In a very interesting post, Steve, N4LQ, wrote:
"Personally, I would much prefer the old Omni VI 563 with all the upgrades I
could get. Yes, you still have to contend with the IF boards being SMD but
at least the control board has good ole leaded parts."
Well, well, some of us w/o such technical expertise just stumble into a good
thing.
My c. 1994 OMNI VI upgraded to Opt. 3 has a tcxo, a relay that grounds the aux
rx antenna
during transmission, competent audio even before installing the INRAD stuff,
and plug #52
disconnected for a cleaner sidetone. IMHO not only may there be considerable
variation
in the parts/wiring of OMNI VIs as they came off the assembly line from
1992-2001, but
some just seem to work better than others.
Sample variations are not just limited to Ten-Tec transceivers, I've found.
That's just one of the unavoidable limitations of reviews of one sample
such as carried in QST and elsewhere. I think Mike Tracy has said ARRL labs
does do a cross-check with another sample when it can, but it is not the
thorough examination given to the test sample.
Certainly keeps things interesting :-)
73,
John, W3ULS
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