[TenTec] Advice on my Omni VI

[Rick - DJ0IP / NJ0IP]

Excellent post!

 

When I read all of the bitching here about bandscopes, I get the impression
many people believe "if you can't 'SEE' them, you can't work them."  They
value that even more than a manufacturer's support for older kit.

 

Jim, I'm anxious to see the KX3's matching amp.

I really love the looks and features of Ten-Tec's Model 418.

I think that would make a great combination.

 

BTW, did you say you have a KPA-500.

Somebody here did, but I can't remember who.

I'm trying to find out some info about it:

.        How smooth does it run QSK?  It doesn't seem to use a keying loop.

.        What is the T/R method?  Pin-Diodes, vacuum relay, ?

.        At what SWR level does it switch to FAULT?

 

Amps switching to fault are a huge problem in contesting.  

I had only one, used it for two years, then dumped it for that single
reason.

Seems every time I looked at it, the red fault light was on, due to the long
dipole blowing in the snowy wind.

 

73

Rick, DJ0IP

 

-----Original Message-----
From: TenTec [mailto:tentec-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Jim Brown
Sent: Saturday, April 13, 2013 8:08 AM
To: tentec at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TenTec] Advice on my Omni VI

 

On 4/12/2013 8:10 PM, Bob McGraw - K4TAX wrote:

> Look around for  a good used radio.  Or spend a few more $$$ and buy a 

> new or even a used Eagle or Omni VII.  You won't be disappointed as 

> you'll likely have a current product that will work reliably and 

> satisfactorily for 10 to 15 years.  Based on these numbers the new 

> radio will cost you between $150 to $250 per year.  A darn site less 

> expensive than repairing an old radio.  Of course, if one can't afford 

> it, then at any price, they can't afford it.

 

Well said, Bob.  Many years ago when I was a young man not long our of
college, I had jobs doing field service on installed audio and video
systems, fixing things on a bench, and managing a service department. It
didn't take me long to figure out that it can cost a lot to maintain older
products, and two very important factors were the availability both of
repair parts and the guys smart enough to fix stuff.

 

The only NEW stuff I've bought in the last 15 or so years are a pair of

K3 radios, a Sony flat screen TV, and computers and test equipment for my
business, and even a lot of that was used. Virtually everything else has
been bought used -- ham gear, speakers, mics, laptops for the ham station,
furniture, even a lot of clothing.  I've owned a K2, Omni V+, TS850, IC746,
FT1000MP, a bunch of Ten Tec 229s and 238s, Herc I, Herc II, and now three
Titan 425s. I bought all of that stuff for between 30% and 50% of new
prices. All of it worked, and I got good use from it and sold it later for
close to what I paid for it.

 

Indeed, the only reason I can still maintain those Ten Tec power amps is
that they're all discrete transistors and other standard parts (except for
the Herc I), most of them pretty generic. Heck -- those amps were designed
in the late 70s and early 80s. That's 30+ years, and I can still keep them
running.  And all of those power amps together cost me less than ONE fancy
new Alpha or Acom.

 

Used stuff is great if you buy wisely -- do the research to learn what's
good, what holds up well, what's repairable, and know who you're buying
from.

 

More advice.  If, like Bob and me, you find yourself being less capable than
you were when you were younger, or that you lack certain technical or
physical skills, a really good move is to seek out and join a good, dynamic
ham club in your area. It it's the "right" kind of club, there will be a
good mix of older and younger hams, and hams with  a wide variety of
backgrounds and capabilities. As older hams, we have things to offer younger
ones, and they have much to offer us -- their physical abilities, their
newer technical education, their younger ideas.  it CAN be a win-win for
everyone. I was a  member of a club like that in Chicago, and I'm a member
of a really great one here in the Bay Area.

 

I do presentations at club meetings sharing what I know, and guys come here
and help me with antennas.  We recently built some excellent bandpass filter
kits that needed SMT soldering, and one of the younger guys helped me with
that. I was able to help him with alignment, which I had learned 50 years
ago at RL Drake. When I joined that Chicago ham club in 2003, I had been off
the air for 20 years and didn't know the gear. They pointed me to the good
used stuff. And I had an Omni A in the basement that I gave to a kid with a
new ticket. Back in 1955 when I was a Novice, one of the guys in my club in
WV gave me a Command set. We help each other, we share, we pass it on.
That's what ham radio (and

life) is all about.

 

Some specific equipment advice. If I were buying a NEW moderate priced
transceiver today it would be an Elecraft KX3, and I'd add their dedicated
100W amp to it (I expect to see it shown at Dayton).  

Absolutely the best bang for the buck, and nothing else is close. It really
is a single radio that does almost everything, and with great specs. And as
a company, Elecraft today is what Ten Tec was 30 years ago.

 

73, Jim K9YC

 

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