[TenTec] Omni VI instability, TCXO worth it?

Wed Jul 13 10:43:08 EDT 2016

If it were me Iwould get the Icom radio.
Paul, KW4BD

On Tue, Jul 12, 2016 at 6:36 PM, Jim Allen <jim.allen at longhornband.net>
wrote:

> It's not all bad.  When my Omni Vi opt. 3 had a transceive problem, I sent
> it in.  I had a few chats with the head tech describing the exact symptoms
> and eventually was told that there was no problem at all, verified on two
> separate benches.  It was about $120 shipping out and back.  No charge for
> the look-see.  Well, there WAS a problem.  It was not transceiving on the
> same frequency, just as I claimed.
>
> I ended up sending it to a private repair guy, Wade, who used to
> participate here.  I've not seen him here in a long time.  He found some
> parts in the chain that needed replacing and that fixed it.  You might
> consider getting in touch with him.
>
> 73 de W6OGC Jim Allen
>
> When it came back,
> Sent from my iPad
>
> > On Jul 12, 2016, at 17:02, Peter Klein <pklein at threshinc.com> wrote:
> >
> > A big thanks to everyone who responded. It's been two weeks now, and I
> have not heard a peep from Ten-Tec.  Not even a "sorry, we're swamped"
> acknowledgement.  Which in itself is a partial answer, I'm sorry to say.  I
> love the radio. But if Ten-Tec is unwilling or unable to answer a
> clearly-written request within two weeks, and won't take phone calls, then
> one of the reasons why I bought Ten-Tec in the first place apparently
> doesn't exist any more.  Add to that the prohibitive and ever-increasing
> cost of even UPS Ground shipping, and Ten-Tec not suggesting a permanent
> fix when the had the radio in their shop for the same problem two and a
> half years ago.
> >
> > I am not impressed.  Yes, I sympathize with Ten-Tec's problems, and the
> general problem of supporting complex technical products. I spend over 30
> years in network administration and computer support. I know all about
> overly needy and clueless customers, maddeningly complex problems, and
> fire-breathing businessmen who think that anything beyond token service is
> a waste of the bottom line.  But I also know that I want my radio fixed, or
> at least be told how likely it is that it can be fixed satisfactorily.
> >
> > I own a decent Tektronix DVM and a consumer-grade Radio Shack frequency
> counter (resolutio 100 Hz), but no scope, and my space is limited.  I don't
> want to have to constantly fix my primary HF rig. Unless I hear from
> Ten-Tec, I will probably do the connector deoxidation, and tweak the 40m
> coil a bit in the same direction that fixed the problem before.  We'll see
> how that goes.
> >
> > But I must say, the Icom 7300 is looking more attractive all the time.
> Icom service is right here in the Seattle area, so I could just drop an
> Icom radio off there if I needed service.   Apologies for the heresy  :-)
> >
> > --Peter, KD7MW
> >
> >
> >> On 7/4/2016 5:14 PM, Peter Klein wrote:
> >> I queried service at tentec.com by email about the following issue last
> Tuesday. I have heard nothing so far, so I thought I'd get some advice here.
> >>
> >> Background:  I live in the Seattle area. I have modest wire and
> vertical antennas. I'm not a contester or hard-core competitive DXer. I do
> try to work DX when I can, and I might jump into a contest to snag a new
> country. But mostly I do HF digital (PSK, Olivia, MFSK), casual CW, or
> occasionally SSB.
> >>
> >> I've owned my Omni VI for 20 years. It has the Option 1 DSP upgrade.
> Over the years, the radio has several times developed a frequency
> instability issue. Over a time ranging between less than a second to a few
> seconds, the transceiver moves a few 10s of Hz off frequency, then "snaps"
> back. It's mostly done this on 30m, occasionally on 20m, and now on 40m.
> Lately, it happens on 40m, with a short "period," so if I am listening to a
> good, pure CW signal, it sounds like it has old-fashioned "chirp."
> >>
> >> The frequency shift occurs on both transmit and receive.  When it
> happens, if I switch to another band, it does not happen there. It is
> intermittent. Sometimes it appears random, and sometimes appears
> temperature-related (for example after transmitting for a while, or if the
> radio has been just turned on in the last half-hour or so).
> >>
> >> When it first happened (1997), Ten Tec Service advised me to tweak the
> trimmer coil to the 30m mixer crystal 1/8 to 1/4 turn in either direction
> until the "drift and snap" stopped, and just live with the slight display
> error. I did, and later did the same thing to the 40m coil when that band
> acted up. It worked in both cases.
> >>
> >> When it started to do the frequency dance on 20m, I sent back to the
> factory for a tune-up. This was in October 2013. Now, it's doing it again
> on 40m.
> >>
> >> I spoke to TenTec's service manager a few months ago. He said that the
> problem might be solved by installing a temperature compensated crystal
> oscillator (the TCXO was never suggested before).  He said that I could
> install this myself if I could solder a couple of wires. He quoted me a
> price of $200 to send me the necessary circuit board and instructions. He
> said it was up to me whether I wanted to spend $200 on "an older radio."
> He was also dead-set against my tweaking the trimmer coils to the
> individual band crystals.
> >>
> >> I decided to wait and see if leaving the power supply on 24/7 would
> solve the issue. Nope. And while I was waiting, Ten-Tec was sold and has
> new service policies.
> >>
> >> I would like to install the TCXO, *IF* it is very likely that it will
> solve the problem, and I can get at least another couple of years of good
> service out of the radio.  On the other hand, the radio is 20 years old. So
> if it's just as likely that I will continue to have the problem, then maybe
> the TCXO isn't worth it, and I should think about a new radio.
> >>
> >> So, what would you do if you were me?
> >>
> >> Thanks and 73,
> >> --Peter, KD7MW
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> TenTec mailing list
> >> TenTec at contesting.com
> >> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > TenTec mailing list
> > TenTec at contesting.com
> > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec
> _______________________________________________
> TenTec mailing list
> TenTec at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec
>