[TenTec] Old vs New = crunch time

[CSM(r) Gary Huber - AB9M]

Roger,

I have both a OMNI VI Plus and a Corsair II and have owned an OMNI D and a Paragon (all purchased new). Of the lot I'd recommend the Corsair II as the radio meeting your needs and expectations. Add the external VFO and you have dual receive and an analog VFO readout. I believe every electrical part or a substitute can be found, and the mechanicals are fairly simple. The Corsair II is a pure analog radio except for its frequency counter driven frequency display. Its pretty much what you see is what you get and the only draw back is the lack of radio control interface for computer aided DXing and Contesting.

The OMNI VI Plus on the other hand is a very complex radio and the logic board is not (presently) an available replacement item, so while I really like my OMNI, I wouldn't advocate it as a "simple" radio for your applications.

Best regards,

CSM(r) Gary Huber - AB9M
9679 Heron Bay Rd
Bloomington, IL 61705
(309-662-0604)
www.csm-gh.com
glhuber at msn.com
gary.huber at us.army.mil


--------------------------------------------------
From: "Roger Rippy" <svtincup at yahoo.com>
Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 2010 6:49 AM
To: <TenTec at contesting.com>
Subject: [TenTec] Old vs New = crunch time

> The thread last month regarding the Omni VI+ the best rig etc, certainly got me thinking about the next Ten Tec rig. Please keep in mind that I really like the "keep it simple" approach to most things and Ham radio has not been an exception. It is time to seriously consider the next radio for my shack and the decision crunch is between a previously owned rig and a new one. My current set up is a Ten Tec Triton barefoot into a Force 12 XK40 (also have a K-1 for QRP and an Alinco DX70 for mobile). When I think about the price of a new radio, I start thinking the ole Triton sure is a good radio for my Ham activity (95% cw). But I know it is time to consider an additional Ten Tec for the future. I spoke with Ten Tec service yesterday and they were helpful discussing the pros and cons of maintaining an older rig in terms of parts. I also have been reading the comments on this list for some time regarding the maintenance issues involving software driven
> radios.
> 
> So the question is "If you wanted a relative simple radio for CW work (use
> is 75% rag chew; 15% contest; and 10% DX)and you had to keep the cost down, would you opt for an older rig such as a Corsair II or a software driven older rig such as an Omni VI or spring for something in the price range of a new Jupiter? My budget is somewhere between $600 and $1800 which rules out a number of options.
> 
> I realize that this is not the first time this has been discussed but 
> after reading over a year's worth of archives, I still did not find my
> answer. Ten Tec stated that if I was good at troubleshooting and 
> maintaining my own gear then an older radio would be fine as long as 
> I could find the parts that I need. Building a K-1 kit, hardly qualifies
> me to do much in the troubleshooting department!
> 
> Any constructive thoughts would certainly be welcome either off-line or on the list. Thanks and 73s
> Roger Rippy W7RIP
> Bozeman, Montana   
> 
> 
> 
>      
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