I have the original Paragon and find it to be a versatile rig. I had
problems with the PLL boards that I solved by reflowing the solder. This
is not a problem with later Paragons. Ten Tec redesigned the PLL
circuits and improved the workmanship. My only complaint with the
Paragon is that Ten Tec used cheap potentiometers which get "scratchy",
unless shot regularly with contact cleaner. The other thing to look for
is signs of leakage from the memory backup battery.
The general coverage receive capability is excellent, of you enjoy
shortwave broadcast or utility monitoring.
It seems to me that Ten Tec designed the Paragon with MARS or embassy
use in mind. Mine has what looks like a gas-gap EMP suppressor across
the antenna connector. Also, I believe that the Paragon was once
available under GSA contract.
73,
Bob WB2VUF
On 10/24/2010 3:54 PM, Edward Feustel wrote:
> On 2:59 PM, K8JDC wrote:
>> Hi friends,
>>
>> I've been considering getting a Paragon II to use with MARS and
>> to just have another radio in the shack. I have an Orion but it won't
>> do very many of the MARS frequencies of course. I've never used a
>> Paragon (or Omni V/VI for that matter since those have similar
>> controls) but they impress me as a solid design with good performance
>> that still has repair support. For this application, I also think I
>> prefer a classic design with knobs and buttons instead of a computer
>> interface like say a Pegasus or whatever. This will be used almost
>> entirely for SSB and I'm looking primarily for a proven semi-modern
>> solid-state radio that will do MARS.
>>
>> By way of a comparison, the Kenwood TS-850S is in same approximate
>> price range on the used market and gets a lot of positive comments for
>> being a very good performer and I know some use it for MARS. I've
>> never had a Kenwood but I respect many of the comments I have read
>> about the TS-850 although I think repair support is questionable. I
>> had an Icom 746 at one time and it was a good radio but I decided to
>> buy American radios so I sold it. That's part of the reason I'm
>> asking about the Paragon.
>>
>> I've also considered looking for a used 200W rig although I think
>> this would bump it up to the next price class. I've never had any of
>> those either but thought it would make an interesting upgrade to my
>> desk. I haven't researched any of those to see how well they would do
>> on MARS frequencies. I have a linear but have thought it would be
>> nice to have a 200W rig. If it runs on AC power, that's fine with
>> me. I won't be dragging this thing out into the woods.
>>
>> I thought I might ask for opinions on the Paragon II here since I
>> haven't played with one and solicit other opinions. For the record, I
>> have not used a Jupiter either but I like the Paragon style more than
>> the Jupiter. I just have never been too interested in the Jupiter.
>>
>> Thanks and sorry for a long post but I wanted to frame the question a
>> bit.
>>
>> Dave
>> K8JDC
>>
> I had one before I got my Orion 565. In my opinion they are the better
> of the Paragons.
> They have a number of features not in the Paragon w/o the Giehl chip.
> For example,
> they have a standard computer interface that works well with most
> computer control programs.
>
> I felt it was an excellent transceiver and liked the fact that it could
> work on 60 meters when
> the OMNI VI could not. I used it on a number of phone nets and on CW as
> well. I changed
> because of the better front end and the use of DSP in the second IF and
> the "double receivers".
> I really prefer large knobs too.
>
> Ed, N5EI
>
>
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