K9XN

Last week I received a used HF rig that I purchased off of eBay. The Ten-Tec Omni VI! I got the matching power supply/speaker and also a matching model 238 tuner that handles 2kW.

I have always wanted one of these rigs and found one for the right price. I am doing a bit of work to restore this old girl to greatness!

I added two white LED lamps for the meter since the incandescent bulbs in these things only last about 15 hours before they go out. I have had many inquiries about where these LED bulbs can be purchased. Here is a link to the supplier and specific bulb part number: http://www.bulbtown.com/LM1006MB_W_LED_MINIATURE_BULB_BA9S_BASE_p/lm1006mb-w.htm.

It does have the all the filters that I bought and installed as well.

Still on my to do list:

The speaker in the power supply rattles and this causes problems with audio. I plan on tightening things and seeing if I can end the rattle.

The 238 tuner has no power switch that will turn off the lights which is mucho annoying. I am going to retrofit a matching Omni VI power switch on this tuner to turn off the lights when not in use. Also the 238’s tuning indicator uses an old string method that is worn. I found replacement parts from Ten-Tec and am going to install the new tuner indicator string. Lastly I am going to replace the incandescent bulbs for the tuner lights with long lasting white LED lights. Check out the video I made in the last blog post that shows the upgraded white LEDs that I installed for the meter lamp lights on the Omni VI.

I have made many contacts using the Omni VI and other than the small stuff, everything works great. It’s a great rig for CW especially. I have heard good things about the Ten-Tec receive for SSB, but I find the 2.4kHz only filter a little to tight for broadly listening for SSB stations. I would like to have a 3.5kHz wide filter in this as well, but 2.4kHz is the top-end.

So, a little work to be done, but hey that’s the fun part right?

73s! de Nick N9SJA