[TenTec] Omni VI / +

[Bob McGraw - K4TAX]

Ken makes some good points.

I have owned 2 different Omni VI Plus radios, both equipped with a tummy 
full of filters.  And there's been a Paragon II and a couple of original 
Paragon's across the desk.  Those are purely analog audio.

One fact that can contribute to audio fatigue has largely to do with the 
speaker used with the radio be it internal or external.  I won't name names 
or brands or types, but some are good and some not so good for voice and CW 
work.  As a general rule, I've found that a "hi-fi" type speaker connected 
to most ham radios will produce lots of unwanted noises.  Those become 
fatiguing as unwanted noises are just unwanted energy that the ears and 
brain are required to eliminate.  The result is hearing fatigue.

73
Bob, K4TAX


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ken Brown" <ken.d.brown at hawaiiantel.net>
To: "Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment" <tentec at contesting.com>
Sent: Sunday, April 05, 2009 2:26 PM
Subject: Re: [TenTec] Omni VI / +


> Hi Andrew,
>
>     I am curious about your complaint about the receive audio on your
> Omni VI. I have read numerous complaints about the receive audio on Omni
> VI, yet I have not experienced anything bad about the audio from my Omni
> VI. Most of the complaints are about audio in SSB mode. (I think there
> are a lot of people who want it to sound like a two meter FM rig or  HF
> AM.)  I don't recall many complaints like yours about the CW RX audio.
> At least one person has complained that since the receive audio passes
> though DSP system, even when you are not using DSP, it sounds bad all
> the time. I have been tempted to bypass the DSP (it should be easy by
> unplugging those little coaxial connectors and rerouting one of them) to
> see if I notice an improvement.
>     I consider myself to be a fairly critical and astute listener. I
> protect my ears from loud noises that most people simply ignore. For
> example I use "headphone style" hearing protection whenever I use our
> shop vac or Skil-Saw. I'm 53 and, because I protect my ears, my hearing
> is better than many people I know who are in their 30s and 40s. So if
> there was something "wrong" with my Omni VI audio, I would be able to
> hear it.
>     I am not disputing your report of your Omni VI audio. I'm sure you
> really did hear what you say you heard, and it caused fatigue as you
> say. I wonder if there was really a fault in your rig, that is not
> "normal" for all Omni VI. Since you don't have the Omni VI anymore, it
> may be difficult, but could you describe what it was about the audio
> that you did not like?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Ken N6KB
>
> Andrew Moore wrote:
>> Omni VI / VI+ / etc... I've owned two in the past, loved them, but found 
>> the
>> audio (CW) fatiguing to listen to.  Kept wanting to change the pitch or
>> tweak the VFO or filters to reduce the fatigue.  Ended up going back to
>> Corsair II.  No disrespect to the VI/VI+, which is superb in most other
>> respects.  I love nearly everything about that rig.
>>
>> I've never heard anyone else mention this though.
>>
>> --Andrew, NV1B
>> ..
>> _______________________________________________
>> TenTec mailing list
>> TenTec at contesting.com
>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec
>>
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> TenTec mailing list
> TenTec at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec
>