[TenTec] My Omni 6 appears to be fixed

[K8mp at aol.com]

Guys,  
Thanks for your help. The last thing  I did was go over the PLL board (aka 
synthesizer board) with a hot iron.  When I was done, I could see the output 
QRG change with the  up/down buttons, as advertised. (It was stuck at about 
5.8 Mhz  before)    
FYI: the 1 volt p/p must be correct  because it's workin' that way.  
I penned the below poem today  for our club newsletter. Thought you might 
get a kick out of  it. 
Later,  Joe 
Howdy from Joe’s  Place… 
The Ballad of Ol’ Number Six 
The Ol’ Omni  Six, 
She ran like a  top, 
One-hundred K  QSO’s, 
Will she ever  stop? 
Five years, then ten  years, 
With rarely a  burp, 
Must be some kind of  record, 
Bet she’ll out live the  dirt. 
Then suddenly, what’s  this? 
She’s gotten quite  ill, 
The ol’ gal’s gone  deaf, 
And transmit’s been  killed. 
It’s an operator  error, 
Surely, I  thought, 
But settings look  good, 
And now I’m  distraught. 
Heck, I’ll call Ten  Tec, 
They’ve seen one this  before, 
I’ll just order some  parts, 
And be QRV once  more. 
“You’ll have to send it  in” 
Came the  reply, 
Ship out my  baby? 
I’d rather  die. 
So off went an  email, 
To the Ten Tec  Reflector, 
Swift came some  replies, 
“We can help you inspect  ‘er” 
Consensus among the smart  guys: 
“Check the  synthesizer”, 
I could tell right  away, 
These guys are  wiser. 
I scoured the  prints, 
(In my opinion, they  suck), 
But I had to find  out, 
Why my frequency was  stuck.  
I found the  schematic, 
For the synthesize  board. 
Ripped open the  rig, 
Where the goodies are  stored. 
I found the  board, 
And gave it a  look, 
A close-up  inspection, 
Is never a  mistook. 
Saw nothing  obvious, 
So I hooked up the  scope, 
Should put out 5  Mhz, 
According to the “The  dope”, 
But it read  5.8, 
Am I using this  right? 
It’s been way too  long, 
Since I’ve been in this  fight. 
Heck, I’ll take it to John’s  house, 
He’s got the  equipment, 
Besides, it’s been a  while, 
Since I’ve been in his  basement. 
I’ll pack up the  rig, 
And cart it on  over, 
But one last  try, 
Yikes, I hear sigs coming over  !!!! 
The old gal has  life, 
But joy quickly  fades. 
Those sigs went  away, 
Again, she is  “daid”. 
But wait, there’s  hope, 
Could it be a bad  connection? 
Or does that  board, 
Really have an  infection? 
I went over that  board, 
With a soldering  iron, 
Hit every single  connection, 
I was really  tryin’ 
After a few  boo-boos, 
I got it to work  !!! 
Saw those 5  Mhz, 
Ya shoulda seen my  smirk. 
My fingers are  crossed, 
That the gal’s really  fixed, 
Wouldn’t be the first  time, 
That I’ve been  tricked. 
I’d planned to give  details, 
Of the whole  episode, 
But decided you’d  rather, 
Read this here  Ode. 
Finally, pardon my  license, 
Poetic, I  mean, 
Bet you wanna-be  poets, 
Are all turning  green. 
See y’all at the  meeting, 
Don’t forget your  stuff, 
Then see you at Joe’s  Place, 
In November,  Sho  nuff.