[TenTec] paragon or paragon II - what would you choose?

[waltk8cv4612amos at att.net]

Wow, thanks, you told me more than I knew about my Paragon ! Yeah, mine is a 
very early one. Had to send it back for stenciling ( on the inside ) and 
front panel replacement as the lettering on the little black buttons all 
came off :-( but they fixed it under warranty and for an additional $90 put 
in a different optical chopper, the one from the then in production Omni V 
and it does NOT wibbly / wobbly like the original but has a very nice solid 
feel. Yep, eventually my PLL board failed and they said " remove it an 
re-solder all you can reach on the bottom " I did that and it has run like 
new ever since. I do have the Giehl chip and the first one killed the back 
up battery in a couple of days , I bitched, he said " send it back " I did. 
He called and said he had a bad bunch of chips and would I like a real CMOS 
chip and I said yes and it has behaved like advertised ever since. Wore out 
the reed relays eventually and that is a bear of a job to replace but it is 
done and back running again. That radio has the best SWL audio I ever heard, 
even better than my Drake SW8 :-)

Walt K8CV Royal Oak, MI.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Vic Klein" <vhklein at ptd.net>
To: <tentec at contesting.com>
Sent: Friday, October 05, 2007 9:53 AM
Subject: Re: [TenTec] paragon or paragon II - what would you choose?


> Just to drop in here with a few comments...I believe the RF portions of 
> the
> Paragon and Paragon II are virtually identical. The main differences are 
> as
> follows:
>
> 1. The standard equipment provided with the radio - The Serial Port and FM
> board were included with the P-II, but optional on the original
>
> 2. A major change in processor control - The original  used a control
> language that was supported by only a few 3rd party suppliers, so the P-II
> reverted to an Icom command set that was more widely used. Additionally, 
> the
> P-II control scheme was significantly improved by utilizing one-button 
> band
> changes with band stacking registers. Note, both of these changes are
> available to be retrofitted to the original Paragon by 3rd parties: Geihl
> provides the band stacking and one-button changes with expanded memories 
> and
> voice board support, and N4PY adds the band stacking and one-button 
> changes
> with an Icom-compatible command structure. These chips are easy to 
> install,
> are still available, and make the operation of the original Paragons
> virtually identical to the P-II
>
> 3. AM transmit (at least carrier and one sideband) is available on the 
> P-II,
> only AM receive on the original
>
> 4. A number of the early original Paragon had problems with poor soldering
> on the major and minor loop boards. Many had to be returned or repaired, 
> but
> the fix is fairly simple. By the time the P-II was in production this was 
> no
> longer an issue.
>
> 5. The P-II's seem to be far fewer in availability, and command a price 
> 50%
> higher than the original Paragons. Ten Tec no longer takes the original
> Paragons or Omni V's on trade.
>
> Either of these is a fine radio, an absolute pleasure to operate, with 
> specs
> that rival or exceed many current rigs. The original Paragon is arguably 
> the
> best bargain in a high-end tranceiver in the market. Both are capable of
> operating on the new 60m band and are, of course, still supported by Ten
> Tec. I am sure you will be happy with either one.
>
> =Vic=
> WA4THR
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ------------------
> To:  Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec at contesting.com>
> Subject:  Re: [TenTec] paragon or paragon II - what would you choose?
> From:  Kevin Purcell <kevinpurcell at pobox.com>
> Reply-to:  Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec at contesting.com>
> Date:  Wed, 3 Oct 2007 22:28:31 -0700
> List-post:  <mailto:tentec at contesting.com>
>
> Could you elaborate on that, Bob?
>
> Is the Paragon II phase noise much lower than the Paragon?
>
> The ARRL only reviewed the Paragon (not the P II) and it was the
> first review for which they measured phase noise!
>
> They pointed out the initial results weren't that good but a change
> (to the 723 voltage regulator) improved the further out noise but
> made the close in noise worse. But this fix was made to production
> Paragons and offered as a fix to owners. The device under test was
> serial 084 so pretty early in the run.
>
> On Oct 3, 2007, at 6:53 PM, Bob McGraw - K4TAX wrote:
>
>> Paragon II.
>>
>> Much nicer radio, easier to computer control and not plagued with
>> the PLL
>> concerns.
>
>
>
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