[TenTec] On the Corsair II revival idea and receiver noise

[rick@dj0ip.de]

You don't want a FLEX 3000.  OLD technology and requires a hefty PC to run
it.
If you can't afford the 6300 then buy an ANAN instead, but not a 3000.
Besides, the 3000 has a dirty TX.

73 - Rick, DJ0IP
(Nr. Frankfurt, Germany)



-----Original Message-----
From: TenTec [mailto:tentec-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of GARY HUBER
Sent: Thursday, November 24, 2016 5:14 AM
To: TenTec Reflector; n8wff at yahoo.com
Subject: [TenTec] On the Corsair II revival idea and receiver noise

Before I bought my Corsair-II and was looking at the Paragon and Corsair-II,
I was asked by one of the TenTec staff manning their booth at Dayton, "What
radio are you using now and what is your principal use, DXing, nets, rag
chewing or something else?" When I responded that I was using a model 546-C
and matching external VFO to chase DX from a quiet rural location, his
response was, "you'll be a lot happier with a Corsair-II... you'll be able
to hear weak stations with it that will be covered in noise in the Paragon!"
I bought the Corsair-II and sold my OMNI-D to my best friend who had just
become a General licensee and was looking for a radio.

I still have that Corsair-II which was built in the last production run of
model 561s. I did A-B tests with it and the Paragon (model 585) I bought
several years later for MARS work for Operation Desert Shield and Operation
Storm. In those tests which were done using a DOW Key Relay reversed so that
only one radio was connected to an antenna or with a coaxial jumper between
the two radios with one switch set for AUX ANT and the other to AUX RX and
with the radio with the switch set to AUX RX having a good antenna connected
to its SO-239, the Corsair-II was always slightly better. Its those signals
below S-2 and into the RX/band noise where the Corsair-II comes out ahead.

I also had a fully loaded OMNI-VI+ (model 564) and found it, through testing
in the manner above, to be at least equal to the Corsair-II, mostly due to
1.8 kHz and 500 Hz filters in BOTH I.F.s, making it more selective and a bit
quieter. The CAT serial port on the 564 is a huge advantage for those doing
computer logging while DXing or Contesting. 
The lack of frequency / mode information from an un-modified Corsair-II like
the one I own is its major drawback, in my opinion.

I currently have an OMNI-VII (model 588) with a FLEX-1500 as its sub-RX
(N4PY mod) as my primary radio and with the Corsair-II as the back radio.
(see AB9M at QRZ.com for the station photo) While the OMNI-VII is a great
radio for my needs, in my opinion (and experience) it needs to some careful
adjustment of the RF gain to avoid digital artifacts which are created from
strong signals in the passband when trying to work 2 kHz to 10 kHz from the
DX station with lots of callers.

Regarding the cost of any Corsair-II replacement; I know there is the issue
of price, but I believe its also a matter of value for an experience which
cannot be matched by others. If you provide a pure analog receiver and
transmitter chain like the model 561 with only DDS VFO and CAT serial ports
then perhaps your market segment is in a different range than the IC-7300.
Today absent any product from TenTec to replace my OMNI-VII and FLEX-1500,
I'll keep my Corsair-II and buy a FLEX-3000. The Eagle may need a
replacement, but one for the OMNI-VII and ORION is long overdue.

--
73 ES DX,
Gary - AB9M

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