Jody,
Well, I'm new to the Pegasus and EXTREMELY biased toward such a
PC defined rig (not to mention its made in North America). As an
engineer, I too got back into ham radio in part to satisfy that
need to work on hands-on projects with a team of people,
sometimes an extended team. Here experiments and experimental
methods are encouraged, results shared, and people of all ages
and walks of life are part of it. The financial barrier is
overcome in part by club stations and remote access (IRLP,
Internet Remote Base, EchoLink, et al).
Having the good fortune to work with a Middle School ARC along with our local
ARC, I have been able to rehabilitate old rigs
donated to the club prior to their disposal. So via this route
had use of a K'wood TS-520, TenTec Argonaut 509, Icom IC-706,
and Icom IC-821H (2m/440 satellite capable). That's been a perk,
led me to settle on an FT-817 for QRP, remote, and ARES ops, and
the TenTec Pegasus for base station and soon, remote operation.
Some of the reasons for me choosing a Pegasus:
1) ease of integration with digital software. The rig includes
the digital interface software, and the company provides the
source for their version of it ! Though Carl N4PY's is certainly
more polished, it was wonderful to cull through the code and
be able to cobble up some interfaces myself. Given the
prototypes out there to build on, we are taking advantage doing:
http://rtpnet.org/parc/Station/IRB
2) software enhancements: the GUI and firmware updates have been
timely over the years and allow for complete reconfiguration of
the radio should new HF bands be allocated. That is increasingly
true of other radios, but TenTec seems to be ahead of the curve
here.
3) flexibility and ease of setting up remote controlled system:
major reason for me to get a Pegasus was setting up an Internet
Remote Base as noted above. We looked at many rigs, the Pegasus
has affordable software, a very supportive base (this list among
other resources), and a supportive manufacturer. That the Jupiter
and Orion follow-on rigs still run in modes completely compatible
with the older Pegasus was a very wise design decision by TenTec.
4) relatively inexpensive transverters should multi-mode 6m or
2m be of interest later. This applies to any HF only rigs, but
there is community support for integration of 2m and 6m TenTec
transverters including desings for remote control of same.
5) it looks like just another PC on the ham shack bench, so my
spouse [(X)YL?] doesn't get as concerned as when another radio
appears !
For more experimental work in the HF arena, perhaps you would
be interested in the NJQRP group, they are found at www.njqrp.org
Cheers & 73s de Mark W4CHL
Mark R. Smith W4CHL@arrl.net
Chapel Hill, NC http://www.qsl.net/w4chl
|