[TenTec] Rig in the Middle ...Scout?

[Jack W. Rucker]

To Chris & other Ten-Tec Fans:                                           

I followed with interest the Out-House Engineering (well .., it wasn't
'In-House') on
a new rig from Tennessee. I was getting ready to place an early order,
and thinking 
of giving up one of my 2 Scouts, when some of you mentioned updating the
Scout.

WOW!! Fix the Scout!! What a good idea!! I was responsibile for over 20
other CW ops
buying Scouts, and at least two of them sent them back after a few days.
There are proably a few more who won't talk to me. Because of thousands
of QSOs on my 2 Scouts - fixed, mobile, and two 7-week trips operating
as 9N1SON - I inadvertently caused a lot more operators to never
consider a Scout purchase, due to my drift, jumps, and/or a rough note.
Several guys call me 'the Frog'. [Frog in the Middle - -
Pond?]                                                                    

The Scouts are the most fun rigs I've owned in my 46+ years of hamming,
and trekking 
in Nepal with solar panels and gel cells was frosting on the
cake.                                                                                                             
After many dozens of hours repairing the rigs, & making minor 'no-holes'
mods, I now
have one Scout with a clean, almost stable, CW signal. I'll save the
other one for a
monsoon season.                              

My vote is to test and stabilize ALL Scouts coming off of the assembly
line, and
then providing a factory FIX on bad ones in the field after the Omni VI+
Gold-rush 
is over. With current prices, the Scout + all modules and accessories,
including 
power supply, is around $1K. (Well worth it, when you have one that
works
right.)                                                                                              
Another alternative that has been mentioned is to make all of the Scouts
drift at
the same rate. Then we could form Scout Clubs (Troops?), maybe a UFO*
Club, call
"CQ Scout", and have Scout awards and contests. QRM would only be a
temporary problem.              
*Unstable Frequency
Oscillator                                                                                                                                                 
73,

Jasck
W4SON/9N1SON

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