Bob,
That was good stuff.
If I find the time, I will try to merge both our lists into one.
I just now noticed, the OM7 announced in 2004, not 2007, so it has been
10
years since I have used or even seen an OM7.
I would like to say a few words about receiver performance now, showing
ON
THE AIR TESTS made on the OM7.
Rob Sherwood's list shows measured lab numbers and Rob shares with us
his
opinion of what is required by most people in order to have a good
enough
receiver. What few people have picked up on is that he has raised the
numbers by 5%. He is now saying 75dB BDR3 for SSB and 85dB for CW.
This is
slightly higher than what the OM7 can achieve (on CW) but lower than
the
Eagle.
NEVER-THE-LESS, those are just numbers, meaningless to most of us hams.
So what real world difference does it make?
Perhaps I am the only person who ever tested and 'documented' this in a
real
world environment that showed a distinct difference. In reality, 99.9%
of
us will never have that environment AND that specific environment can
no
longer be reproduced.
However, I do want to point out that at that time, there was indeed a
very
distinct advantage in favor of the radio with the highest BDR3.
In 2004, a couple of weeks before the OMNI VII announced, I conducted a
transceiver test (I think I called it "intermod shootout") at one of
our
contest sites. The test was conducted on 40m on a Friday evening, but
no
big contest was running. However this was BEFORE the shortwave
broadcast
stations had moved outside of the ham band, so the total amount of
voltage
hitting a receiver's front end (here in Europe) was tremendous!
Tremendous
because I was using a 3 element 40m Yagi at 105 ft. height. This
environment can never be repeated because the broadcast stations are
gone
now.
In addition, rotating the beam made a big difference in the amount of
intermodulation generated by the receivers and the direction
North/North-East was the worst. I left the beam in that direction,
then
compared several transceivers.
At that time, the "Meister" was the Orion (1). There was no Eagle or
O2
yet.
The (sometimes significant) difference between all 7 transceivers
tested was
recorded in a video (for each radio) showing the S-Meter and recording
the
accompanying sound. You can see and hear the difference in these
videos.
These results have been posted on the Bavarian Contest Club web site
for
more than 10 years now.
Lots of people speculate about all kinds of things including receiver
performance and Ten-Tec going out of business.
I haven't figured out a way to benchmark TT going out of business, but
I do
know how to test receivers in a real world environment, and when I test
stuff, I post it to the Internet for everyone to see and hear.
In today's environment, the only way to approximate this type of
challenging
band condx is to operate in the middle of a very BIG contest, such as
CQWW
DX contest, especially in CW! AND, as I stated earlier, when
operating,
don't skip over the messy pile-ups, jump in and work the station on
that
frequency. THAT'S WHERE THE DIFFERENCE IS!
I've posted this link several times before but I'll post it again.
Here's the LINK:
http://www.bavarian-contest-club.de/reviews/Transceiver-intermod-shootout-on
-40M-in-europe-;art32,565
Look under "RESULTS" to find clickable links to the video files.
(NOTE: most likely the link will be broken by the reflector. Copy
it -both
lines of it, together- and paste it into your browser).
Two comments: first, I am indeed the world's worst photographer, which
is
evident from these videos, but the message does come through. Second,
in
the excitement, I sometimes unknowingly switched to speaking German
instead
of English. That's because the station owner who is German was testing
with
me and he was commenting to me in German, causing my brain to switch
from
7-bit to 8-bit ASCII. I guess there was a sticky bit! (hi)
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Receiver performance is a highly misunderstood subject, partly because
we
each have our own definition of what our needs are. It is impossible
to
make a list ranking true receiver performance and reflect the true
performance of each radio. Rob is the first person to tell us that in
all of
his presentations. He tells us of the many other important things,
first
and foremost, "you have to enjoy using the radio". THIS IS MORE
IMPORTANT
THAN ANY LIST, and the only person on the planet that can determine
that is
YOU.
Rob's list shows the radios ranked by BDR3, nothing more.
It may be used as one of many selection criterion but it certainly is
not
the most decisive one.
The biggest difference between the Eagle and the OM7 is in the
ergonomics of
the radios.
How you use them and navigate the menus is VERY different.
Many people will not like the Eagle. I love it.
Some may not like the OM7 because it doesn't have separate AF/RF gain
controls and because it's Panadaptor is not very good. Other than
that, my
guess is that most people will be more comfortable operating to OM7.
But if you are a serious contester, take the Eagle (unless you
absolutely
need OmniRig support).
73 - Rick, DJ0IP
(Nr. Frankfurt am Main)
-----Original Message-----
From: TenTec [mailto:tentec-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Bob
McGraw
- K4TAX
Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2014 3:20 AM
To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment
Subject: Re: [TenTec] Reasons to buy an OM7 instead of an Eagle
Well Rick as you know, I have both on the desk.
The Eagle receiver is somewhat better. How much well with the optional
filters in the Omni VII and both used for CW, I perceive one would find
it
necessary to have both radios and the ability to switch between the two
to
discern much if any difference. Sherwood Engineering has the Eagle
Dynamic
range Narrow spaced measured at 90 dB while the Omni VII is measured at
80
dB. Rob also stated that most hams will find the 80 dB performance
most
adequate.
However, per Sherwood Engineering Receiver report, the Noise floor on
the
Omni VII is -130 & -140 dBm while the noise floor on the Eagle is -124
&
-132 dBm.
The display on the Omni VII is much easier to see and read plus it
gives
more information and one can see the S meter {Rick}.
The S meter on the Omni VII goes to 60 dB over S-9 while the S meter on
the
Eagle goes to 30 dB over S-9.
The S meter on the Eagle shows only signal strength and SWR. The S
meter on
the Omni VII shows signal strength and is user selectable between PWR
out
and SWR.
The Eagle has dual concentric knobs for AF gain and RF gain and another
set
for PBT and BW. The Omni VII has one knob that has a momentary push in
to
toggle between the two functions.
The Omni VII had separate RIT and XIT buttons and displays. The Eagle
had
only a RIT function which is difficult to read the value on the
display.
The Omni VII has a CW spot function. The Eagle does not.
The Eagle has a hardware Noise Blanker. The Omni VII has a firmware
Noise
Blanker.
The Eagle DSP BW works nicely down to 100 Hz while the Omni VII DSP BW
only
goes to 200 Hz. For both radios, any optional filters automatically
switch
in the RX path as the respective BW is selected.
The Omni VII RX BW is adjustable up to 12 KHz standard. The Eagle BW
adjustable up to the widest roofing filter installed.
The MENU on the Omni VII is accessed by a MENU button on the front
panel.
The Eagle Config Menu must start with the power off, hold down FNC and
then
turn power on.
The KEY jack on the Omni VII is on the front and is a 1/4" TRS
connector.
The KEY jack on the Eagle is on the rear and is a 1/8" TRS connector.
The EXT SPKR jack on the Omni VII is on the rear and is a 1/4" TR
connector.
The EXT SPKR jack on the Eagle is on the rear and is a 1/8" T R
connector.
The Omni VII has a dedicated button for TUNE and PWR while the Eagle
one
must use the FNC before accessing the PWR function.
The Eagle is controlled externally via USB communications port. The
Omni
VII is controlled externally by a RS-232 port.
The Omni VII has a direct internet connection. The Eagle does not
offer
this feature.
The Omni VII offers two ANT port plus a separate RX ANT port. The
Eagle
only offers a single ANT port.
The Omni VII offers direct frequency entry. The Eagle does not have
direct
frequency entry.
The Omni VII can switch direct to any band with the push of a button.
The
Eagle must cycle through several bands to get to the others.
The ATU is much faster to resolve a match with the Omni VII. The Eagle
takes a bit longer to resolve a match. Both radios ATU will match a
10:1 SWR
or better.
The Eagle is about 1/4 the size of the Omni VII
I could do three or four pages of this stuff. How much more do you
want or
need? Best bet, just download both manuals from the Tentec website
and
read them.
73
Bob, K4TAX
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rick - DJ0IP / NJ0IP" <Rick@DJ0IP.de>
To: "'Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment'" <tentec@contesting.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2014 4:10 PM
Subject: [TenTec] Reasons to buy an OM7 instead of an Eagle
I was just asked off list for reasons to warrant spending the extra
bread
on
an OM7 instead of an Eagle.
Ha! I had to bite my tongue to keep from saying "none, there aren't
any!"
(hi)
There are of course 2 or 3 minor reasons and I've created my list
below.
Perhaps someone else more familiar with the OM7 than I am can think of
other
reasons that I have forgotten.
Grateful to any additional tips.
(and to the OM who asked me this question, if you do not subscribe to
the
tentec group at contesting.com, send me another email and I will
forward
you
any replies we get).
==========================================================
Hi OM, (name withheld)
You do realize of course that you have posed that question to a man in
love
with his Eagle! (hi)
OK, but I will try and be objective on this.
The Eagle's better receiver is really only noticeable in BIG contests
where
a good operator is willing to dive into the middle of the heaviest
pile-up
on the band to work whatever DX multiplier is under all the rumble.
Apart
from that, there is not a lot of difference in the two receivers.
However
when the going gets tough, the Eagle will outshine the Omni 7.
I'll start with the only other negative of the OM7 over the Eagle: it
has
only one knob for AF and RF gain. Not the end of the world but
separate
knobs would have been better.
And of course if you go backpacking, I'd rather carry an Eagle! (hi)
Same applies for mobile operations.
Now here is my short list of features the OM7 has which the Eagle does
not:
. A larger read out, including an S-Meter that you can actually see
and
read
. Better interfacing to old amplifiers (or new Ameritron amplifiers)
in CW
mode. The OM7 has adjustable hang delay on the tail end of the
signal.
The
Eagle does not have this feature and if you have one of these amps,
you
absolutely need it. With the Eagle, you must purchase the Model 318
Amp
Keyer for a hundred bucks.
. Interfacing to Ten-Tec full QSK amplifiers (dual-cable keying). The
Eagle
does not have this. If you don't have a full QSK linear with this
keying
loop circuitry, it doesn't matter.
. A band scope (though it's not the greatest)
. Larger heat sink on the back side for cooling the final transistors.
You
really do not need a fan unless you are running RTTY. The Eagle
doesn't
have this so it must rely on a fan. It is not terribly loud but it is
audible.
. Direct frequency entry keypad
. Curtis mode A and B keying. It's fixed on the Eagle, but I have no
idea
which one. Somehow I never paid any attention to that stuff. I just
key
whatever they throw at me and it somehow seems to always work.
. Two spare RCA phono plugs AND an internal provision to connect two
coax
cables to these to be used as connection for a pre-selector or noise
cancelor.
. A serial port.
. Connection for the POD (the remote VFO knob). I sometimes miss this
on
my
Eagle.
. 2 antenna jacks
. Ethernet connection
. AUX RX (antenna) - an input for a receive-only antenna (uses one of
the
two ANT connections)
. Adjustable bandwidth on SSB
. Adjustable RX and TX equalizers
. CTCSS for FM
. Adjustable CW (keying) weighting
. SPOT (for spotting in CW) - which I personally feel is worthless
. Adjustable rise/fall time on CW. A fancy option but I don't feel it
is
necessary. The Eagle's CW signal is just fine.
. FSK X Data (if you are into RTTY)
. VFO Speed Shift which basically speeds up the tuning rate by a
factor of
4
when you turn the VFO knob real fast. Many people like this feature a
lot.
. A very comfortable software menu (probably the very best in the
industry)
. OmniRig support (very important for many 3rd party software
programs)
. A dedicated RIT/XIT knob (using the RIT on the Eagle is very clumsy)
. And of course REMOTE CONTROL (over the Internet)
That's all that comes to mind right now, but keep in mind that I do
not
own
an OM7 and the last time I even saw or used one was in 2007. That was
7
years ago. and my old grey cells "ain't what they used to be".
73 - Rick, DJ0IP
(Nr. Frankfurt am Main)
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