Ten-Tec 526 VHF/UHF SSB FM Radio?

[K1ZJH]

Judging by the lack of VHF sideband and FM activity over the past
decades and the continuing decline, my guess would be a lack of
demand killed off the 526 as much as anything else. You can still
be an almost fully loaded used FT-736R for what the 526 cost.
Unfortunately the FT-73xRs are getting long in the tooth, and
some parts are impossible to find at any price, including the
CPUs and displays.
It would be nice to see some high-end VHF/UHF gear back on
the market, but is there a market? to support them?

Pete

[KB1GMX]

I hear that about 10M until lately, But I worked 55 countries the first 4 months of 2011 when everyone was telling me it was dead with no more than 40W and often 4W SSB and a wire.  May be because I was there operating on the presumption someone somewhere was there to talk to
made it easy.

VHF SSB 2m at least four nets a week not includig at least 3 I don't participate in.  But since i'm primarily a 6M user having both is what makes it for me or I'd be using the IC245 (2m all mode) I have that's 30+ years old.  In any case nets, local traffic on SSB and also the usual 2M FM activity the radio just works.  I also VHF/UHF contest so between the big contests and the single band sprints there enough to keep me busy.  Operational range at the 100W level around here is most of New England and NY often with a little propagation help NJ, PA, MD, VA.  With Es 38 countries and counting (the first 16 were at less than 10W and a 2 or 3 element beam).

The bottom line is for VHF (6/2m and UHF) you need a decent set of antennas, decent feed line and some height or you are just not there.  Without those you will form an opinion the bands are dead and unused because you can't hear them.  Granted they are and never will be as active as 40M or 20M.

In my case the 857/897 is not a desired radio. It's a jack of all trades and master of little same for TS2000.   I need a radio that can run off battery and not hog current doing that especially on RX and the others out there are not so good at that (exception is the FT817 but that thing is tiny).
That and I have no fondness for menus save for infrequently used features.

The other is I like to monitor 50.125, even if I'm on 75M.  I structured my radio stacks and antennas so I can be on no less than 7 bands (any 3 hf, 6M, 2M SSB, 2M FM, and 432/440) concurrently. The VHF is for contesting and nets but the HF is so I can just listen for interesting signals. 

I didn't buy at that time many of the older radios like 551D, 7xx series and the like as many were showing their age and having the IC245 taught me that while a good radio, it's maintenance intensive to keep going and if certain parts die they are unobtainium making the radio useless
for anything but parts.  That combined with those that had 6M never seem to go cheap.

It's all according to what your thing is.  Mine is VHF and most of the HF+ radios are 6M only and can at best hear one other band if they are dual receive.


Allison

[K1ZJH]

Activity on ten and six meters can be tied to E skip and the sunspot cycle. That is to be expected.

I've been on VHF since the early sixties.  Contest and general activity is definately a shadow of what
it was ten or twenty years ago.  FM repeater useage is probably 1/40th of what it was back the
late 70s.  At one time the local machines were active 24/7. Today you'd be lucky to hear one or two
QSOs on the same repeaters. Same for SSB. Many of the locals that kept six meters alive (k1zfe
and others) are now silent keys.

Pete K1ZJH

[N5RWJ]

Well Pete, is that because new Hams have no affordable 50m and above , all mode transceiver averrable for them to buy ?

[ONAIR]

Well Pete, is that because new Hams have no affordable 50m and above , all mode transceiver averrable for them to buy ?

How do you define "afforbable"?  You can get a Yaesu FT857D for around $800 new.  That is about what the Ten Tec 526 cost when it was out 10 years ago.  People didn't seem too interested in it, and I can see why.  You could get a HF/VHF/UHF rig that did 5 times more power on 6m, twice as much power on 2m, with 70cm  and HF thrown in, for the same price.

73s John AA5JG

  Maybe the Chinese will come out with an all mode VHF rig for around $300?  That could do a lot to spark interest.

[K1ZJH]

Well Pete, is that because new Hams have no affordable 50m and above , all mode transceiver averrable for them to buy ?

Our local hams were using FM rigs on simplex in contests during the 80s in great numbers. They got on the air, and worked
what they could.

Many contest stations had an FM station just to take advantage of the extra contacts that mode afforded.

If anything, rigs are cheaper today then they were twenty
or thirty years ago, inflation adjusted. I can remember when at least 30 members of our local FM repeater club would
get on the air for the major VHF contacts. The interest isn't there these days.

It probably makes a lot more sense to buy a HF rig with UHF/VHF coverage, if money is the issue. I paid 300 for
a non-working FT-736R that was fully loaded, and nursed it back to health. Now that I am retired, I hope to have
more time to get back into the VHF contests if only to generate some local noise.

Pete

[KB9TMP]

***What would you want in a new 526?
<SNIP>
Otherwise give me an Eagle with 2M added.

Allison

How about a 2m/1¼m/70cm version of the Eagle. Could you imagine them sitting side by side on your desk. 160m thru 70 cm put me on the waiting list!

73 KB9TMP
I wish I had my old 526 6n2 back, now that I'm older and wiser!!!

[N5RWJ]

I wish Tentec would come out with a new version of it?

[N5RWJ]

I wish Tentec would come out with a new version of it?

May be they will now the new QRP is built?