[TenTec] Re: [Ten-Tec] Why no DSP upgrades for the 6N2?

KE4TEG ke4teg@bellsouth.net
Mon, 15 Jul 2002 21:06:09 -0400


I do not work for Ten-Tec, but I do not think the 526 has any way to be 
upgraded without replacing DSP chips, proms, pals, or ICs. There is not 
even a way to control the radio from a PC or interface with the radio to 
manage the memories. You do a master reset and you will be reprogramming 
every memory location one at a time!

Hey, maybe I could make an interface and make some money on the side! I 
have built a Tick IV keyer for my 526 and am now going to figure out a way 
to mount it permanently inside the radio.

I agree with Cliff. We are lucky to even have this rig with all the hurdles 
it had to jump over. And the hidden treasure of the rig is its ability to 
drive higher frequency transverters right out of the box.

73 Keith
de KE4TEG

At 08:10 PM 07/15/2002 -0400, Cliff Segar wrote:
>I would venture a guess that it mostly had to do with how the rig finally 
>came to market. This rig was considered to be vapor ware' by many for 
>quite a while. It was 'in the works' for a number of years, went to FCC 
>type acceptance several times only to have vendors end-of-life components, 
>had one lead engineer quit and, to top it off, was never figured to be 
>much more than something a repeater rig anyway. (Yes, they sure missed 
>their target there!) When this unit was first conceived 5 or 6 years ago, 
>DSP was quite new. Flashable DSP was only a dream. Despite the relative 
>newness of the rig on the market it has really been a very long time "in 
>the works" and, like most items, once in the system can't be changed in a 
>major way. The DSP in this rig is a major part of the entire system since 
>it not only does the DSP for your listening pleasure but also does the DSP 
>for the DX station as well. FM, CW, USB & LSB are all created via the DSP. 
>This was the concept 5+ years ago when Proto#1 sat on the test bench and 
>'flashable' just wasn't a consideration. Technology marches on.
>My opinion and I'm sticking to it!
>73 KF4DZV
>
>
>"You manage things, you lead people. We went overboard on management and 
>forgot about leadership. It might help if we ran the MBAs out of Washington."
>Rear Adm. Grace Murray Hopper
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