[TenTec] Paragon II / Other Opinions

[Edward Feustel]

On 2:59 PM, K8JDC wrote:
> Hi friends,
>
>      I've been considering getting a Paragon II to use with MARS and 
> to just have another radio in the shack.  I have an Orion but it won't 
> do very many of the MARS frequencies of course.  I've never used a 
> Paragon (or Omni V/VI for that matter since those have similar 
> controls) but they impress me as a solid design with good performance 
> that still has repair support.  For this application, I also think I 
> prefer a classic design with knobs and buttons instead of a computer 
> interface like say a Pegasus or whatever.  This will be used almost 
> entirely for SSB and I'm looking primarily for a proven semi-modern 
> solid-state radio that will do MARS.
>
>     By way of a comparison, the Kenwood TS-850S is in same approximate 
> price range on the used market and gets a lot of positive comments for 
> being a very good performer and I know some use it for MARS.  I've 
> never had a Kenwood but I respect many of the comments I have read 
> about the TS-850 although I think repair support is questionable.  I 
> had an Icom 746 at one time and it was a good radio but I decided to 
> buy American radios so I sold it.  That's part of the reason I'm 
> asking about the Paragon.
>
>      I've also considered looking for a used 200W rig although I think 
> this would bump it up to the next price class.  I've never had any of 
> those either but thought it would make an interesting upgrade to my 
> desk.  I haven't researched any of those to see how well they would do 
> on MARS frequencies.  I have a linear but have thought it would be 
> nice to have a 200W rig.  If it runs on AC power, that's fine with 
> me.  I won't be dragging this thing out into the woods.
>
>      I thought I might ask for opinions on the Paragon II here since I 
> haven't played with one and solicit other opinions.  For the record, I 
> have not used a Jupiter either but I like the Paragon style more than 
> the Jupiter.  I just have never been too interested in the Jupiter.
>
> Thanks and sorry for a long post but I wanted to frame the question a 
> bit.
>
> Dave
> K8JDC
>
I had one before I got my Orion 565. In my opinion they are the better 
of the Paragons.
They have a number of features not in the Paragon w/o the Giehl chip. 
For example,
they have a standard computer interface that works well with most 
computer control programs.

I felt it was an excellent transceiver and liked the fact that it could 
work on 60 meters when
the OMNI VI could not. I used it on a number of phone nets and on CW as 
well. I changed
because of the better front end and the use of DSP in the second IF and 
the "double receivers".
I really prefer large knobs too.

Ed, N5EI