This is Icom's first try with a direct sampling radio and from
everything I have read, they seem to have done a lot of things right and
have produced a good product. Yes, it does have some issues and
shortcomings, but it will be interesting to see what Icom does with this
technology in the next few years. Icom has the potential, with this
technology, to put some pressure on the other radio manufacturers.
Just curious, what other radios can one purchase NEW at this price point
that are better for contesting?
HRO list the IC-7300 at $1500. At a similar price point HRO lists:
APACHE LABS ANAN-10 SDR Transceiver HF & 6 Meters 10 Watts $1,599.00
ICOM IC-7410 HF / 50 MHz 100 Watt Multimode Transceiver $1,579.95
(Radio Discontinued)
KENWOOD TS-590SG HF / 50 MHz 100 Watt Multimode Transceiver $1,309.95
KENWOOD TS-2000 HF / 50 / 144 / 430 MHz Multimode Transceiver - 100
Watts $1,429.95
YAESU FTDX1200 HF + 6m Multi Mode Transceiver $1,249.95
Ten-Tec is currently not selling any new radios, and I suspect their
price point will be much higher.
And except for the K-3, one could get into the other Elecraft radios for
a similar price.
The Flex radios are all priced much higher, except for the FLEX-1500.
73, Darrell VE7IU
On 16-07-13 08:17 AM, rick@dj0ip.de wrote:
The Icom radio looks nice but I'm afraid Icom may never address the
dither/randomization problem they have. This is a handicap in a contest, as
the radio blocks too early.
The JA companies just don't seem to be very interested in addressing
problems with their products.
73 - Rick, DJ0IP
(Nr. Frankfurt, Germany)
-----Original Message-----
From: TenTec [mailto:tentec-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Paul Gates
Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2016 4:43 PM
To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment
Subject: Re: [TenTec] Omni VI instability, TCXO worth it?
If it were me Iwould get the Icom radio.
Paul, KW4BD
On Tue, Jul 12, 2016 at 6:36 PM, Jim Allen <jim.allen@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@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@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@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec
_______________________________________________
TenTec mailing list
TenTec@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec
_______________________________________________
TenTec mailing list
TenTec@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec
_______________________________________________
TenTec mailing list
TenTec@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec
_______________________________________________
TenTec mailing list
TenTec@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec
--
Darrell Bellerive
VE7IU
_______________________________________________
TenTec mailing list
TenTec@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec
|