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Re: [TenTec] Omni VII

To: "Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment" <tentec@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TenTec] Omni VII
From: "Paul Christensen" <w9ac@arrl.net>
Reply-to: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec@contesting.com>
Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2007 07:58:33 -0400
List-post: <mailto:tentec@contesting.com>
>> Is it because the radio has no appeal to participants in this list?
>> Can it be that the radio's major appeal is to computer-bound folks
>> who want to operate remotely?
>>
>> That's certainly the theme of Ten-Tec's advertising, at least.

One theme.

That's one unique and exclusive operating feature that Ten Tec has every 
right to exploit in its marketing campaign.  However, "One-Plug" operation 
is but one subset of a radio packed with useful features and stellar 
performance.  The inclusion of Collins filters, combined with DSP is an 
example of a superior design that yields excellent on-air operating 
performance.

QSK is absolutely superb and the receiver's audio frequency response is 
nearly ruler-flat down to 20 Hz.  The CW waveform is generated by DSP and 
exhibits a near-perfect Gaussian shape.  Ten Tec is the only manufacturer 
who has figured out the relationship between ALC and CW wavefom ramping. 
Search the Ten Tec list server archives going back ten years ago and you 
will see my open plea, and discussion of my Omni Six ALC modifications on 
this subject.  The Omni VII occupied Tx bandwidth at 4-5 ms rise/decay 
settings is less than other radios with more than double those ramp rates. 
See the FFT plots I recently took that show a family of Rx audio response 
curves -- with and without equalization.  WARNING, this is a large bitmap 
file but worth the wait for the browser to load:

http://216.229.20.37/images/OMNI-VII-Rx-Response.bmp

I have the Omni VII's audio and control connected only through One-Plug 
whether I am operating next to the rig or 50 miles away with my laptop PC at 
a Wi-Fi hot spot.  With the exception of the antenna and DC powering, I have 
no other connections to/from the radio.  I feed all station audio through a 
matrix of glass splitters and a Z-Sys optical router to an optical PC sound 
card, which routes audio in the digital domain to the Omni's Ethernet port. 
The result?  No RFI.  No ground loops.  No hum or buzz in the audio.  No PTT 
control lines.  In fact the only analog audio present is between the mic and 
an ART DPS-II pre-amp with a SPDIF optical output.  From there, everything 
is in a 24-bit, 96 kHz-sampled digital domain right up to the Ethernet port.

Although the Omni VII comes with its own One-Plug GUI software, the radio 
really shines when using N4PY's control program.  Carl has included 
automatic audio streaming and an entire suite of features not found in the 
stock software.  His software is a "must have" for use with the Omni VII.

CW QSK is real when using the Omni VII on a remote Internet connection 
Although audio coming back from the rig may be delayed through the Internet 
by ~100-150 ms, the operator still hears the receiver between keyed elements 
at 40+ WPM.  The bottom line is that if someone breaks in while sending on 
the keyboard, the break is heard instantly between keyed elements, allowing 
the operator to stop and listen.

I just ordered K1EL's CW keyer with Winkey chip-set.  The next step is to 
take the K1EL keyer to a remote location with the laptop PC and use a set of 
iambic paddles with N4PY's control program.  Since the keyer has its own 
side-tone, keying with a paddle or bug is possible at the remote location. 
The N4PY program supports K1EL's USB interface and will also support Ten 
Tec's new 610 keyer and remote tuning knob interface.  The latter of which 
allows the operator to use Ten Tec's 302 tuning knob at a remote site.

Paul, W9AC





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