[TenTec] Omni 6 keying......

[Paul Christensen]

> to constantly occur in the different rigs on here are un-called for.  Like
> it or not if a man put out the same amount of $ that a 6+ is bringing on a
> Jap rig I believe you would be in for a big surprise.

I was in for a big surprise...twice:  I was surprised that the $3K Japanese
Yaesu FT-1000D had such shortened keying in QSK that an external keyer was
required to compensate for the distorted weighting.  Then, I was surprised
when I purchased an FT-1000MP and noticed that 1) the trailing edge of the
keyed wave-form produced key-clicks on the air and in the side-chain monitor
and 2) the clicky QSK changed timbre, depending on which receive filter was
selected.  Isn't this performance un-called for?

Every radio has its strengths and weaknesses.  And in each of them, if you
strive for perfection, you have to work hard to achieve it through careful
analysis and re-design.  Oftentimes, weaknesses are the direct result of the
incorporation of some other feature.  The transition from a simple PTO
oscillator to a complex synthesizer comes to mind.  Another is the sharing
of CPU resources to manage the synthesizer frequency while simultaneously
working to produce perfectly timed CW if the internal keyer is used.

One solution to your dilemma is to use a small 8-pin DIP keyer chip like
that made by Jackson Harbor Press http://home.att.net/~jacksonharbor/pk3.htm
or the Embedded Research TiCK.  A new version of the Jackson chip also
allows for variable weighting, memory keying, and pot controlled CW speed.
You could incorporate this tiny circuit onto a small piece of double-sided
3M foam tape and use the Omni Six's front panel speed control to vary the
speed of the chip.  An unused front panel button switch in the CW mode
(e.g., VOX) could potentially be used as the chip's "function" button with
setup audio routed to the audio amp.  This would be a relatively easy mod
that's 100% reversible in the event you ever decide to sell the rig.

-Paul, W9AC



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