At 10:53 AM 6/25/97 EDT, you wrote:
>I own one Kenwood - a 721 dual-bander. The tone squelch decoder
>only works on the sub-band so it is practically useless. It seems
>to me that there is always something wrong with each model of
>Kenwood. They don't ever get it completely right. For a Jap rig,
>the Yaesu radios are much better. I will never buy another Kenwood.
>Icoms are improving. I owned a TenTec 544 Digital until last year.
>
>I know this is the TenTec list and you're all TenTec fans, but the
>544 was a little weak in the knobs and switches department. The
>antenna preselector became loose and I had to put a bigger grommet
>around the shaft to prevent the shaft from rattling and turning.
>Of course I did the PTO rebuild. Even when the PTO was new, going
>mobile and operating the PTO in the cold weather was bad news. It
>was also prone to RF feedback. I had to replace the display / freq
>counter board right after I got the radio from the factory. The
>262G power supply / speaker / VOX unit seemed to have a loose rattle
>right at the center of the CW passband. I had to replace the 1/4"
>phones jack with a stereo jack and put 100 Ohms in series with each
>headphone (L & R) to cut the volume down to a reasonable level and
>protect the output in case somebody jammed a mono plug in there.
>I never used the VOX because it was not easily adjustable. I don't
>know how many times I almost lost a QSO because the power supply
>breaker popped. I will admit that the narrow CW filter and the noise
>blanker were very good.
>
>Maybe my experience was the exception rather than the rule. I have
>been tuned into this list for several months. Hearing all the glowing
>praise for TenTec has made me want to give them another chance. I
>have received a TenTec 1210 (ten meter to two meter transverter) kit.
>It is built and ready to put in its case, except I am waiting to get
>a coil from TenTec which was left out of the kit. I e-mailed them a
>few days ago to request the missing part, and I have received no
>confirmation. I suppose it's on the way, but how can I be sure? I
>am thinking "here we go again" with TenTec - ODTAA (One Darn Thing
>After Another). Without the coil (part of the 10M bandpass filter)
>I can tell that the basic transverter functions are working but the
>receiver seems a little deaf - probably to be expected. I hope it
>perks up quite a bit when the coil gets installed.
>
>Never one to make rash decisions, I even bought a used Century 21
>from Paul, who posts regularly on the list. I won't expect the
>C-21 to outperform my FT-990, but I hope it's a solid design. I
>also think I'd like to find a used Corsair II soon. If there is
>a 30-day trial period for OMNI VI+ radios, that is a good step on
>behalf of TenTec to win back support for their products. A few
>more glitches from TenTec and I'll shut them out of my life forever.
>
>- Marcus KR5N
>
>Your flames are welcome and will be read but I probably won't respond.
>
Marcus,
Why Don't you compare apples to apples. I owned a TS-120 until I moved
within 5 miles of a major contest station, When they were on I couldn't
even get on the radio, every band was affected until I bought my first Ten
Tec. Three years ago I bought a Yaesu FT0840 as a back up rig for my
Corsair and also bought a Scout at the same time. My wife(being a new ham
at the time) asked why the FT 840 receive was so bad, she prefered the
Scout over the bells and whistles of the FT 840 because she couldn't stand
the "white noise". I promply sold the FT 840 and last year purchased a OMNI
6 after reviewing the FT-1000 MP. Why? Ten Tec Service is GREAT, TEN TEC
Rigs are GREAT, and if you had a problem you could have called the 800
number at TEN TEC. Try E-Mailing Yeasu and see what your response is.
Sorry for the Flame, I am defending Family...Ten Tec family!
73, Chris KB3A
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