You know Steve, the Triton IV was one fantastic radio.
It had a really hot receiver. I think that was one of the best kept secrets
of that era.
An even bigger, better kept secret is that the Argonaut 515 had the Triton
IV receiver in it.
It was really hot for a QRP radio.
73
Rick, DJ0IP
-----Original Message-----
From: tentec-bounces@contesting.com [mailto:tentec-bounces@contesting.com]
On Behalf Of Stephen Pink
Sent: Wednesday, July 04, 2012 3:57 AM
To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment
Subject: Re: [TenTec] My First Ten-Tec
I bought my first Ten Tec in 1976. It was a used Triton IV that I bought
from a dealer in Rochester, NY. Although I had been licensed since 1962, I
hadn't done much CW because the radios I had were separates: Heathkits
(DX-40), Knightkits, Globemasters, etc. Had very bad receive selectivity
and the transition from transmit to receive was throwing a bunch of
switches.
The Triton IV changed everything for me. The QSK was the first I had ever
experienced and even the CW selectivity (I had an IF crystal filter for CW)
was incredible to me. I also bought a Ten Tec external electronic keyer with
a built in iambic paddle which made sending a pleasure.
I have been a CW guy ever since and now have an Orion and love it.
73,
Steve
On Tue, Jul 3, 2012 at 4:49 PM, Rick - DJ0IP / NJ0IP <Rick@dj0ip.de> wrote:
> I am interested in hearing how others came to their first Ten-Tec
> radio, why they bought it and how they used it.
>
> Jim, if you feel this is not an appropriate topic for the Forum, then
> pull the emergency brake.
>
> DJ0IP's First Ten-Tec: Argonaut 505
>
> 1974: I was living in Berlin, fresh out of the US Army. I wanted to
> remain in Germany for a couple of years and tour Europe by motorcycle.
> I had a Honda CB-750 with a full Fairing on it. A great touring bike
> for its day.
> Radios at that time were mostly BIG tube radios, or perhaps hybrid
> with a transistorized RX, transistorized low-level TX stages, but a
> tube driver and pair of tubes final - not conducive for traveling by
> motorbike and camping.
>
> In December I visited the local ham radio shop in Berlin, who happened
> to be a Ten-Tec dealer (as well as everything else). He had a brand
> new Ten-Tec Argonaut 505 on display. It was love at first site.
> Exactly what I needed for my planned 2 year bike tour of Europe.
> Liechtenstein, Andorra, San Morino, Marraco... there were plenty of
> expedition targets on my hit list.
> Little did I know at the time that 2 years would become 20 years. I
> bought the Argonaut as a Christmas gift to myself. After all, I had
> no family in Berlin.
>
> This radio and its successor, the Argonaut 509, accompanied me on bike
> tours for the next 20 years or so. It was the perfect radio for
> operating off of the motorbike battery because it's current drain on
> RX was only 150 mA when the dial lamps were switched off.
>
> The 509 was eventually modified considerably, getting an 8-pole SSB
> filter and 8-pole cw filter, as well as a home-brew audio filter, all
> installed inside the transceiver. Sometimes I even took the 405
> amplifier with me on the trips. It was always a tough decision: the amp
or the XYL?
>
> The highlight of my travels was taking first place overall in Europe
> in CW Field Day; must have been 1987 or 1988. FD is a club sport and
> I operated alone, but using an HB0 call sign surely helped draw
> attraction to my QRP signal. I beat all of the clubs in Europe in the QRP
class.
>
> When my XYL complained about getting wet too much on motorbike camping
> trips, I gave in and switched to an RV. That was about 1996. I was
> nearly
> 50
> years old and had never had a vacation without the motorcycle. The
> Argonaut was replaced by a Scout, and then later an Argosy. For some
> of the important contests, I took along my Omni VI+.
>
> Unfortunately I did not take many pictures back in those days, but
> some of my expeditions with the Argonaut are pictured on my web site:
> http://www.dj0ip.de/my-expeditions/ .
>
> That's my Ten-Tec story, or at least the start of it.
>
> 73
> Rick, DJ0IP
>
>
>
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