[TenTec] On being a contrarian

[Donald Watters]

Geoff -

Thanks for the reply and info.  I neither had nor saw a Delta II.

I am very happy with my OMNI 6+, a late model with suface mounted
components and the VCXO.  Sold my early one which nearly drove
me crazy with umpteen birdies.

We might have a chat on air one of these days, CW of course (hi).
All the best, and take care!

73/shalom,

Don,  VE1BN

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Geoffrey S. Mendelson" <gsm at mendelson.com>
To: "Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment" <tentec at contesting.com>
Sent: Thursday, August 03, 2006 10:38 AM
Subject: Re: [TenTec] On being a contrarian


> On Wed, Aug 02, 2006 at 09:27:06AM -0400, M. P. Haynes wrote:
>> Geoff,
>>
>> I think it was the Delta II.
>
> Yes, I looked it up and that was it.
>
>>  They didn't know how to use the Jones
>> filter properly (i.e. adjust the bandpass slightly to center the signal
>> in the filter bandpass on USB,LSB and CW.  And also accept that the gain
>> through the Jones filter naturally drops as you close it down.)  I have
>> both the original Paragon and the Delta II and find their performance is
>> pretty equal in casual operating.  Also the backlighting is dim compared
>> to other rigs making the screen harder to read in adverse lighting
>> conditions.
>
> They felt that the radio was too expensive, but did not say it that way.
> What they said was (and I'm paraphrasing) was that for $1700 (in 1991
> when they did the review), you could buy a radio with far more features 
> and
> they expected a radio that worked as well without them for a lot less 
> money.
>
> They also panned the Argo II. I can understand why they were upset, it was
> an early entry into the U.S. market for QRP operators who wanted a top
> quality rig. The previous choice was one of the Japanese rigs for their
> no-code HF operators who were limited to 10 watts. They were very hard
> to find in the U.S. and from what I understand are still sought after.
>
> The problem was that term "QRP rig" brought to mind someone using a few
> parts tossed together from a hand drawn schematic by Doug DeMaw. Bold
> experimenters who could run for weeks on a lantern battery.
>
> The concept that a QRP rig could be something with top quality features
> and top quality performance, but had to be plugged in to run, was too new.
>
> There were a few missing items such as PL tones for 10m, audio connectors
> on the back (on the ArgoII), etc.
>
> Geoff.
>
> -- 
> Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel gsm at mendelson.com  N3OWJ/4X1GM
> IL Voice: (07)-7424-1667  Fax ONLY: 972-2-648-1443 U.S. Voice: 
> 1-215-821-1838
> Visit my 'blog at http://geoffstechno.livejournal.com/
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