I've had two Ten-Tecs in my life: An early Omni VI and my newish (1 yr-old)
VI+.
My early Omni VI had a wobble on the VFO knob. It wasn't a real hassle, but
it was an irritant. I wrote it off as some quirk in a used rig.
But my new Omni VI+ has the same darned thing. If I jiggle the VFO knob
vertically, there is a noticeable "clunk" as I do so. It is especially
irritating when I am fast tuning with my finger in the knob hole. I'll cruise
along, and each turn of the VFO brings a "thump." I've adjusted the knob
drag, and all that does is increase the tension; the "klunk" persists.
I just started thinking of this because I played last week (in Japan!) with
the typical Kenwood, Yaesu, and Icom rigs in their many ham stores, and not a
one of them has the problem. They are smooth as silk.
Ten-Tec service (helpful though they usually are) says a discernable amount of
"klunking" is inevitable because the encoders are imperfect; that they have
tried a couple of different encoders, and they all do it; and there's nothing
they can do. They can provide a replacement encoder (about $70) but doubt I'd
notice any difference.
Does anyone have thoghts? How come the encoders in the Japanese rigs don't
"klunk"?
I realize this is a nearly trivial matter. I love the rig and wouldn't trade
it for another of any brand. But dang I hate that "klunk"!
Bernie Skoch
K5XS
Honolulu
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