[TenTec] Re Please tell me about the TT Omni VI+

["Rob Atkinson, K5UJ" <k5uj@hotmail.com>]

If you are operating 90% SSB, I am not sure I would recommend an Omni VI 
today.
But first, let's forget about audio quality since you say you are interested 
in dx (or was it contesting?  well, from an audio quality standpoint, it 
doesn't matter).  An Omni VI/option 3 I think is going for around $1300 used 
from Ten Tec.  An Omni VI+ is about 2 or 3 hundred dollars more.
With an Omni, you do have that punchy dx chasing audio and fairly narrow 
receive bandwidth, but the dsp design is kind of old now, and you are 
getting a rig that could be anywhere from oh, 6 to 11 or 12 years old, with 
the older f.p. design with the LED display etc.  In this price range I would 
definitely consider a used TS850, which is an excellent dx and contest rig, 
has a better display and in my opinion better build quality (the Omni seems 
to be prone to RF in the audio problems).  But, the 850s are starting to 
show their age.  For not much more (a few hundred dollars) you can get a 
used FT1000 which is an excellent analog dx and contest rig on SSB, and for 
about $1800 you can get a new FT1000MP Mk V field with newer DSP technology 
and many other features the Omni does not have.  I would be willing to 
consider the Omni VI as a cw rig because for one thing, Ten Tec does a 
pretty good job on key closure leading edge shaping to avoid key clicks, but 
with these other options which have become more viable over the past 4 
years, I personally can no longer recommend the Omni VI as a SSB rig for 
around $1500.  You would have to get a power supply for another $200 or so, 
and that puts you up there with the cost of a Field, a new rig, with much 
much more going for it.

As a sidebar, if you want hifi audio quality, forget the Omni totally.  All 
the mods in the world won't get past the relatively narrow rx bandwidth its 
analog technology confines it to.  Get a used TS870.

73,
Rob/K5UJ

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