Topband: Re: Yaesu FT1000mp Mark V Key Clicks

[Paul Christensen]

> "Now if only we could find a company to step up to the plate......."

Most of the Ten Tecs fit this criteria, but I'm not sure you would call
anything but the Omni Five and Six as truly "competition grade."

The Omni V and the original VI (pre VI Plus) had extraordinary CW key
shaping.  Then for some reason, the ALC design was changed in the Six Plus
(perhaps to improve slight power spike overshoot?) which resulted in a very
steep leading waveform edge.  The leading edge is less than 1 ms and results
in very hard keying.  And sadly, the internal waveshape adjustment does
nothing to affect the leading edge in the Plus version.

I had to modify the ALC circuit by changing values and adding components
which resulted in rounded corners, symmetrical waveshape, and both the
leading and trailing edges are now adjustable.

Like Tom indicated, it's takes little effort and cost in the design phase to
ensure that the transceivers are click-free and produce good keying.

-Paul, W9AC