[TenTec] Looking for "cheap" rig or honest and patient ham

[Dr. Gerald N. Johnson]

On 9/2/2010 2:37 PM, Rick - NJ0IP / DJ0IP wrote:
> I wanted to suggest the TS-120 or TS-130 too.
> I have recently seen them for $200 and $300.
> I have never been a Kenwood fan, but when you are looking for bangs for the
> buck in this price class, they are hard to beat.
>
> The comment on the front end is valid but probably not a problem in his
> neighborhood.

Its detectable but not disastrous. Some strong signals have a bit of 
splatter that's not heard with a Corsair II on the same antenna.

Another feature of the 120 and 130 is that the PA protection from high 
swr works well. You can put a brick on the key at full power and 
manually tune the antenna tuner for maximum RF from the radio and the 
radio will not be hurt. Not like a tentec that might trip a circuit 
breaker when the PA current gets too high from a low impedance load (as 
seen at the PA transistor collectors). So the 120 and 130 has a robust 
PA section.
>
> As a CW rig I would prefer the Triton IV or Omni (original models), but you
> have to be careful with the PTO; it might have to be rebuilt and that costs
> a bit more.
>
> I just helped a local ham in a similar situation.
> We went with the TS-130.
> One more thing to remember; he's going to probably need a matchbox, an SWR
> or Watt Meter, and a couple of coax jumpers.
> You're looking at another $50 to $100 to get all this stuff, and you still
> don't have an antenna or coax.

So true.
>
> Now days it's hard to get started on a shoestring budget.
> You really need to budget for a bootstring.
>
> 73
> Rick
>
>73, Jerry, K0CQ