[TenTec] Omni VII

[Rick Denney]

Wayne Whitman writes...

> A number of you have now convinced me that not having the second rx on
> the Omni VII is not a big deal so I have decided not to go the K3 route.
> Besides, who knows when Elecraft will have that option available and
> also I think the K3 is downright ugly compared to the Omni VII.

> So after having read all of the rave reviews on eHam, can anyone who
> owns one please tell me what they don't like about their Omni VII?

It doesn't have a second receiver.

(Okay, I don't own a VII, but the door was open and somebody had to
walk through it).

By the way, here's an option for a second receiver: Get a Ten Tec
RX-320D, and Carl N4PY control software for it. Follow his
instructions for using it as a second receiver. His control software
might not integrate with the Omni VII as it does with the V and VI
(I'm sure he'll clarify that), but that's okay. You just need to build
the audio muting circuit. That uses a relay to switch the audio output
from the 320 off when in transmit. It uses the amp-control relay in
the Omni to ground the coil on the relay, which energizes it.

I'm assuming that the receive antenna port on the VII works the same
way as it does on the V and VI in that it is connected to the main
antenna during receive and grounded when the Omni is in transmit.

This scheme will work with any radio that has a receive antenna port
that is connected to the main antenna during receive and grounded
during transmit.

The 320 is a good receiver. It's not in the same class as the Omni
receiver, but I have found that I can tune it to the dx station, which
is usually in the clear, and then use the Omni receiver to slice up
the pileup. For good signals, the 320 has excellent audio, and it has
DSP filtering for good selectivity. A K3's (or Orion's) second
receiver would beat it, but only at MUCH higher cost.

I'm using this setup with my Omni V with excellent results.

Rick, KR9D