How to Upgrade the Ten Tec Omni C with the K3JLS DDS VFO

photo of The Ten Tec 5464C CW Station

I was having a lot of fun with the restored Ten Tec Omni (series C), but like all of the older Ten Tec radios, the Permeability Tuned Oscillator (PTO), aka VFO,  left a little to be desired. Back in the day, when I bought my first Ten Tec, these PTOs were considered very good — but time marches on and we’ve gotten used to smoother and more stable VFOs.  An upgrade would be nice.

Restoring A Ten Tec Omni Series Transceiver – Part 2

photo of the Ten Tec Omni "C" in use

In part one of this restoration, we tackled the Ten Tec Omni C’s two most glaring problems: garbled signals on receive and blowing fuses when the radio was switched to the 30-Meter band. I could now receive and transmit signals in almost all the band switch positions, albeit with varying sensitivity and power output. It had been quite a chase so far, and the remaining repairs would prove equally challenging.

How to Build a Great CW Filter for the Ten Tec Triton IV

photo of the CW Filter Assembled and Tested

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I owned a Ten Tec Triton IV (model 544) in the late 70’s and always loved it. I traded the radio a few years later for an ICOM 720a (also a great radio), but always regretted losing the Triton. Fast forward about 40 years, and the gift of an old Triton II reminded of that first love. The Triton II is similar, but the IV had several refinements that made it really great at the time, and I decided to get one again.

Epic Restoration of a Ten Tec Triton IV – Part 2

Top view of the Ten Tec Triton IV

In the last post, I described a used Ten Tec Triton IV and addressed the most immediate issues. I also mentioned making a cosmetic restoration, but after using it in the shack for an evening, it was apparent there were other problems. The “Offset Tuning” (OT) LED didn’t work, and more seriously, the transceiver didn’t always mute in transmit. Strange sounds issued from the speaker at times.

Epic Restoration of a Ten Tec Triton IV – part 1

photo of the Ten Tec Triton IV powered for the first time

eBay has provided a lot of entertainment (and used equipment!) over the last few months, and after the purchase and restoration of a Ten Tec Century 21, I started looking for a Triton IV. This was the first radio I purchased new in 1978. I really enjoyed it and wanted to own one again. It didn’t take long. I ended up having two in the shop at almost the same time — one for my shack, and one for a fellow ham.

How to Modernize a Classic Ten Tec 670 Keyer

photo of the Perspective view of finished project

Over the years, Ten Tec has released a surprising number of CW (continuous wave or Morse Code) Keyers for Amateur Radio use. There have been two basic designs, single paddle and double or imabic paddle models.  Released in about 1975, the Model 670 is a single paddle version, intended for use with the Century 21 CW transceiver.