[TenTec] Omni 6 Logic Board

[Glenn]

 Hi Group,

I read with interest some post from this last January about the Omni 6 Logic board and wanted to make a few comments as well as get some feedback.

First, I have repaired a number of theses over the last 4 years. I have the professional desoldering equipment made by AirVac that allows me to quickly remove IC's without damaging the board.
I also have an EPROM burner and reloaded several sets of eproms for units I repaired. Not to mention, I  have a huge assortment of Tektronix, HP and FLUKE lab equipment for troubleshooting
I have a good inventory of all of the IC's except for the Dallas DS 1285 Real Time Clock which is NOT a high failure item. 

I have found other Dallas RTC's in surface mount packages that will work but I will have to have
 transition headers made that will go from 28 pin dip to 24 pin SMT. There may be some already available but I haven't found them yet. If anyone has a stack of old AT computer systems with this chip and willing to sell them at a reasonable price, let me know. Or if anyone has stock of these IC's and willing to sell some or all, please advise.

Most of what I do in my business is restore R 390 and R 390A receivers and have not shortage of work to do but I am also a big Ten Tec fan and really like the Omni 6 series for CW operation.  
Additionally,  I have a good friend who has designed microprocessor boards for the last 30 years and is a C++ guru. We have kicked around the idea of a new logic board for months and have a basic layout completed.  Neither of us are proficient with DSP software, although, I have played with DSP code a few years back. If there is anyone from this reflector who is a DSP guru, I would like to discuss, off line, the possibility of a joint effort with bringing a new logic board to market.

I can tell you this will have to be a labor of love since the engineering cost for this project will be huge if farmed out.  My friend and I can handle board layout and most of the firmware issues, HOPEFULLY.. Especially if we can find a DSP guru to handle that part of the project.

Unless someone else is willing and able to take this project on, I would guess we are looking at least 2 years to prototype, write code, debug and have boards made. The only good issue is board production is cheaper that was a few years ago.

So, should we get motivated to take this project to the next level,  I need some feedback. Here a few things which would be our initial goals I  have and I would like comments on my ideas and suggestions otherwise.

1) New board to allow any version of the Omni 6, option 1-3 and 6+ to all be advanced to the same level of performance, say "OMNI 6++
2) New board to be spectrally clean and as little digital artifacts as possible, especially on 10-meters
3) New board to perform as well as or better than original in terms of firmware features; all basic functions the same or better.
4) New board to possibly have more band stacking registers, Memory CW keyer, and maybe Call Sign Display option as on the Paragon
5) New board to utilize only mainstream parts and to stock up on enough spares to last X years. 
6) New board target price to be at or under $250 each.

However, for now, I am stocking up on parts for the original logic board and will be willing to take Omni 6 processor boards in for Repair by appointment only starting September first. I am in the middle of a bad staph infection and will have surgery in a few weeks plus I have several past sue projects I need to complete.

A word about my repairs.
I owned o computer company in Charlotte, NC in the early 80's and repaired all sorts of computer boards to component level. My work is equal to or better than OEM; I DO NOT do hatchet job work. I have worked in the computer industry for over 30 years and am very proficient with digital logic. Read my bio on qrz.
I own a huge assortment of test equipment including wide band storage scopes by Tektronix, 2) spectrum analyzers by HP including an 8566B and several logic analyzers made by Fluke. I have the right stuff and experience to isolate problems and effect repairs. 
 
The question will be how badly is the board to be repaired damaged.  My overhead is less than Ten Tec's but still if the board is fried, it may not be cost effective to repair.

If you have a bad logic board and would like it repaired, I would like to hear from you. Understand it will be September before I will receive any work.

Also, is there real interest in a new board.  I am willing to invest in the time and dollars to do this project, MAYBE, but NOT if we are talking about 10 or 15 boards sold per year.
Please, if you are a DSP person and willing to help with this project, I would like to hear from you ASAP.

Bottom line is, I believe that keeping and Omni 6 going a decade down the road might be very doable with the right stock of parts accumulated today. The Omin 6 is an exceptional rig and except for the logic board being dated, the rig otherwise is well designed and worth keeping alive. At the same time, I wonder if the all SMT Omni 7 and Orion series rigs will be repairable 10 years from now; SMT parts often have a short market life as was the case of the processor chips in the first Orion.

73,
Glenn WA4AOS
DSM Labs
w w w dot d s m l a b s dot c o m