Answer to part 2: Is there really any need for "latest and greatest"?
Sure there is. It keeps the economy going.
After many years of searching, I finally managed to find an old Argonaut
515.
It was a basket job.
I had it sent directly to Ten-Tec, who refurbished it and shipped it to me
in Germany.
It appeared good as new and hardly a scratch.
The 515 has the same RX as the Triton IV.
My other radios at the time were an OM 6+, which got replaced by an Orion.
I spent hours and hours of listening, comparing the 515 to the newer rigs.
Discounting a contest weekend, where the 515 lacked the filters of the other
two, I never heard a single signal on the big/newer rigs, which I could not
hear on the 515....and I liked the audio best on it.
OK, it has the cracking of the AGC sometimes, but I got used to that years
ago.
Turn the RF gain down if it bothers you.
It is pretty amazing how well the old rigs performed.
Part of the reason was downward conversion and a preselector.
73
Rick
-----Original Message-----
From: tentec-bounces@contesting.com [mailto:tentec-bounces@contesting.com]
On Behalf Of Al Gulseth
Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2011 2:10 PM
To: tentec@contesting.com
Cc: PaulKB8N@aol.com
Subject: Re: [TenTec] Under the Dirt...a Diamond!
Paul,
Great find! If you're technically savvy at all, fix it yourself. There are
plenty of resources on this list who can guide you through the rough spots.
(Are you listening Jerry?) Maybe I'll dig into my OmniA/B (it has a few
minor
issues but probably not anywhere near what yours has) as a "parallel"
project. If you were closer by I'd suggest getting together for a "tech
fest".
That brings me to another potentially "inflammatory" point - for the casual
non-contest non-DXCC chasers like myself, is there really a need for
the "latest and greatest"? I've found that I can accomplish almost all of
the
contacts I want with the likes of the early Omni (especially B series),
Argosy, 560 Corsair, etc. In fact, I find that I prefer the RX audio of an
analog rig. Maybe it's just psychological, but most if not all of the
synthesized/DSP rigs seem to have a harshness or "fuzz" to the audio that
the
analog rigs don't.
Just my $0.02 worth....
73, Al
On Wed January 26 2011 12:17:36 pm PaulKB8N@aol.com wrote:
> >From the time I was first I was licensed in 1960, I bought used gear.
>
> Finally, in 1980, I bought my first piece of new gear...a Ten-Tec Omni A,
> Series B. This radio would be my primary rig for the next 15+ years and
> would travel with me to three continents and provide me with well over
100K
> QSOs without a single failure. I parted with it in 1995, but always had
a
> warm spot in my heart for that simple, reliable radio.
>
> Its amazing how the mind can observe and record things without you
> consciously directing it to. At a swap meet last weekend, my eyes fell
> upon something on the other side of the room that I needed to see. As I
> got closer, I saw a stack of beat-up-looking Ten-Tec gear. It was
covered
> with a layer of dirt and grime. It took a little imagination to realize
> that it was an Omni A, Series B, matching remote VFO, 252 power supply
and
> remote digital display.
>
> It looked as though someone had stacked stuff on top of the Omni and put a
> large gash on the top of the case. The trim ring on the transceiver
looked
> corroded and unrecoverable. I started to walk away, but noticed that all
> the lettering on the panel looked good, as best I could tell. I spit on my
> finger tips and rubbed some of the grime off the tuning knob. The
expected
> scratches were not there suggesting that this radio may not have seen a
> lot of use. I did the same on the other knobs, and found the metal
inlays
> to be in very good shape.
>
> I noted that the dial cords were broken and the VFOs were both seized, but
> everything seemed unmolested, with the exception of the power cord, that
> was crudely cut about a foot from the connector. I made a ridiculous
> offer and was countered immediately with a "Sold!".
>
> I brought it home, set everything next to the kitchen and started
> cleaning. The more I cleaned, the more excited I got. This gear was in
> excellent shape. Front panels were perfect, the cases were much better
> than expected, the gash could be repaired, and the trim ring cleaned up
> perfectly with just a light application of Soft Scrub. Then I took off
the
> top
> cover......bonus!!!...a 217 CW filter! (it is worth more than half of
> what I paid for everything!)
>
> Now I'm in the quandary of whether I should try un-seizing the VFOs and
> repairing the dial cords. I'm sure there may be other issues, maybe it
> would be better to send the radio back to Ten-Tec (if the still even work
> on these). Any suggestions out there? I know there is information on
> line on doing these repairs and I still need a power cord to do any
> testing. Any comments or suggestions are appreciated.
>
> This is one of those good luck stories. This Omni A has serial number in
> the 600s, just like my original Omni did. I will keep you posted on my
> efforts to get it back on the air!
>
> Paul, K5AF
>
> This radio is probably as nice as any 30+ year old radio you'll find
>
> Paul and Karen Schaffenberger
>
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