Hi Lou,
I have been "in the quest" for a better rig a while. I used the
Collins S Line from 1964-1987. Then I used a Kenwood 940 from
1987-2000 when I went to the FT1000D.
As I got more serious about DX and casual contesting, I found the
1000D front end was overloaded by S9+ signals when I was 1 KHz or
so away from an S3 or less station.
I added the INRAD roofing filter to the 1000D and did a couple of
other mods. These helped some, but I still had some overload.
Having listened to some of the new rigs, I wanted a quieter
receiver.
After some searching, research (looking at Sherwood's performance
figures), talking to expert contesters, old friends, IC-7800,
FTDX-9000, and K3 users, I settled on the Orion 2.
I have experienced optimal performance in contests and pileups.
No overload, swamping, etc. With all the filters, I can cut out
any adjacent signal and copy the RTTY, or CW signal FB. I am
adding Larry's LP-PAN from Telepost so I can "see" the spectrum
in more detail.
If you don't have to have dual receive, talk to W2NRA about his
Omni VII. I looked back at the Ten-Tec demo list and do not see a
"demo" Omni VII listed. With the VII I believe you will get the
current state of the art receiver performance.
The other reasonable choice would be the Orion 1 (565) if you
just have to have a second receiver.
You will get differing opinions on using a second receiver. I use
mine mainly in pile ups where the DX station is listening 3-25
KHz up. I go listen "up" with the second receiver for a clear
spot.
While I am not a big scorer in contesting, I am at 341 countries
(entities) accomplished since 2001 with lots of absent time due
to business travels.
It is great fun to "keep looking for new ones." I only made 10
contacts in the Ukraine DX contest last weekend (with no DX on
Sunday morning), but got a new one! So you never know where that
"next new one is lurking."
If you have a tribander up 40 ft, and a small amp, you can get to
300 countries in a relatively short time...assuming we get even a
few sun spots! Hihi!
Take care & 73s,
Grant
W4OJC
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Huffman" <hjohnc@gmail.com>
To: "Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment" <tentec@contesting.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2008 11:15 AM
Subject: Re: [TenTec] Looking for a rig upgrade...
Lou -
All the radios you listed would be very nice mid grade
transceivers.
Here's my reaction based on my experience with Ten Tecs.
My key requirements are
1) PC interface for logging
Omni VI (option 1-3 and plus) has only basic computer
interface, but
does logging fine. Pegasus, Jupiter, Orion, Omni, all have an
extensive
interface.
2) Quality... I don't want to keep woking on the radio or
having it repaired
Any radio can have problems. But, if needed, ease of service
is
important. I have been very pleased with Ten Tec service in
terms of
price, quality and turn-around time.
3) Receive quality.... doen't have to have the best receiver,
but don't wnat to get tired of listening to it.
Jupiter and Pegasus are a step below the other Ten Tecs, but
easy to
listen to. Don't rely on a chart like the Sherwood chart.
It's just
one piece of information. I have a non-Ten Tec radio that
scores very,
very high on the chart. But, has somewhat hissy audio and is
tiring to
listen to. If you just do PSK with audio off, never mind.
4) Stand up to some contesting. I am not a hard core
contester, but I have operating during a few contests and
enjoyed it.
All will do well with "some" contesting. Competitive
contesting needs
Omni VI, Omni VII, or Orion.
My advice is to get a used radio from the Ten Tec factory. It
has a 10
day trial, 30 day warranty, and 30 day full upgrade allowance.
They
bend over backward to help make sure you are satisfied.
You would be happy with a Jupiter. An Omni VI upgrade would
satisfy you
for a long time. Orion requires a lot of investment in time to
learn to
use the radio correctly.
73 de K1ESE
John
Any thoughts?
Lou
KC2RVD
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