[TenTec] TT FD setups

[Steve Baron]

True, but still of interest.

Think some one had been bashing things like the 706, yet a friend of mine
made about 1200 Q's with a 706 and a 40 meter dipole up abt 30 feet;  oops -
a few doen 20 M Q's were in there too.


-----Original Message-----
From: w8au@sssnet.com <w8au@sssnet.com>
To: Steve Baron <stevebaron@starlinx.com>
Cc: tentec@contesting.com <tentec@contesting.com>
Date: Tuesday, June 29, 1999 10:03 PM
Subject: Re: [TenTec] TT FD setups


>At 08:02 PM 6/29/99 +0100, you wrote:
>
>>How many Q's does each station make ?
>
>
>
>Steve:
>
>Not even TT or the Triton's can make good operators out of all of us.
>
>Let's just say, (paraphrasing that Army promo) "It lets us be 'all that we
>can be.'"
>
>Perry
>
>
>>
>>
>>>
>>>Old german proverb= "We get too soon old, and too late smart!"
>>>
>>>At Massillon ARC (OH) (W8NP) we finally found the best FD rig after years
>>>and years of using the latest rigs and technology.  We have since
purchased
>>>a few (at prices tailored to a club budget!)
>>>
>>>Recent times have required the guest operators to either not touch any of
>>>the controls on whatever PLL "bells & whistles" rig is being used,
(except
>>>for the tuning knob) or face the embarassment of having to ask someone
"how
>>>to adjust this or that, or how to restore it to operation after pushing a
>>>wrong button."
>>>
>>>Realizing that most rigs today require a programming course and that most
>>>operators won't own the same rig that's being used.... plus the fact that
>>>the band capabilities of new rigs are far in excess of what is needed in
>>>the "traditional FD bands," (80/40/20/15/10) we, a couple years back,
made
>>>the decision to use a "user friendly" set that any operator could use
>>>comfortably with no previous instruction...  One that would take the
abuse
>>>of FD and not fail.... One that had superb CW and Fone characteristics
and
>>>had no unneeded bells and whistles... In other words, a purely functional
>>>radio having everything needed for FD.
>>>
>>>Ten Tec will not benefit from this disclosure, unless they decide to
>>>recondition and resell these units.  Unfortunately this will not aid new
>>>sales.
>>>
>>>The rig?  The 25+ year old digital Triton 4 (model 544)...!  Stock! No
>>>extra convertors or external VFO's!  A little thinking on the part of any
>>>FD operator will confirm our choice.
>>>
>>>Our prior PLL "phase-noise" problems that really messed up our multiple
>>>station/close proximity environment have about 90% disappeared.  As long
as
>>>antenna orientation considerations are kept in mind, our separate
stations
>>>can operate even the same band (CW and Fone) despite being 200 feet or
less
>>>apart.
>>>
>>>The standard Sideband filter plus the two CW audio filters (included in
the
>>>AGC loop!) are all that is needed to handle the QRM.  We have had no
>>>complaints in three years... nor have we had any rig failures to contend
>>>with during the middle of the contest. (If you are curious about the PLL
>>>rigs that we have HAD to fix during or after FD, just Email me and I will
>>>give the short list)
>>>
>>>This is not to suggest going back to 25 year old contesting technology...
>>>by all means use computer aided logging and transmission, programmable
>>>keyers, DVR audio messages and Headset/boom mikes.  Our only concession
to
>>>the "good old days" is the TT 544. (other than antennas, where there is
>>>nothing new under the sun)
>>>
>>>Hated to post this, as we don't need our competition using any ideas that
>>>give US a small advantage.... and we don't want the prices of these old
>>>gems going up to where they are less affordable for good operators and
>>>newcomers,  but....
>>>
>>>We just wanted to give credit to what will have to be looked upon in
years
>>>to come...as the (last refinement of) the first solid state 100W xcvr
ever
>>>built, and as one of the all-time classic Ham transceivers.
>>>
>>>73,
>>>
>>>Perry  w8au
>>>
>>>P.S. =  Oops, we did have ONE failure this year.... the meter lamp in one
>>>of the 544's burnt out!
>>>
>>>
>>>--
>>>FAQ on WWW:               http://www.contesting.com/tentecfaq.htm
>>>Submissions:              tentec@contesting.com
>>>Administrative requests:  tentec-REQUEST@contesting.com
>>>Problems:                 owner-tentec@contesting.com
>>>Search:                   http://www.contesting.com/km9p/search.htm
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>


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