Don sez:
> Over the past few weeks (perhaps as much as a month) there seems to have
> been a rash of folks selling their OMNI VIs, most of which have been
> upgraded to one of the Plus options. Does anyone have a clue as to why
Interesting food for thought. Here's some musings from a relatively new
Omni VI with Option 1 owner.
Some people are restless rig traders. They are constantly looking for
Something Better. I think the people who would try an Omni VI in the
first place may be a bit more likely to be that sort. You have to know
what good *is* to appreciate an Omni.
Ten Tec has a bit of a "cult" following. Some people may get swept up in
the affection we die-hard TenTechies generate, and not consider their own
needs sufficiently. When you're picky enough to want an Omni, specs and
ads may not tell the whole story. You've got to try it and see.
Sometimes you guess right, sometimes not. I suspect this is true with any
top-of-the-line rig.
There's a chance an Omni VI may not be to your liking. They have a
distinct personality that is very different from the top-of-the-line
Japanese rigs. They are not "average" rigs geared toward the widest
demographic. They are decidedly oriented towards CW and weak signal work
in the presence of nearby strong signals. One of their biggest plusses is
the ability to use any combination of filters on any mode. They are great
for many DXers and contesters. But they may not be the best choice if you
want total computer control of your rig under the most demanding contest
conditions.
And the Omni VI has some quirks. You may need to clean and reseat a few
internal connectors if something gets flaky. The digital display may be
off a few 10s of Hz, which I could care less about, but some people think
is just plain *wrong*. The Omni VI keyer has a teeny delay that can throw
you off, and superspeed CW ops may outpace its QSK. Finally, people may
wrongly expect absolute miracles with the DSP, not get them, and then
decide they'd rather have a rig that incorporates variable DSP bandwidths
or has more filter choices.
Another reason may be that some folks expect the Omni to have everything
everyone else has, *plus* its unique advantages. They don't understand
that the Omni's fundamental design--crystal mixing--means a tradeoff of
some things for others. General coverage and absolute dial accuracy would
mean sacrificing the very things the Omni does best.
Me? I'm *very* happy with my Omni VI. It's a keeper. I studied ads,
specs, and a couple of years' worth of this reflector before taking the
plunge. I agonized until my wife said, "Just buy it, I can see you
really want it." No, my wife is not for sale or trade! :-)
I'm *not* a restless rig trader--when I get something, I usually stick
with it for several years. And I almost always buy used--even my Omni VI
was a demo rig, not brand new.
Why did I get an Omni VI? I live in an urban area, I don't have HF beams,
On my old Icom 751a, I often heard weak signals disappear when strong
signals were nearby. I didn't have this kind of problem with the Drake
B-line I had 10 years ago. The Drakes were less stable than modern rigs,
and the skirt selectivity was nowhere near as good as my 751a, but I heard
more weak signals. Having heard firsthand the difference between crystal
mixing schemes (Drake, TenTec) and the standard synth schemes used in all
but the very top-line Japanese rigs, I decided that the Omni was for me.
I operate some CW, a lot of digital, and a little SSB. The Omni's filter
flexibility is great, especially in digital modes. The Omni's noise
reduction is good enough that I have almost never used my Timewave 599zx
on HF since I got the Omni (I still use the 599zx all the time on
satellite). The standard complement of filters (2.4, 1.8, 0.50, 0.25, plus
0.50 in narrow) is just fine for me. That, plus judicious use of the PBT,
is all I need in bandwidths almost all the time. And unlike Yeacomwood's
super-rigs, the Omni is relatively simple to operate.
I'm not a superspeed CW op, so the Omni's QSK problems at 60wpm are
irrelevant for me. At my lowly 18-25wpm, the Omni is the most wonderful
rig for CW I've ever tried. If I was an all-CW speed demon, I might have
gone for an Omni V. But hey, I just played "find-new-countries" in the
ARRL DX contest last weekend. I heard and worked many weak signals at the
noise level with rock crushers less than a kHz away. When I A/B switched
to my 751a, several of these signals were totally buried by phase noise.
This is the first contest I've ever worked where I was limited only by my
own ability to copy, not by my rig's phase noise. It felt good!
Now remember, my old IC-751a is not a bad rig. The phase noise issues
exist to some extent for all but the best new synthesized rigs. The 751a
probably a better SSB ragchewing rig, but the Omni's general audio and
quietness is so much better. So I'm happy to put up with the slightly
more restricted frequency response on SSB. And the Omni has the same weak
signal ability on phone as on CW.
I haven't sold my 751a, even though I haven't transmitted on it since the
Omni arrived. Why? General coverage and AM, which the 751a has and the
Omni doesn't. It didn't make sense to buy a Paragon--then I'd lose the
very thing I bought the Omni VI for--weak signal performance. So I've got
a spare rig now.
Based on my reading of many people's comments, the only rig that *might*
be better for me is a Yaesu FT-1000D. *Maybe*. I'd have to do a
side-by-side to know for sure. The Omni is more economical. And then
there's the matter of service. Ten-Tec has my vote there. When you buy
Ten-Tec, you're not just buying a rig, you're buying a relationship.
That's worth a LOT these days.
73,
Peter - KD7MW
---
* My opinions do not necessarily represent those of Seattle University.
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Peter A. Klein (pklein@seattleu.edu) : -----==3== --- ---
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