[TenTec] OMNI VI Non-Confusion

[John]

In a very interesting post, Steve, N4LQ, wrote:

"Personally, I would much prefer the old Omni VI 563 with all the upgrades I 
could get. Yes, you still have to contend with the IF boards being SMD but 
at least the control board has good ole leaded parts."

Well, well, some of us w/o such technical expertise just stumble into a good thing.
My c. 1994 OMNI VI upgraded to Opt. 3 has a tcxo, a relay that grounds the aux rx antenna
during transmission, competent audio even before installing the INRAD stuff, and plug #52
disconnected for a cleaner sidetone. IMHO not only may there be considerable variation
in the parts/wiring of OMNI VIs as they came off the assembly line from 1992-2001, but
some just seem to work better than others.

Sample variations are not just limited to Ten-Tec transceivers, I've found.
That's just one of the unavoidable limitations of reviews of one sample
such as carried in QST and elsewhere. I think Mike Tracy has said ARRL labs
does do a cross-check with another sample when it can, but it is not the 
thorough examination given to the test sample.

Certainly keeps things interesting :-)

73,
John, W3ULS