[TenTec] Intermittent Omni VI+ rx problem & optical illusion fixed.

[Dave Edwards]

I had a yaesu ft897d.  During a contact, the fellow asked me to QRS. 
I had to fly through the manual to figure out how to do that!
True, you learn the rig...but I knew I wouldn't be using the rig enough to have it memorized!
So...someone got a great deal on a 3 month old rig!
Keeping my Omni VI+ !
...Dave

Sent from my iPad

On Apr 1, 2011, at 7:54 PM, Don Rasmussen <wb8yqj at yahoo.com> wrote:

> TenTec turned my OMNI 6+ around in 3 days from the time they received it.
> They replaced the 10a and 10c band crystals. It appears that they have fixed it 100%. These band crystals are tied to a master reference and need to be able to be "moved" a precise amount over the lifetime of the radio.
> 
> The radio still seems new to me, it's had light use, but it is 11 years old now. The OMNI VI+ ergonomics are supurb, one large control for each function. There is no MULTI knob, and no press to activate knobs - there are dedicated buttons for that. I'm sure it cost way more than they wanted to build it this way, but hey - come on man. 
> 
> Ten Tec even put a new tire on the main tuning knob - it was complementary. They suggested on the phone that the new tire is better (it really is a far better material), and the extended lip on the tire covers the area that used to show the gray band. They also suggested the band was making a perfectly round knob to appear less than round. I like the gray band and find that if the band is left extending outside of the knob just a little bit when it is installed, the lip of the tire wont hang down over it causing what Paul termed an "optical illusion". ;-)
> 
> It is a LONG Fedex + UPS truck drive to and from San Diego, and there were a couple ut-oh's when I powered the radio up. One of the LED digits was blank at power up, this was cured by reseating the slide connectors under the top cover, and the S-meter light would dim and brighten by itself. I remembered that the power connectors need to be tighted periodically, especially if the radio has been mated to a different connector as in servicing. A quick adjustment of the pins with a hobby knife and a little DeOxit and it became 100%. The first impulse is always to reseat the bulb itself which is not as often the solution. 
> 
> Great work to Paul & tech John. 
> 
> Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec at contesting.com>
> 
> Date: 
> Sun, 13 Mar 2011 10:59:19 -0700 (PDT)
> 
> List-post: 
> <tentec at contesting.com">mailto:tentec at contesting.com>
> 
> Allen,
> 
> What I try to do when there is an intermittent problem (this one qualifys 100%) is to find out some key piece of information in describing it. I will become obsessed about finding out key behavioral facts based soley on operational tests. Does the problem happen on all bands, all modes. Does it happen on another power supply - more often or less often. When the receive is numb - what happens if I thump the radio - or rotate the controls - what happens if I transmit - is it on frequency and at full power? I do all these things until I have the clearest possible feel for the failure mode. Having said that, I sent my OMNI VI+ in for repair yesterday knowing that the instant it is turned on it will "seem" okay. My great fear is that the (quite busy) tech will think "I don't have time to fix a working radio", do a couple voltage checks and ship the radio back here. It is going to take someone that will allow the radio a few minutes to display it's 
> misbehavior, and on a busy bench that is sometimes hard to get. Yet, in the past TT service has paid the shipping for the second try at repair and nailed it on the subsequent journey for me so we have fingers crossed. There is nothing quite like an OMNI 6 if you are a CW guy and that includes K3 in my book.
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