[TenTec] Omni VI Plus freq. readout

[Dave Kamp, KW0D]

Hey Everybody!

Mike wrote:
>Would someone kindly explain to me why I need to know my frequency with such
>precision?


I can understand it to a certain extent-  I oftentimes use my HF rig as a
monitor/test tool for some antiquated piece of technology, and like to be
able to dial in and listen to one of the oscillators.  That being said, I
don't care much wether it's off by a bit, 'cause I'm usually more
interested just to see if there's a signal in that can, and that it's in
the ballpark.

As for operating on the air, I assume that any op, sked or otherwise, is
+/- QRM.  I'm blessed with functioning hands, eyes, and ears, so I can
twist the dial a bit... and I even got a short callsign so I didn't hafta
figger out wether I was within our outside my privelages... just hafta make
sure I'm not in an inappropriate mode for the window.

Seems like every rig I've ever had, the display was always a bit off, but
for the most part, they were pretty good.  I wasn't so much interested in
the accuracy, so much as I was the Repeatability.  Kinda like target
practice-  if the rife shoots high and to the left, I aim low and to the
right.  Sure, the sights are off, but when the range changes, so does the
drop, hence, the sights are always wrong.  My Icom 551 6m rig always reads
50.124.7 when you're on 50.125.  Easy for me, I just dial up the freq I
want, and go down two ticks-  it's pretty good.

My Omni VI is usually reading .27 HIGHER than it should, but I don't lose
any sleep over it- I just twist 'till nobody sounds funny.

The one thing I AM critical of... is the stability.  Most times, I can turn
on the VI, park it on a freq, and listen comfortably while I work...
mebbie jump in to jabber a little... and out-of-the-blue, it'll go into the
PLL-Unlock type situation... everybody's voice will creep higher, then
'whoop'... it'll be back down... then creep higher...  Sometimes it stops
after a few, sometimes it continues all night.  Sometimes it's stable as
bedrock all night, sometimes it's a tyrant from the moment it was turned
on.  On SSB, I can tolerate it, but I get tired of listening to cartoon
characters, and since it happens on TX too, they get tired of listening to
ME... however...

On CW, teletype, and PSK,  the unlock makes the rig essentially
worthless... with even a halfway-wide CW filter on, it'll dip in and out as
the signal goes through the passband, and the poor op on the other end
thinks I'm transmitting using ocean swells as a reference oscillator.
Kinda stinks.

Anyway, if I TRY to make it do it, it won't.  When I try to make it stop,
it won't.  One of these days, It'll become consistent, then I'll box and
ship it to Dollywood.  Until then, I'll just suffer occasionally sounding
like a LollyPop Kid snorting helium.

DK  :-)

73's from KW0D Dave in LeClaire, Iowa