What is also so great about this rig, you don't have to be an arduino
programmer to enjoy it.
Nope, on it's own, It's a great 40/20 meter CW QRP rig on it's own.
Will be < $200 bucks. (I don't have the price sheet with me, they are all
at Dayton right now, but I am 99% sure it is $199, so don't quote me until
the price sheets are public at Dayton).
Current draw in rx and tx meets other qrp rigs on the market.
A couple of beta testers have stated that this will now be their main
backpacking QRP rig when they go out to the mountains.
non programmers will be able to use it as is.
non programmers will be able to see what the computer whizzes have come up
with, try it out, and get just about any feature implemented they want.
Comes with volume level control, sidetone level control, bandwidth control,
step size control, RIT control, and up to 3 user definable functions. A
developer may find a way with the buttons on it to give it more functions
than the way we have done it, it is only limited by imagination. A user may
do the extra programming to put one of the UI shields that has a dozen
buttons and a dozen pots, then there is no limit on where this unit can
grow. This pic chip CPU has more RAM and ROM than the Eagle does, and is
MUCH faster. BUT, it is a LOT cheaper too, the 32 bit series pic chips are
phenomenally superior to the existing pic chips used by everyone to date.
That is the beauty of this direction, the only limit to it's functionality
is the hardware shield itself, limited to it's crystal filtering, limited
to it's size of pic chip, which by the way we are only using 1/1000th of
the programming capability of the chip.
Heck, there are display shields already on the market that the code in the
production unit will drive. So, if you want a display, $10, and it is
already working.
There are shields that can be added to add audio featuring, already on the
market.
There are shields that can add.... well, the sky is the limit.
To steal a slogan.... This is one of the latest shapes of things to come in
a long line of new and exciting TEN-TEC products.
The concept, using the chipKIT UNO32 (a 32 bit microprocessor with a HUGE
RAM/ROM that isn't even scratched), and you plug a standard "Shield" into
it.
Then, you want more functions, plug another shield into that shield, you
want more, it will drive as many shields as you want.
Now, of course, we left room for one additional shield in the current box.
However, we will make boxes down the road that will accommodate more
shields.
The code and the hardware design are ALL OPEN SOURCE.... Meaning anyone can
download the code, the schematics, the layouts, and change it to whatever
they want. They are protected under the GNU GPL Open Source license for
Software and the TAPR Open Hardware License for hardware. All that means
is, make all the changes you want, have fun, if you make it public,then
TEN-TEC gets those changes and can decide to include them in future
products at TEN-TEC's discretion.
For the tinkerer, they will probably take the top off, leave it off, and
add however many shields they want.
For the educator, they will (and yes, I have teachers in as low as the 3rd
grade who already use raspberry pi's or arduinos in classrooms), that want
to get these to help teach kids the concepts of radio and even teach them
Morse Code. Imagine, teaching kids in early school days the concepts of
radio and Morse Code.... that just fuels the market from early school age
for the amateur community..... Voice mode shields will come if this really
takes off, so will combined voice/CW, etc.
We are very excited and hope it brings a lot of new hams into the amateur
market.
We don't know of any other product other than maybe a xilinx based SDR that
beckons software developers into the amateur market as much as this product
like this.
And we will be the first in production with this unit.
This product is the brain child of Jim Wharton NO4A, and developed (current
hardware and initial production software) by William E Curb III WA4CDM,
with inputs and RF direction from Jack Burchfield, President/Owner/first
employee of TEN-TEC other than Al Khan himself. I helped a very very small
amount, Sales helped with a lot of the featuring, service beta tested, Jim
Wharton beta tested, etc. A lot of assisted help in the building, but
mainly the brain child of Jim Wharton and creation by Bill Curb.
Can you say.... John Henry is excited?
Darned tootin I am.
And if this product wasn't enough, we are also introducing a new SMART
MEMORY auto tuner this year at Dayton.
It can work with the 539 or 599.
Pump out 4-20 watts or so into the auto tuner, hit TUNE, and the algorithm
it uses to find a match is phenomenally fast and accurate. Will tune 10:1
in almost all 160-10m antenna conditions. This product was requested by one
of our service engineers for years, and designed and built 100% by one of
our esteemed electrical engineers.
TEN-TEC isn't sleeping, we are bringing exciting new products to the market
at Dayton, and will continue to do so again later this year.
Neither of these two products took me away from working on existing
products, I have a new release for the 539 that I will release next week
that gives features customers have requested, and am currently working on
an update for the 588. We have changes in progress for a FUTURE firmware
update for the Orion 565, it just don't get better than TEN-TEC.
ok, back to bed, gotta get ready for Dayton
Y'all take care,
John Henry, KI4JPL
TEN-TEC Engineering
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