----- Original Message -----
From: "Tim Heasman" <tim@g4lmh.freeserve.co.uk>
To: <tentec@contesting.com>
Sent: Saturday, February 01, 2003 12:56 PM
Subject: [TenTec] Ten Tec Corsair II Use in Europe
Hi Guys,
Forty metres is my favourite band and I was so impressed with the
performance of Ten Tec equipment from 7 to 7.1 MHz in our radio environment
that I purchased a Corsair II when they were first imported to the U.K.
All my previous radios, except the old AR 88D needed 20 dB of attenuation
hear any amateur stations on 40m in the evenings.
I was also amazed with the QSK and did not I think was transmitting until I
looked at the power output meter, and the lack of signal loss when the c.w
filters were used.
This radio was passed onto my dad when I bought an Omni V. Since the Omni V
I have not been tempted by any other radio as I could not believe that they
could perform any better on 40m. Since my father's death the Corsair is
back, and currently is the preferred radio.
I also have a R-4C which is does not seem to perform as well as the Corsair
II. However, the R-4C is not one of the best examples. I purchased it for
about $80 and was deaf as a post.
Yes, Ten Tec radios have a few niggles like a few birdies and noise blankers
which seem difficult to adjust, but for 40m operation with the adjacent
broadcast stations a maximum 100 kHz away from the received signal I have
not found a radio to beat them. Unfortunately, we now have no support for
Ten Tec transceivers in the U.K., and therefore not popular hear, even
though they are user serviceable.
73
Tim G4LMH
Hi folks.
I agree with Tim's comments above.
I live on the south coast of Wales and currently use a Butternut HF6v
vertical which is ground mounted with buried radials. The house is about 400
yards / meters from the sea shore.
Got 2 radios here, an Omni V and a Yaesu FT-102, and I repair the odd radio
or 2 for local operators so have had the opportunity to compare several
different radios using the same antenna.
The Omni V really does take some beating.
On 40m in the evenings during winter, the Omni shows absolutely no signs of
IMD from the huge BC signals a few tens of KHz up band. The FT-102 needs to
have the pre-amp switched off to provide the same immunity.
When the FT-102's pre-amp is off, it is actually taken out of the signal
path entirely by the famous relays that proved so unreliable, unlike most
other radios that simply connect a resistive attenuator.. this includes the
Omni V, I think the VI had a pre-amp that was removed from the signal path
but the V just adds a resistor when you hit the ATT button.
I don't have a Corsair to compare, but I'd recommend the Omni V to anyone as
a radio that will not disappoint if receiver performance is a key
requirement.
Comparing the Omni V to most Japanese radios of the same era is pointless,
the Omni V has the best receiver of them all, I've directly compared with
Yaesu FT-101ZD Mk3, FT-102, FT-107, FT-902DM, FT-747, FT-757 inc GX2,
FT-767... Kenwood TS-430, 440, 450, 930.. Icom IC-720, 730... don't get many
Icoms to repair!
There are some negatives to the Omni V though...
I don't like the RX audio quality from the built in speaker.. personal
opinion of course! The FT-102 has excellent RX audio from it's internal
speaker in comparison, even my wife can tell the difference!
The AGC chain is noisy. I operate virtually 100% SSB, very rarely use CW
key.
You can hear the effect for yourself quite easily on an Omni V.. find a SSB
signal around S2-3 in strength on a quiet band.
Now switch the AGC on and off a few times.. wouldn't it be nice if the RX
noise floor was as low with the AGC on as it is with it off? :-) Even so,
you get used to it. I know there is a modification to reduce this effect, I
have the paperwork here, but haven't implemented it yet as the paperwork
tells me that the improvement gained is not worthwhile considering the time
it will take to carry out the work!
The power connector and fuseholder create a significant voltage drop, enough
that critical listeners will tell you that you're FM'ing!
I admit to wiring the home brew PSU directly to the power input board in the
Omni V, bypassing the connector and fuse / fuseholder. The PSU has
protection.. :-)
This seems to have fixed the problem.
For whatever reason, the Omni V noise blanker is not as effective as the NB
on the FT-102. The best noise blanker I've ever come across is in the Yaesu
FT-225RD 2m multimode fitted with a MuTek front end replacement, closely
followed by the one used in the Icom IC-201 2m multimode. Probably not fair
to compare HF and VHF radios though.
I've had the Omni V for about 8 months or so now, and it's the radio of
choice when using voice.
When using digital modes, I use the FT-102 because it's all connected up to
the computer, and with the 3 6146's in the PA it will produce more clean RF
than the Omni V will to make up for my poor antenna!
As Tim says, there is no tech support for Ten-Tec kit here, but if you had a
problem you couldn't resolve, I'm sure you could ship the offending board to
T-T for repair. There is an agent for new T-T gear now, but when I saw him
at a hamfest, he only had RX's.. very nice too!
Paul MW0CDO
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