I for one would like to thank Dave Hammond for his posts. The symptoms he
describes are exactly what I have encountered, and his conclusions to its
causes are logical. I have gone back thru the archives, read about his
modifications, and have ordered the BFO crystals and a new TXCO.
There _IS_ a problem with some Omni VIs suffering from drift during transmit
in high duty cycle modes. I agree that this drift is probably
inconsequential for CW and SSB since the conditions that cause it do not
happen in these modes... but it is a real pain with the newer HF digital
modes and can cause problems such as interference to other hams (due to
'walking' down a crowded band during a QSO) and the inability to hold a QSO
in certain tuning-critical modes (like MFSK16) that require the transceiver
to stay within a 5 Hz window without constant manual retuning. Sure, I
_CAN_ use the tuning knob... but I shouldn't have to be CONSTANTLY using it
or have to continually re-select the signal in my waterfall during a QSO if
I can fix/change/modify something inside my rig to eliminate this.
I posted the original query that started this thread. The resultant
informative (and some of the argumentative) replies are exactly what I was
looking for when I made the original post. The value of ANY reflector is
the ability for those of us with less knowledge/experience to be able to tap
into the knowledge/experience of others. IMO, there is also value in
reading questions and responses to questions posed by others. I am always
learning something from the reflectors I belong to.
But let's not attack a ham who has come up with a possible solution to a
problem, even if we disagree with his solution or the need for it. If the
fix doesn't matter FOR YOU, then don't do it. I personally plan to keep my
Omni VI for a while, and if I can tweak it and get rid of a few annoying
idiosyncrasies, then so much the better.
- jgc
John Clifford KD7KGX
Heathkit HW-9 WARC/HFT-9/HM-9
Elecraft K2 #1678 /KSB2/KIO2/KBT2/KAT2/KNB2/KAF2/KPA100
Ten-Tec Omni VI/Opt1
email: kd7kgx@arrl.net
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