View Full Version : Just joined the TenTec ranks!
Loaded, exceptionally clean Paragon II in the fleamarket.
What's a good price for one, folks?
KG4CGC
05-18-2012, 08:57 AM
Where's Ron?
Where's Ron?
We can't find him...
WØTKX
05-18-2012, 09:38 AM
Kind of a guess, but 600 for a functional "beater" to 800+ for one that is "loaded" and very clean.
Known to be a bit noiser than some Ten Tec rigs, has some basic data comms IIRC.
Picked this one up for $725. Got it back to car; went back to the venue...and found a super clean 961 PSU (in need of a primary voltage selector switch) for $60. There's a nice Centurion amp at the same table for $750...
WØTKX
05-18-2012, 10:31 AM
Ooooooo, me likey that ampy...
KG4CGC
05-18-2012, 11:25 AM
Congratulations are in order. Your ears will thank you.
WØTKX
05-18-2012, 11:40 AM
I take it it had all the filters in it?
Hook it up to a decent external speaker and smile...
Correction: Was a Hercules II amp. If it doesn't sell by tomorrow I may have a buddy front me the cash.
suddenseer
05-18-2012, 01:36 PM
I need a spare set of toaster pick ups for my 4001 Ricky. Keep your eyes peeled.
WØTKX
05-18-2012, 01:39 PM
Correction: Was a Hercules II amp. If it doesn't sell by tomorrow I may have a buddy front me the cash.
Oh shit, even better. Those are cool.
Beware the PA transistors in that amp....100% unobtainium. You'll love the QSK, though.
Beware the PA transistors in that amp....100% unobtainium. You'll love the QSK, though.
Reckon I ought to couple it to a THL 2.5fx and auto ATU combo instead?
suddenseer
05-18-2012, 10:28 PM
Go to bed Fred. You looked very tired when I left. When i got to the eatery, I asked the hostess to seat me with the ham operator with the beautiful wife. She took me right to their table. True story.
Reckon I ought to couple it to a THL 2.5fx and auto ATU combo instead?
I'd look for a good Centurion or Titan amp. Centurion is 2x 3-500Z, Titan is 2x 3CX800. Either is flawless QSK with both the Paragon or Omni-6, and if the right year model will match the finish.
w2amr
05-19-2012, 04:01 AM
Picked this one up for $725. Got it back to car; went back to the venue...and found a super clean 961 PSU (in need of a primary voltage selector switch) for $60. Nice find.
With a little help from 'DSG, I just snagged the amp for the same price as the rig. Just need a 100A, 12V PSU and the matching autotuner...
The auto tuner shows every now and then on QTH....kinda spendy. I'd don't think I've ever seen the amp P/S there as a solo item.
KK4AMI
05-19-2012, 01:10 PM
Loaded, exceptionally clean Paragon II in the fleamarket.
What's a good price for one, folks?
Congrats! I love "Amurican" products. Actually, I get as much of a kick outta just staring at a Ten Tec in operation, as I do actually using it.
KG4NEL
05-19-2012, 03:07 PM
My first exposure to ham radio, and my first QSO, was on a TT Scout :)
Kind of thinking about picking up a Centaur, but I hear the fan on those is like an Airbus A380. Having 160 would be kinda cool, though, and that won't happen with a Collins 30L-1...
Decisions...
Where's Ron?Don't worry, they eventually found me.
I had $500 allocated for Dayton this year. $400 of it got invested in the car inspection. So it goes.
Beware the PA transistors in that amp....100% unobtainium. You'll love the QSK, though.
Nope. You're thinking of the original Hercules, aka Hercules 444. Those Motorola finals are indeed now unobtanium -- and that is why Ten-Tec changed the amp to the Herc II.
By the way... was this the one you bought, or did you buy another one? 5851
There were a few around, but I think this was the cleanest one I saw. Well, except for the price sticker.
Nope. You're thinking of the original Hercules, aka Hercules 444. Those Motorola finals are indeed now unobtanium -- and that is why Ten-Tec changed the amp to the Herc II.
By the way... was this the one you bought, or did you buy another one? 5851
There were a few around, but I think this was the cleanest one I saw. Well, except for the price sticker.
That is now sitting on my dining-room table, awaiting an inbound 9420. Considering the fact they're being listed for up to $1100 without the supply, I don't think I did bad.
Also have a 563/Opt3-961 combo inbound, just bought a 238 and have first right of refusal on a 253...which has a rub mark around the antenna selector switch. If it isn't too bad I am going to grab the unit. Later on I may get hold of another Herc II and possibly a Centurion...along with another 253. The CW spots are shaping up to be Ten-Tec.
I'm envious, but I simply don't have the spare shekels. If I had, YOU might never have seen that amp.
One day. Maybe next year.
And for the price, heck yeah, you did great. There was a lot of stuff in great condition that was overpriced... or in not so great condition that was overpriced. $400 for an HT-37? I'd love to have one again one day, but not for $400. (And it had the original transformer... if it had had the Harbach replacement, MAYBE, since that sold for $199. But the original? They haven't aged well, once they hit about 40 - 45 years old, they tend to smoke as the insulation breaks down)
I time-shift my money: There's a lot of Kenwood, Yaesu and a bit of Drake stuff going up for sale in the coming months. It's been fun to restore and fun to use but doesn't readily lend itself to a multiop layout. The Omni and Paragon might make up the SO2R spot, and the IC-751A/accessory ensembles will flank them for concurrent operations. Over on the other wall (in the proposed shack in our TBD digs) the Drake and Cubic gear -some of which is stored away - will make up the vintage/ragchewing ensemble and I'll probably spend most of my operating time with it.
KG4CGC
05-23-2012, 05:16 PM
Thread jack! Shelby will be held in Dallas NC again this year! Thank the Air Gods that they're not returning to that shithole in the town of Shelby!
The Hamfest Committee is hard at work organizing this year's event. This years Pre-Registration Prize is a Yaesu FT-8900 R Quad Band Mobile. The Main Prize for Saturday will be the Yaesu FT-950 HF rig and the main prize for Sunday will be the Flex-3000 HF-6meter Tranceiver. The hourly prizes will be Alinco DJ-V57T 2m/440 HT's. Remember you do not have to be present to win!
To order your tickets please go to http://www.shelbyhamfest.org/ you can pay securely through paypal or print off a form to mail in with an SASE and Check or Money Order. You can also find the latest information on the hamfest, hotels and other things.
Attached is the order form, if you wish to pay by check and send an SASE with your check.
73 and God Bless!
We look forward to seeing you at the 2012 Shelby Hamfest!
Nice prizes too!
Wish I could make it down, but there's life dynamics...again. :wall:
Fred, here's some light reading for you.
http://www.tentecwiki.org/doku.php?id=563 Pay attention to the bit about eliminating birdies, you'll find several.
You'll like Omni-6 opt 3, which makes it equivalent to the 6+. That's the rig I use (have 2 of them). The Inrad 600Hz roofing filter mod is great! Combined with the 961 supply is the way to do it, cuz if the PA starts pulling too much collector current the whole thing just trips off.
And Ron is correct, I had the wrong amp in my head.
After reading that page, I think most of my SSB/CW/RTTY operation will probably be done on the Omni. Packet and sound-card modes will go to the Paragon, the IC-751As or the synthesizer-equipped Drakes.
How often do the Voice boards come up for sale, and does one know of a source of documentation for them? I have an idea involving a DSP module for the P-II.
Thread jack! Shelby will be held in Dallas NC again this year! Thank the Air Gods that they're not returning to that shithole in the town of Shelby!
The Hamfest Committee is hard at work organizing this year's event. This years Pre-Registration Prize is a Yaesu FT-8900 R Quad Band Mobile. The Main Prize for Saturday will be the Yaesu FT-950 HF rig and the main prize for Sunday will be the Flex-3000 HF-6meter Tranceiver. The hourly prizes will be Alinco DJ-V57T 2m/440 HT's. Remember you do not have to be present to win!
To order your tickets please go to http://www.shelbyhamfest.org/ you can pay securely through paypal or print off a form to mail in with an SASE and Check or Money Order. You can also find the latest information on the hamfest, hotels and other things.
Attached is the order form, if you wish to pay by check and send an SASE with your check.
73 and God Bless!
We look forward to seeing you at the 2012 Shelby Hamfest!
Nice prizes too!
Dates? On edit: 1 & 2 Sept
And I'm curious as to how they're selling tickets via the web page. I wanted to see if we could start doing that for WASHFest, and K3AIR shot that down, saying that it wasn't currently legal to ship raffle tickets in the mail. Was the applicable laws changed, or did they find a loophole?
On edit: Ah, I see what they're doing. ADMISSION tickets are being sold on-line in advance, and that's perfectly legal. PRIZE tickets are, officially, not. Jmmm. IF they are one & the same, which is not stated on that page on the site (although there is an allusion to it), it could be sticky.
Now, if you go to the prizes page, there's another allusion.
I'm going to run this past Mike. Not trying to get them in hot water, just to see if we can do this for the future.
Also: For anyone thinking of going, there's a warning: Due to the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, NC, motel space is limited. This is followed by a suggested list of motels in Gastonia NC. Food for thought.
Don't know if I'll be able to go, but I think I can spring for a ticket. What the heck.
After reading that page, I think most of my SSB/CW/RTTY operation will probably be done on the Omni. Packet and sound-card modes will go to the Paragon, the IC-751As or the synthesizer-equipped Drakes.
How often do the Voice boards come up for sale, and does one know of a source of documentation for them? I have an idea involving a DSP module for the P-II.I couldn't tell you the last time I saw the voice board up for sale anywhere. My Omni came with it already installed. To be honest, I don't find it very useful... but a ham with sight difficulties definitely would.
How often do the Voice boards come up for sale, and does one know of a source of documentation for them? I have an idea involving a DSP module for the P-II.
I don't know that I've ever seen one for sale, but that's probably because I wasn't looking for one. Let me look in the Omni manual and see if they cover it there.
I couldn't tell you the last time I saw the voice board up for sale anywhere. My Omni came with it already installed. To be honest, I don't find it very useful... but a ham with sight difficulties definitely would.
If you ever want to lose the thing I'll buy it. Want to see what Ten-Tec did WRT I/O and board layout. I have some 'idears'...
Ron, Doug or any other Omni Vi/Paragon owner who happens across this: I'm in need of the schematic for the 257 Voice board. Neither Ten-Tec nor the other manual sites list information for the thing.
I'll check my Omni manual to see if one was put in there.
Have you tried asking Ten-Tec? John Henry has been very, very good at having his staff find things in the remote nooks & creases.
According to my Omni manual, the model 257 (voice board) has its own manual. It's not in the Omni manual, which I find strange because they have the FM board in there.
KB3LAZ
05-25-2012, 06:13 AM
Dates? On edit: 1 & 2 Sept
And I'm curious as to how they're selling tickets via the web page. I wanted to see if we could start doing that for WASHFest, and K3AIR shot that down, saying that it wasn't currently legal to ship raffle tickets in the mail. Was the applicable laws changed, or did they find a loophole?
On edit: Ah, I see what they're doing. ADMISSION tickets are being sold on-line in advance, and that's perfectly legal. PRIZE tickets are, officially, not. Jmmm. IF they are one & the same, which is not stated on that page on the site (although there is an allusion to it), it could be sticky.
Now, if you go to the prizes page, there's another allusion.
I'm going to run this past Mike. Not trying to get them in hot water, just to see if we can do this for the future.
Also: For anyone thinking of going, there's a warning: Due to the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, NC, motel space is limited. This is followed by a suggested list of motels in Gastonia NC. Food for thought.
Don't know if I'll be able to go, but I think I can spring for a ticket. What the heck.
Im buying two tickets even if I dont go. Pilar has both of her video interviews next week. It is the third interview, June will be the final. If she gets either job I will go. On job is in North Carolina and the other is in Kentucky. If that is the case we will be moved in by August.
W5IEI
05-25-2012, 07:08 AM
Will the board in an Omni V work in the Paragon ,or Omni VI ?
Will the board in an Omni V work in the Paragon ,or Omni VI ?It should, but there's a minor mod involving a diode that either needs clipped or put back in. If you check out the 257 entry in the Ten Tec Wiki, there's a full explanation there. Well, a clearer one at least.
Got the 961 supply fixed this evening. Ron, Doug and any other Ten-Tec owners who have a 961/962 or any other PSU which uses the now-unobtainable primary voltage selector switch: I found a source for a workable replacement. You'll need to trim the switch terminals just slightly and open up the holes on the selector board a bit but the mounting holes and slide line up exactly with the stock sheet metal cutouts.
PM me if you want info on these, and I would keep it to yourselves until your spares are firmly in hand. Don't know how many are left.
The EagleOmni has landed!
Minus the 1.8KHz 1st/2nd IF filters, but a quick perusal of QTH fixed that.
I like this radio...
KG4CGC
05-29-2012, 08:22 PM
What antenna are you running right now? I just got a 142' longwire in the air on the tuner.
What antenna are you running right now? I just got a 142' longwire in the air on the tuner.
At the moment the Paragon is hooked to a full-sized G5RV at 40ft...and the Omni has 6' worth of clip leads attached to the SO-239's center connection. Regardless, it's receiving WWV at 10MHz quite well. :lol:
KG4CGC
05-29-2012, 08:53 PM
At the moment the Paragon is hooked to a full-sized G5RV at 40ft...and the Omni has 6' worth of clip leads attached to the SO-239's center connection. Regardless, it's receiving WWV at 10MHz quite well. :lol:
You'll like the TTs. You won't go back to anything else when you finish your side by side comparisons.
You hear the signal, not the noise.
WØTKX
05-29-2012, 09:59 PM
Ten Tec, Kenwood, and Flex are my favorites for fatigue free listening.
If things go well, I will be moving to the foothills west of Denver.
A lot of room, lots of trees, no HOA crap.
The EagleOmni has landed!
Minus the 1.8KHz 1st/2nd IF filters, but a quick perusal of QTH fixed that.
I like this radio...
The Inrad filters have sharper skirts than the OEM's do, but the stock filters work OK. The Inrads are also pricier.
The Inrad filters have sharper skirts than the OEM's do, but the stock filters work OK. The Inrads are also pricier.
I got a 218 and a 288 for $75/ea, shipped. If they don't cut the mustard I may go the Inrad route.
I got a 218 and a 288 for $75/ea, shipped. If they don't cut the mustard I may go the Inrad route.
That's about the average price that I've seen. Another worthwhile mod is the Inrad audio mod. $10, and it makes a pretty big difference in how the received audio sounds. In stock form, it's pretty obvious that the Omni is tailored to CW.
Got off the phone with Paul at Ten-Tec a few minutes ago...NOS P-II display tube, plastic end caps, TCXO for the Omni VI and several other spares are headed this way.
I don't plan on getting rid of this stuff until it can't be fixed any more, and then I'll look around for another working example.
Got off the phone with Paul at Ten-Tec a few minutes ago...NOS P-II display tube, plastic end caps, TCXO for the Omni VI and several other spares are headed this way.
I don't plan on getting rid of this stuff until it can't be fixed any more, and then I'll look around for another working example.
What are they getting for the TCXO?
What are they getting for the TCXO?
$95.
He also put me onto a few unobtanium chips in the P-II's display circuitry. I got 3 each from an eBay seller as spares.
The TenTec Wiki link you posted earlier in the thread had details of a BFO stability fix involving ICM's precision (.005PPM) crystals. Two are inbound.
That receiver is worth the co$t of upgrading. Listening to 40M CW at the moment, after I swapped it into the lineup. It's quite the ham-bands-only radio.
My only gripe with either at this point is the lack of a sub-receiver but I guess I can manage with the R-71As.
Just bought a 253 and the 236 connecting cable. This one has a front panel that is worn around the antenna selector knob - blind ham owned it - and it'll probably need refinished. I don't want to repaint the entire panel...just get a color match to the OEM and blend the patch. Does anyone know of a good how-to on line anywhere?
KG4CGC
05-31-2012, 09:58 PM
Anyone on the air?
Anyone on the air?
Got a frequency in mind?
KG4CGC
05-31-2012, 10:04 PM
I'm goo on 160 -10 minus 60m.
Pick something on 40 or 75. I'll use the TR7 on the inverted vee tonight...
KG4CGC
05-31-2012, 10:09 PM
7.126
Must be a storm coming though. Far away I mean.
KC9ECI
05-31-2012, 10:15 PM
Just one TT in the shack here. Century 21. The 570. Fun to muck around with on a Sunday morning.
Just one TT in the shack here. Century 21. The 570. Fun to muck around with on a Sunday morning.
I made a lot of contacts on one of those in high school - had one in our electronics classroom.
KG4CGC
05-31-2012, 10:33 PM
Hydeho! Well, 40 was OK.
Want to give 3.768 a shot? Is that kosher for phone?
I know. I'm an Extra, I should know already.
Hydeho! Well, 40 was OK.
Want to give 3.768 a shot? Is that kosher for phone?
I know. I'm an Extra, I should know already.
I'm at 3650 at the moment. All is quiet...
KG4CGC
05-31-2012, 10:38 PM
Barely a peep. I think 75m is a bust.
KG4CGC
05-31-2012, 10:38 PM
I thought I heard a November.
I was there. Auto-tuner didn't have enough power to tune right; turned amp on and tripped protection circuit. Once that got sorted, tried calling you with 400w PEP. You didn't hear that? It is a bust.
Think 20M would work better?
KG4CGC
05-31-2012, 10:53 PM
I heard a November, once. I thought the storms were north west of me but I can see the clouds over my head now and the wind it turning the leaves on the trees. The condensation that had built up on my scooter seat an hour ago is bone dry from the wind.
We could give 14.136 a shot.
KG4CGC
05-31-2012, 11:07 PM
Nevermind. I'm going to call it a night. I don't even hear international BC on 20 right now.
Time to unhook the antennas and bring in the bike.
KG4CGC
06-01-2012, 10:41 AM
Thunder storms all day today. May clear up in the evening into tonight.
Same condx here. I'm going to put the Paragon back inline when I return home this evening.
The 9420 power supply arrived this afternoon. Wholly shit that thing is HEAVY!
And it's 220v to boot. I may need to rethink this shack wiring/plumbing angle a bit.
A second Paragon II should be inbound soon, and possibly another power supply. I think I'm going to set one of them up in the rightmost SO2R position, the Omni VI in the leftmost (CW) spot and leave the first Paragon II in 'DSG's multiplier spot. Each will have an R-71A slaved to it, and the Drakes will once again be placed in the storage/rework queue...awaiting DDS VFO installation.
This means that I now have two loaded TS-940SAT transceivers (all filters, IF-232 board and IF-232 external controller with each) possibly going up for sale. They're AC power only and I want to be able to run the shack in a 12v failover capacity. The Herc-II amp will let me do this at QRO levels while the Omni/P-II rigs provide approximately the same degree of functionality as the '940s.
It's one of those "hate to do it" things but I need the space.
Details to follow in the For Sale section, after the Ten-Tec stuff is online and the Kenwoods are checked out.
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