[TenTec] Ten-Tec Eagle

[WILLIE BABER]

Since the Eagle is priced at 400 dollar less than K3, it should sell quite well for anyone paying attention to receiver design and cost.  

Of course you can get an Omni VI and a INRAD cw roofing filter and have the same stellar performance on cw, for about half the cost.  But Omni VI used, without six meters, and in a much bigger package. We have come full circle!  Omni VI with roofing filter is possible by the advantage of the 9 mhz I-F and the Omni C series of radios, without FM and AM, that the Japanese radios overtook with the all mode, do everything radio, like the ts 2000, that is useless in a HF contest.

Elecraft changed this pattern with K3!   A good radio even if it is also basic, unlike the Orion.  K3 may continue to have a slight advantage in basic receiver performance, compared to Eagle, due to its very low  phase noise, but then you are back to the cost of those few dbs reduction in phase noise. 

Of course you can outfit a K3 with much more stuff, but then you have to pay for the ability to add on the extras even if you don't buy them.

Eagle will have little else to add, which translates into a much lower price.  I thought ts 590 was going to do what Ten-Tec did, but apparently Kenwood uses up conversion on 10 and 6 meters! 

This difference--between ts 590 and the Eagle--makes for a wisely produced product, and it will be interesting to see what happens!  The price along competes with K3 if the performance is nearly as good.  The typical cw op will get 600 and 300hz filters and buy the Eagle for its cw performance.  Causal ops can use the ssb filter, narrow i-f for cw, and still have FM and AM.

Eagle well do very well if the radio behaves like an Orion or K3 on receive, as it should, and if we can use our existing Ten-Tec filters to help cut costs.

And there is the point: lower the cost but produce a contest competent radio. Some say the price is too high, but not if you are paying attention!  Orion performance without all that other stuff, at less than half the cost.  Or, at least I hope so.

73, Will, wj9b