[TenTec] My First Ten-Tec

[Richard Tschur]

On 04/07/12 06:49, Rick - DJ0IP / NJ0IP wrote:
> I am interested in hearing how others came to their first Ten-Tec radio, why
> they bought it and how they used it.
>
> Jim, if you feel this is not an appropriate topic for the Forum, then pull
> the emergency brake.
>
> DJ0IP's First Ten-Tec:  Argonaut 505
>
> 1974:  I was living in Berlin, fresh out of the US Army.  I wanted to remain
> in Germany for a couple of years and tour Europe by motorcycle.  I had a
> Honda CB-750 with a full Fairing on it.  A great touring bike for its day.
> Radios at that time were mostly BIG tube radios, or perhaps hybrid with a
> transistorized RX, transistorized low-level TX stages, but a tube driver and
> pair of tubes final - not conducive for traveling by motorbike and camping.
>
> In December I visited the local ham radio shop in Berlin, who happened to be
> a Ten-Tec dealer (as well as everything else).  He had a brand new Ten-Tec
> Argonaut 505 on display.  It was love at first site.  Exactly what I needed
> for my planned 2 year bike tour of Europe.  Liechtenstein, Andorra, San
> Morino, Marraco... there were plenty of expedition targets on my hit list.
> Little did I know at the time that 2 years would become 20 years.  I bought
> the Argonaut as a Christmas gift to myself.  After all, I had no family in
> Berlin.
>
> This radio and its successor, the Argonaut 509, accompanied me on bike tours
> for the next 20 years or so.  It was the perfect radio for operating off of
> the motorbike battery because it's current drain on RX was only 150 mA when
> the dial lamps were switched off.
>
> The 509 was eventually modified considerably, getting an 8-pole SSB filter
> and 8-pole cw filter, as well as a home-brew audio filter, all installed
> inside the transceiver. Sometimes I even took the 405 amplifier with me on
> the trips.  It was always a tough decision:  the amp or the XYL?
>
> The highlight of my travels was taking first place overall in Europe in CW
> Field Day; must have been 1987 or 1988.  FD is a club sport and I operated
> alone, but using an HB0 call sign surely helped draw attraction to my QRP
> signal.  I beat all of the clubs in Europe in the QRP class.
>
> When my XYL complained about getting wet too much on motorbike camping
> trips, I gave in and switched to an RV. That was about 1996. I was nearly 50
> years old and had never had a vacation without the motorcycle.  The Argonaut
> was replaced by a Scout, and then later an Argosy.  For some of the
> important contests, I took along my Omni VI+.
>
> Unfortunately I did not take many pictures back in those days, but some of
> my expeditions with the Argonaut are pictured on my web site:
> http://www.dj0ip.de/my-expeditions/ .
>
> That's my Ten-Tec story, or at least the start of it.
>
> 73
> Rick, DJ0IP
>
>
>
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Hi Rick,
interesting topic! I got my first Ten Tec by accident, went to pick up 
an Yaesu FT One from Wolfgang,DK7CY and saw an Omni 6+, the first Ten 
Tec I ever saw in real, so about 3 month later I went back there and 
took it home! What a beauty. After I had it home and used it for a 
bit,everything else went on ebay! And then it happened. I bought a brand 
new Jupiter, which I got direct from TT in US, as we had no dealer in 
DL, then I bought a Scout (which I sold, big mistake), in the meantime I 
moved to VK3 and I kept going. I sold the Jupiter, my Omni 6+ got killed 
in a fire and since I have an Orion 565,Argonaut515, Argonaut V, Triton 
540,544, Delta 580, Delta II 536, Corsair II, Omni V, 1220 and a Paragon 
which is hopefully on it's way from the states. I usually lend some of 
my radios to club members, as Australian's are not always "open minded", 
they like their Jap stuff, so I give them a chance to play with a real 
radio. So far I converted 2 to buy a Ten Tec, not much but better than 
nothing! I love them all, but I prefer the older ones, as they sound 
better, can't get used to this DSP stuff. I might try a Drake TR7 next, 
because I don't want to be "narrow minded" ;-))
Ten Tec forever!!
Best regards und alles Gute
from Richard VK3KVK/DK3KVK