[TenTec] TT (Orion) Future improvements!!!

[Ron Notarius]

Speaking of throwing more petroleum on the inferno, here's another one to
consider:

Last October, I joined K3VX, W3WH and W3RJM in operating two portable
stations during the Pa QSO Party, N3SH & W3WH/QRP.  The two stations were in
adjacent cabins in a state park.  Due to circumstance to lengthy to go into,
some of the wire antennas overlapped each other, and they were all in pretty
close proximity.

Larry, Bob & I took turns at N3SH, running an IC-706 at 100 W.  Bill ran
W3WH/QRP SO using a Ten Tec Argonaut V (516) cranked down around 5 W or so.
I don't think we were ever on the same band at the same time, but often
adjacent bands (20 & 40, 40 & 80, or 80 & 160 during my few hours)

Now:  every time I sat at the rig, if Bill transmitted, I knew it.
Sometimes it was near impossible copy, but mostly I could work around it...
too many Field Days under my belt, so I was used to it.

Almost every time I transmitted, Bill was unaware of it.  Never heard me.
No clicks, no front end overload, no de-sense.

Now... of the two, which rig do you think I want to get my hands on?  (OK,
trick question, I'd take the first one offered to me, but which do you think
I'd PREFER to get my hands on?)

73

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Duane A Calvin" <ac5aa at juno.com>
To: <tentec at contesting.com>
Sent: Monday, February 14, 2005 12:12 AM
Subject: Re: [TenTec] TT (Orion) Future improvements!!!


> Speaking of the color screen (a non problem in my opinion), the following
> new rig from ICOM might throw more gasoline on this fire . . .
>
>         http://www.qsl.net/ab4oj/icom/ic7000.html
>
> 73,  Duane
>
>
> On Mon, 14 Feb 2005 04:19:08 +0200 "Geoffrey S. Mendelson"
> <gsm at mendelson.com> writes:
> > On Sun, Feb 13, 2005 at 08:45:45PM -0500, Ron Notarius wrote:
> > > For example:  Remember the Argosy.  Back in the day, I could put
> > an Argosy
> > > and a TS-430S side by side.  I'd estimate that about 90% of the
> > time, if you
> > > gave it an honest evaluation on receive, it was at worst a wash,
> > but usually
> > > the Argosy could hear things better with less noise.  And if you
> > put both
> > > rigs on the same station & antenna & switched back and forth, I
> > can not ever
> > > recall a single time that the guy on the other end said the 430
> > sounded
> > > better than the 525; either there was no difference or the other
> > way around.
> > > So why did we sell about ten or more 430's to every 525?  Power
> > output.  100
> > > W out vs. 50.  And don't bother telling me that it's only a 3dB
> > difference,
> > > and that you probably wouldn't notice that on the air -- because
> > it's true.
> > > But people who were willing to accept the lack of bells &
> > whistles, or of a
> > > digital readout (until the 525D came out), or of 12 & 17 meter
> > coverage kept
> > > stopping dead at the power output.  Maybe it was a convenient
> > excuse for
> > > some, but the bottom line is that I kept hearing "if only the
> > Argosy put out
> > > a 100 Watts!"
> >
> > Ron, I disagree completely. The 430 was an entirely different rig.
> > The
> > Argosy was an old timer by that time. It was a PTO tuned, analog
> > rig
> > while the 430 was a digital, PLL synthesized rig, with many more
> > features.
> >
> > The 430 had a general coverage receiver, the Argosy did not. The
> > 430
> > had two "VFOs" built in and could work split the Argosy could not.
> > The 430 received and transmitted in AM and FM the Argosy could not.
> > The 430 had 8 memories the Argosy had none.
> >
> > Quite simply the 430 was the future of ham radio at the time and
> > the
> > Argosy was its past.
> >
> > I'm not saying the Argosy was a bad rig, I'm just saying that
> > comparing
> > it to a 430 was not fair. The 430 had in one box features that an
> > Argosy
> > user could only dream of.
> >
> > It's a matter of company focus. Kenwood went with the do everything
> > you can and do some of them well concept, TenTec went with the do
> > few things, but be the best.
> >
> > Geoff.
> >
> > -- 
> > Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel gsm at mendelson.com
> > N3OWJ/4X1GM
> > IL Voice: 972-544-608-069  IL Fax: 972-2-648-1443 U.S. Voice:
> > 1-215-821-1838
> > VoIP (Email to schedule) Free World Dialup: 523178  Skype:
> > gsmendelson
> > _______________________________________________
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> >
> >
>
>
> --------------------------------------
> Duane Calvin, AC5AA
> Austin, Texas
>
> http://home.austin.rr.com/ac5aa
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