[TenTec] Ten Tec 651 Combiner/Splitter

[Bill Miner]

Hello Ten Tekkies,

Well a nice new Ten Tec item arrived here today.  No it is NOT an ORION.

The 651 Combiner/Splitter can be used for performing receiver tests and
other test bench uses.  It is built into a high quality cast metal box
with a nice (powder coat?) finish.  The port connections are via high
quality BNC connectors

As near as I can tell, the unit meets or exceeds all of the specs.
listed on the Ten Tec web site in their commercial products section.

I measured an insertion loss of 5.9 to 6.8 dB depending on the port in
use and the frequency.  The port isolation is adjustable and can be
optimized for the frequency of interest and is 59 to 60 dB!  I measured
the return loss on all three ports at about 23 to 24 dB.

Although the Ten Tec specs do not indicate this, it looks like it should
be useful from below 500 Khz to just above 450 Mhz.  Very impressive. 
It would not be easy to duplicate this level of performance with a home
brew unit.

Now if I can just figure out what RF level to use to get those accurate
IP3 measurements...

73,
Bill - K6WLM