Hi gang!
Well, I'm finally among the ranks of the TenTechies, albeit about 17
years in the past. I've recently received from the estate of my wife's
Uncle a TenTec Omni-D, serial # 58, that has been factory upgraded to a
series "B". I'm fairly new to the Ham world and have some questions,
that I'm sure some of you can help me with.
1) I need help in finding out what the knob does and how to set it, on
an accessory (non-TenTec) SWR/Watt meter that my Uncle used with his
rig. It is a small Quement SWB-3 unit, and has a meter on left that is
labeled Watt on top and POWER on the bottom, the meter on the right has
Watt printed on the top scale and SWR on the bottom. So, I've
determined that this thing is a direct reading SWR/Power indicator.
There is a knob in the center with a graduated scale that starts at 0
and goes to 10. I imagine this is some kind of calibration knob, but I
don't know how to calibrate it (if I'm right). I have the unit
installed between the OMNI D and the TenTec model 247 tuner. How do I
get this thing to provide me with useful information? Does it have to
be reset for each band, or is it set and forget?
2) What is the proper procedure for setting/tuning the Model 247 tuner?
I've been using an MFJ (949E?) tuner with cross needle power/SWR meter
with my "old" rig and I assume I use the 247 in a similar manner. It
does not have a meter built-in, so I guess that's what my Uncle used the
Quement SWB-3 for. I did not get the manual for the 247 tuner. TenTec,
is a manual still available? I was hoping that the numbers on the
right-most dial on the tuner corresponded to desired frequency in MHz,
but I've found that not to be the case.
3) I'm having trouble with this zero-beating thing. My Omni-D has the
optional 500Hz IF crystal installed (but not, I believe, the 1.8 kHz SSB
filter). I tried playing w/ the zero-beating button, but could not
recognize any zero-beating phenomenon. I set the mode to CW, went to
40M band, set the filter to 500Hz, tuned to an active CW signal and
pressed the button in. I hear the high-end of the audio freq (the hiss)
being attenuated and the CW signal goes away. I retune to find it with
the button depressed, but can't. It's as if the RF as been attenuated
when the button is pushed. I released the button, the CW signal was
back. I'm either really daft on what is happening, or something is not
working correctly. What am I supposed to hear? Do I need to key-down
while pressing the button? (I can't picture keying, pressing the button
and tuning at the same time).(I didn't have my key connected to the rig
yet . . . need to get some RCA plugs from RS).
4) I had been thinking that my old rig (Kenwood Twins 599D . . . that
are for sale by the way) had an insensitive receiver as I could barely
copy, (and sometimes not even hear) DX stations that other Hams in the
U.S. are giving 5-5 to 5-9 reports to. I guess I should not have been
surprised to find the Omni-D responds the same way, so trouble is not
the receiver. Due to family and covenant restrictions, I'm confined to
using a vertical antenna (Cushcraft R-7000 whose base is up 10 1/2 feet
from the ground on a steel pole away from other objects) and its stuck
on the end of a 150 foot run of RG-213. How can I improve my reception
given my constraints? I seem to be "getting-out" OK. I was able to be
copied in Ireland using 100W on 40M SSB once from here in Colorado using
same antenna setup, (but was hovering at/below the chaps noise level, so
we couldn't converse, but he did copy my call correctly . . . that
counts, doesn't it?). I notice that the OMNI D has a separate receive
antenna jack. If I run a basic long wire along the roofline of the
house, will I do better in receiving than through the vertical? I can
run the long wire directly to the shack from the roof w/o having a coax
run. Other ideas? (A Yagi on a tower or a curtain array setup is
simply not going to happen on my suburban lot).
5) Is an upgrade to a series "C" available still? If yes, what does
that give me?
6) Does anyone have an Omni D external VFO (243?) they would like to
part with?
Roy Ogborn
ki0er@amsat.org
PS
I'm not going to apologize for the bandwidth . . . it was intentionally
used.
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