At this point, 30 years old, those TT PTO rigs are "the new boatanchors"
and I am of a mind that it pays to think in terms of restoration...it's
about that time.
I have gone through a couple Tritons, Omni Cs, and an Omni V replacing
all the electrolytic caps with amazing results. I want to restore a
Corsair in 2011...new year's resolution.
Use modern low ESR high frequency caps designed for digital or switching
supplies, 105 C rating and the radio will sport far better parts than
were available when it was made. This effort will reward you with a
super low noise, high performing rig.
Ten Tec used general purpose caps, which weren't the greatest caps in
history when they were new, and they often used miniaturized series
which just don't hold up that well. Even if a radio seems to work OK,
you'll find out what you were missing when the caps are updated. Start
with power supply, IF/AF, and counter board and decide if it is worth
going on.
I ran afoul of "it it ain't broke, don't fix it" with an FT-102 rebuild.
It seems Kenwood 830s and contemporary Yaesus are getting fragile these
days, but the superior materials and simple, logical layout in 1980s Ten
Tec provide a better base for reworking. These radios are extremely
comfortable to work on, with high grade boards and well spaced out parts.
For alignment, a frequency counter is a necessity for getting all the
oscillators right.
Get a little bottle of Deoxit and clean all connectors as you go.
Joe N5KAT
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