[TenTec] Paragon problem

[Vic Klein]

Good points, Wade. I have used my Paragon to call the ECARS net 3 times a
week for years and always get nice reports and I am able to pull stations in
that others have trouble hearing. I love this radio, both from an operating
point of view and the fact that it is one of the prettiest, if not the
prettiest radios ever made! I have ordered a new Omni to take advantage of
the summer sale, but I really want to get the Paragon working. 

My testing on this self-inflicted wound suggests there is nothing happening
at the Low-pass board. Thanks to help from Garry at Ten Tec, just using the
2nd receive antenna bypasses that board altogether, so if nothing changes it
can pretty much be eliminated from the mix. The loss in sensitivty is across
all bands, and might be more severe at higher frequencies, but with band
conditions lately it is hard to be sure...I don't have a calibrated signal
source. Checking the 1st mixer, I think diodes and maybe transistors
associated with the AGC circuit may be affected, so thatis where I am
looking now.

=Vic=
WA4THR

________________________________________________________
To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec at contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TenTec] Paragon problem
From: Wade Staggs <tvman1954 at gmail.com>
Reply-to: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec at contesting.com>
Date: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 00:49:04 -0500
List-post: <tentec at contesting.com">mailto:tentec at contesting.com>

To Bob and All,
                         My Paragon, when I received it. Had 2 Switching
Diodes shorted on the Low Pass Filter Board. This was causing the Radio to
draw Massive Amounts of Current when we tried to Transmit on 40 Meters and
I forget what the other band or bands were. Guess it depends on which Diode
or Diodes are Shorted on the Low Pass Filter Board.  We also found that the
Receiver Sensitivity was or seemed to be far below what we thought it
should be. Since these Diodes are a Dime a Dozen. We changed every diode on
the High Pass and Low Pass Filter Boards. Also, Bob the TAX Man, is 100%
Correct about the Receive Only " or what ever the Manual calls it " Switch
that was Dirty. This was NOT a job for Spraying cleaner everywhere. We just
borrowed one of my Miss Brenda's, Insulin Syringes and placed about One
Drop of DeoxIt in the switch while moving said switch back and forth ((
Exercising )) it for several seconds... It has been 4 years now. My Paragon
has called the Wednesday Evening Tennessee Phone Net .. Without Fail ...
for over 3 years. We also had the Dreaded " PLL Out of Lock " Failure when
we first got it, which was cured by a Lot of very delicate cleaning and
re-soldering the connections on the Major and Minor PLL Loop Boards.
Recently, there was a Glitch which would cause the Transmit and Receive to
drop out until the Power Switch was cycled Off and Then On. This happened
mostly when the RF Power was set to High Levels. What we found was, the
replacement of All 4 Capacitors inside the PA Compartment CURED this issue.
Some models have 3 and others have 4 Capacitors. Although it is not really
necessary, we have also fitted a 24 Volt type Computer Fan to the PA Heat
Sink. At half speed/voltage we never hear it run.... or almost never. There
is also a known issue of Capacitor Failures in the Display circuits, we
have never seen that yet but, it is good to know about. Monster Thanks go
out to Paul Clinton (( Ten Tec Service Manager ))  Gary (( Ten Tec Service
)) and Bob/K4TAX (( The Tax Man )) Who is not only a Very Nice Guy. Also
one of the Ten Tec Ambassadors. And the True Meaning of the term " Southern
Gentleman " Folks, if any of the 3 guys just mentioned, tells you that it
is Raining Steak, just get the Charcoal out for your Grill.... Because you
will have a Yard Full of Grade A Cow on your Front Lawn Shortly. I am here
for anyone in the group with Practical Experience on the Paragon ( and
other older Ten Tec Gear ) and Bob/K4TAX is the Guru on All of Them. We
have nothing but Praise and Respect for Ten Tec's Legendary Service
Department. Oh Yeah, Paul, at Ten Tec..... just dropped a few of those
needed Diodes into an Envelope and shipped them to me... Free of Charge. I
would like to see the Owner of an YaeComKensu Radio get that kind of
personal advise and help/parts from their Service Department!
                          Thanks for reading 73 and May God Bless from
Wade/KJ4WS