omni V

To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TenTec] love my Omni V
From: John Molenda <cdistflatfoot@gmail.com>
Reply-to: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec@contesting.com>
Date: Wed, 15 Sep 2010 09:41:05 -0400
List-post: <tentec@contesting.com">mailto:tentec@contesting.com>
  Thanks Joe for such a detailed answer .  John

On 9/15/2010 1:18 AM, Joe Roberts wrote:
> John:
>
> No idea what to do about the extra display digit. That is a freaky
> problem, to be sure!
>
> As for mods, I'd say use the rig for a while and see if anything jumps
> out as needing work. For me, excess audio gain and maybe excessive IF
> gain are bugaboos of this rig. It is a super hot RX and it is easy to
> run it into distortion with all controls up.
>
> Have a look at the W3TS mods and the mods listed on the Ten Tec Wiki,
> but I wouldn't mess with anything until you familiarize with how the rig
> works stock.
>
> One thing you need to know is the RF gain control is your friend. Adjust
> for best perceived s/n ratio. I usually run it at 1:00 or wherever the
> band noise starts to drop out. There is a point where band noise seems
> to drop more than signal and that is where I want to be.
>
> I also found that the controls can be a bit touchy. A few degrees
> movement of the BP/Fade or IF Shift knobs can make a big difference
> under certain conditions and these settings are quite interactive. RF
> gain and AF gain also have tiny sweet spots sometimes.
>
> I installed the product detector bias mod recently discussed here and on
> the Yahoo Omni V group. Seemed to help with what I took to be
> overdriving of the product detector, but I have no way to quantify or
> measure before/after. Now I can run RF gain up higher if I want to.
> Appears to be useful or at least it fooled me!
>
> The best thing I did to my Omni V was to recap the logic board, display
> board, and IF/AF board with modern "digital age" low ESR high frequency
> caps. This greatly reduced internally generated noise.
>
> I can turn my AF and RF gain all the way up on a dummy load and only get
> a minor hiss. Before the recap it was quite noisy. Maybe yours is better
> than mine was.
>
> I think I put a bigger cap in the slow AGC to increase the time
> constant. Stock value was too fast for me on sideband.
>
> It is also a good idea to take an afternoon to clean all of the internal
> connectors with Deoxit...and don't forget to clean the power connectors
> every now and again. I use a baby toothbrush dipped in Deoxit on the
> male pins of the board connectors, then connect/disconnect once or twice.
>
> What I would really love to see is a mod to make the noise blanker work.
> I've heard there was a late NB board with three wires going to the
> control pot that works, but mine is purely ornamental. Useless.
>
> Overall, I love my Omni V too. It doesn't have the superb audio quality
> of an older Omni C or Triton, especially on SSB where it sounds a bit
> mechanical in comparison, but overall it is a great performer. I kept it
> while selling off many other rigs in the meantime, because it works so well.
>
> It really doesn't "need" too many mods.
>
> Joe N5KAT
>
>
>
>
>
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