Down the Rabbit Hole
By now, I’ve written about quite a few classic Ten Tec radios. There are those who would argue that the Argonaut, first introduced in 1972, started it all though. It was the first recognizably Ten Tec product and would set the style for decades to come. It was also the first popular QRP transceiver that included both CW and SSB modes.
After getting the serial port sorted out on the Omni VI Plus (Omni VI), it was time to get FT8 running. In this post, I describe two methods. One uses a Tigertronics SignaLink USB sound card with a FTDI-based USB to serial adapter. The other is based on a MicroHam MicroKeyer and a Sabrent USB audio adapter.
Using several 20-foot 2 by 4’s that were left behind by the construction crew, and adding four 8-foot 4 by 4’s for mounting posts, there was enough lumber to build two 36-foot tilt-up masts. Spaced 150-feet apart, they supported a multi-band Zepp antenna center-fed with open-wire line.
This site contains affiliate links. Please read Disclaimer for more information. The Ten Tec Omni VI+ and CAT Control In an earlier post, I described…
In late 2020, I bought a Ten Tec Omn VI+ transceiver (model 564). It was a big step for me since most Ten Tec equipment I had purchased before was older and pretty inexpensive. The Omni VI+ represented a step up both in performance and cost. Released in 1997 with an MRSP of $2850, It was Ten Tec’s flagship at the time.
Lately, I’ve been restoring a Dynaco ST 150 stereo amplifier. As my collection of classic vinyl recordings grows, I’ve assembled the ultimate 1970’s playback system. Coming of age in the mid-70’s, I coveted the then-new high-power solid state amplifiers.
Lest you think I’m completely old-school or only work on old Ten Tec gear, I decided it was finally time to get on top of a digital mode like WSJT-X. I’ve dabbled a few times over the last few years, and even had a pretty complete Ham Radio Deluxe (HRD) installation working.
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.
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.
I purchased a Ten Tec Omni Series C transceiver about a year ago for my collection. At the time, I was in the middle of several other projects, and didn’t get to it until just recently. I had been using an Omni D, but it still needs work and I thought the “C” would be a nice upgrade.