Hi Rick, and the group,
Your comments on the Eagle are good, and are along the lines I was
thinking for a future FD rig.
I am glad your views of the European Field Day are in line with our
local experience. Yes, FD is the one radio event where we get families
to at least visit the FD site to socialize at the evening meal.
As to comparing Ten Tec rigs to other brands, we find that at Field Day,
you have the more challenging application of rigs close together.
It gives you a chance to see how they compare in handling close in
signals, or in pulling in those distant stations for extra points.
In my application of Search and Pounce, I tune the bands, taking the
strongest layer of signals first; then repeat with the next layer down,
and so on. If you can hear 3 layers down, you have a selective and
sensitive radio on the busy FD.
The Ten Tec receivers manage the crunch of signals, both local close in
TX and crowded bands very well. This year we had one other rig that did
well in the strong signal environment the K3. But, it seemed to have
problems staying tuned to the doublet being used for it. It was a 30m
doublet being used on 15m, probably a worst case of matching for the
built in tuner. Why the station captain there did that is a mystery;
but I guess it was already built and maybe had slight gain on 15m.
I missed having a Scout this year, for its variable Jones filter and its
ease of running low power for the bonus contacts under Natural power.
But, it was a year of deciding to use the club radios which were located
next to the Field Day location, and were a shorter distance to move,
than bringing a lot of equipment from home.
-Stuart Rohre
K5KVH
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