[TenTec] Confusion re Omni V 1st IF filters (long and annoying...)

Tue Jun 30 08:03:09 EDT 2020

Hello Petr

I have just found your several postings regarding your Omni V. They had all
gone into the spam folder on the server of my email provider which I check
from time to time. It also intercepts quite a lot of emails from ARRL.

I am not sure from your posts whether you know about the TenTec Wiki pages
- https://tentecwiki.eqth.net

There is plenty of info about the Omni V there including a mod to make the
BFO offset variable instead of being fixed at 600Hz.

I would definitely go for the Inrad filter with the 600Hz offset. I have
got a few Inrad filters in my new Omni 6+ that I have nearly finished
upgrading and they are really very good.

As regards a Corsair 2, I see them advertised on the USA Ebay site from
time to time as well as on the various USA sales sites,  eham.net,  qrz.com
and qth.com.

I hope your Orion 2 is still working well. I had a few problems with mine
but all fixed for the moment except that a small area of the screen was
damaged due to the A9 board fault although fortunately it does not affect
the readout.

73

Barry  VK2BJ

On Wed, 24 Jun 2020 at 23:29, Petr Ourednik <indians at xsmail.com> wrote:

> Hi folks,
>
> related to my preview post regarding the 1st IF 9MHz filters choosing (NAR
> position) for Omni V (w/o reply) I tried to read as much as documents about
> it but more study makes more confusion to me.
> So I am trying to come over here and hope that someone more experienced
> will be so kind to explaining it to me. Lets follows...
>
> In Chapter 4, Operation hints (page 4-1) in par. 4-1.1 CW we can read
> "Actual RX frequency is 600Hz lower then displayed TX frequency...". Also
> mentioned there "this is due to BFO shift to bring oscillator into filter
> passband". [1]
>
> In Chapter 5, Operating Installation (page 5-1) in par. 5-1.3 Crystal
> filters we can read "A fourth optional filters [Model 218 (1.8k), Model 217
> (0.5k), Model 219 (0.25k) may be installed in the 81410 9MHz IF board...".
> "This filter is selected by pressing the NAR key...". [1]
>
> Also in Chapter 6, Circuit descriptions (page 6-57) in par. 6-15 we can
> find "CW transmit or TUNE, adjust C9 for 9.000600MHz". [1]
>
> Finally in Chapter 3, Detailed Operating Instructions (page 3-8) in par.
> SPECIAL NOTES we can read "The standard Model 217, 500Hz cw 9MHz filter,
> will not work on FSK because it is optimized for 600Hz tones". [1]
>
> Well from all of these facts in manual it seems that Omni V is using fixed
> BFO offset 600Hz on CW which can not be changed and side tone should be set
> to 600Hz as same as the filters used in 1st IF must be centered at
> 9.000600MHz right?
>
> Well now confusion is going to start...
>
> In the Ten-Tec Instruction sheet Pt. No. 74089 for Models 217, 218, 219
> and 220 crystal filters we can see in Spec. table (page 1) for model 217:
> Center frequency, MHz: 9.000750MHz (as same as Model 219 btw) [2] and
> these filters are generally recommended by Ten-Tec for Omni radios, so I
> presume it is also recommended for Omni V.
> As I mentioned in preview part the Model 217 is recommended also directly
> in Omni V manual In Chapter 5, Operating Installation (page 5-1) in par.
> 5-1.3 Crystal filters [1] even although these filters seems to be centered
> at 9.000750MHz so these are reliable for radios with 750Hz BFO offset right?
>
> ...and confusion is ongoing.
>
> In my email from TT guru Tyler, N4TY years ago he is recommending the
> filter with 9.000600MHz center frequency. He says "So I would just plug the
> bare #753 Inrad filter into NAR slot and operate with it for awhile". [3]
>
> In harmony with this email communication it is navigating us to Inrad web
> sites where we can read for filter #753:
> 400 Hz 9000.6 kHz CW 8-pole crystal filter.
> This filter is a comparable replacement for the Ten-Tec 217, but for lower
> pitch CW. [4, 5]
>
> So even the Inrad talks about the "lower pitch" of their filter
> replacement for Model 217 by Ten-Tec so it also presume that Model 217 from
> Ten-Tec is really centered at 9.000750Hz instead of 9.000600MHz.
> Why Ten-Tec recommends this filter for Omni V, radio with 600Hz BFO offset?
>
> At the end I found the eml threat on tentec at contesting.com list from 2003
> named "Confusion re Inrad filters" where we can read from NO7UP an article
> about similar problem and we can read "In older rigs such as the Omni V,
> the offset is not adjustable - it is fixed at 600 Hz. You would normally
> set your side tone to 600 Hz and match the tone of the person you are
> working. Your signal would then be right on top of his signal. But when
> using the #759 and #760 filters, which are fixed at 700 Hz, the station you
> are listening to will be out of the passband. So most people set their side
> tone at 700 Hz so they will be in the center of the 9MHz IF filter
> passband. But that creates another problem - since the radio has a
> fixed transmit offset of 600 Hz, you will NOT be right on top of the other
> station - you will be 100Hz off. Not normally a big deal, but most people
> would prefer to be right on top of the station they are working. That is
> why Inrad came up with the new 9MHz filters that have the 600Hz offset - so
> on the
> older rigs, everything lines up right." [6]
>
> So it is confirming that Omni V has fixed BFO offset 600Hz and valid
> filter for 1st IF 9MHz stage is centered at 9.000600MHz isn't it? So again,
> why Ten-Tec is recommending to install at that stage filters with 750Hz
> offset centered at 9.000750Hz?
>
> This is end of this annoying post folks. Is there somebody who is willing
> and kind to explaining it to me please? Am I doing some underlying or
> fundamental mistake or is there something what I am missing please?
>
> ...oh well and back to the basic question from the beginning > which
> filter I should purchase and install to the Omni V at the NAR position for
> highest selectivity on CW to follow by my fully loaded 2nd IF stage?
>
> --
> 73 - Petr, OK1RP
> --
> B: http://goo.gl/Fd2JhJ
> YT: https://urlzs.com/UHNH9
> MeWe: https://bit.ly/2HGPoDx
> MeWe: https://bit.ly/2FmwvDt
> --
> What could be easier..?  ¯‍∖‍_‍(‍ツ‍)‍_‍/‍¯
>
>
> References:
> [1] Ten-Tec Operators Manual, OMNI V, model 562, Part. No. 74199
> [2] Ten-Tec Instruction sheet Pt.No. 74089 for Models 217, 218, 219 and
> 220 crystal filters
> [3] Tyler, N4TY, email communication, Tue, 30 Jun 2009
> [4] https://www.inrad.net/product.php?productid=207&cat=90&page=1
> [5] www.inrad.net
> [6] NO7UP, tentec at contesting.com, "Confusion re Inrad filters", Fri, 18
> Apr 2003, 23:00:35
>
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