[TenTec] What Radio?

Tue Aug 30 13:58:00 PDT 2011

Hi all,

I agree with Gary: the operator makes a big difference.

Our brains are all wired differently, but as a rather experienced  
weak-signal CW op I have difficulty with the notion that, at normal sending  speeds 
(i.e., not QRSS), the eye is going to see CW signals that the ear  cannot 
detect.  This is especially true in the presence of QRM.   That's been my 
experience anyway.

73 Ray W2RS

In a message dated 8/30/2011 1:33:06 P.M. GMT Standard Time,  
glhuber at msn.com writes:

There's  not a lot of difference between the top 10 radios listed in Rob 
Sherwood's  chart..... and for 90 to 95% of the operators reading the 
charts, 
the  differences between ANY two radios from the top of the listing to down 
25  or 30 entries would be insignificant.

Like automobile racing, price and  performance specifications do not 
determine the winner rather it’s the  operator's skills and experience with 
the equipment.

I'm having  much success with a radio well down on the chart, running 
mostly 
at 100W  (with RF clipping) breaking pile-ups for DX without using the 1.5K 
amp. I  also have an old Corsair II which still gets the job done and 
really 
gives  up little except for the close in Dynamic Range in those huge up two 
CW  pile-ups.

73 es DX,

Gary - AB9M

-----Original  Message----- 
From: Floyd Sense
Sent: Tuesday, August 30, 2011 7:29  AM
To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment
Subject: Re: [TenTec] What  Radio?

Stuart - Forgive me for venting on this subject, but Rob  Sherwood's
chart is perhaps the most misunderstood piece of information in  ham
radio today.  It is not, and was never intended to be, a grading  of the
quality of receivers.  What it IS, is a list of receiver  performance
parameters "Sorted by Dynamic Range Narrow Spaced".

I  suggest that narrow spaced dynamic range is NOT as important in the
grand  scheme of things as most believe it to be and that 99% of guys who
make a  buying decision on that basis could not even explain the symptoms
observed  in a receiver with relatively poor narrow spaced dynamic
range.  When  I last checked, Rob Sherwood's favorite "go-to" rig was
still the Icom  IC-781 - rather far down the list.  There are many other
factors more  important to making a good decision on what to buy if you
want the "best"  for your situation.

I've owned K3s, an FTDX-5000 and now an Orion II in  the past year - all
near the top of the list, but that wasn't the reason I  owned them.  I
found the K3 lacking in many respects, and the  FTDX-5000, while a great
receiver, has perhaps the worst CW transmitter  we've seen in recent
decades.  I won't go into that here in detail,  but if you intend to buy
one of those for CW work, do your homework on the  problems.  Your
comment on trying to see what you are considering is  right on.  And,
there's no substitute for having one on your operating  table for a week
or more so that you can find all its "warts" on your  own.

I disagree with the comment on spectrum displays.  Ever since  my Icom
781, I've understood the value of a spectrum display on an  HF
transceiver even though that on the 781 was rather crude by  today's
standards.  Today, I use an Orion II modified to output the  first IF to
the rear panel, which is fed to an SDR-IQ receiver using  SpectraVue
software for the spectrum display.  Your comments lead me  to believe
that you view a spectrum scope as a means of looking at signal  quality
(may have misjudged that), but that's not the way I use the  scope.

I'm a CW operator with keen interest in DXing and I use the  scope to see
signals that I'd never find by just tuning around and  listening.  With
the arrangement I have now, I can see a blip on the  scope for any signal
that I can hear, even those down in the noise.   So, I can watch a dead
or nearly dead band and sometimes see a signal blip  far from the
frequency I'm tuned to.  A quick mouse click on the  signal tunes the
Orion to that frequency and a QRZ often raises a DX  station that
otherwise wouldn't be worked.

There are a lot of very  good Japanese rigs (that aren't near the top of
Rob's list), going back  over a decade, that would fill the bill for most
operators today.   But, quite to my surprise, I found the Orion II with
SDR-IQ superior in  many ways to the best that the Japanese have to
offer, regardless of where  they appear on the list.  Anyone who believes
that the K3 is an  overall better rig than the Orion II probably hasn't
tried an Orion  II.

73, Floyd - K8AC

On 8/29/2011 11:12 PM,  Stuart Rohre wrote:
> Hello,
> The quandry of what radio is faced  by us all.  I rely on Sherwood
> Engineering reports to grade the  receivers, and the Yaecomwoods
> invariable pale compared to Elecraft  K3, K2, and Ten Tec offerings.
>
> The Eagle is a very compact  radio which is valuable to me for Field Days.
>
> I have an  Argonaut Five, which has almost the same easy to learn front
>  panel.  That is also important to me, and harder with the  Yaecomwoods.
>
> You really should try to get to see one of  whatever radio you are
> considering.
>
> If you really want  a spectrum display, get a spectrum analyzer, but they
> do not make very  good ham communications or DX receivers.
>
> There are outboard  devices that could allow you to view the signals in
> your IF bandwidth,  but your ears are the ultimate test equipment.  You
> have to be  able to hear the signal to work it, unless you are using PSK
> 31 or  modes like that, which do use a waterfall display.  But if your
>  interests are voice DX and CW, I think you want a Ten Tec and the  Eagle
> is a great radio for the price.
>
> Good Luck and  Good DX!
> Stuart Rohre
> K5KVH
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