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You can
write your own review of the Ten Tec Triton IV (540).
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K3ZXY
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 15, 2005 05:09
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A classic and fun radio!
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I bought a Triton 540 new in 1977 and loved it. Then, a few years later, life changes made me drop out of ham radio and sell everything. During vacation in 2004 I was smitten to return to ham radio. I practiced the code, passed my extra and found a 540 for sale on the Internet. The old classic looked like new but the band switch had not moved for years, the PTO lube had gummed up and the pulleys for the string dial had bound up. I got the dial working fine but decided to send the rig to Ten-Tec for a renewal. It came back just like new and works wonderfully. I have done two things to bring this classic into the new millennium. The incandescent lamps have that “old” yellow look so I replaced them all with white LED’s. It gives the radio a whole new look. Although the internal CW filter is quite good, this radio really benefits from the addition of the SCAF-1 filter from Idiom Press. This radio is definitely a 5 in performance and fun!
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W2RBA
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 18, 2003 23:39
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A Classic!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I picked up a used Triton IV some time ago and it worked ok though it had been heavily slimed by a smoker (yuck)...but it reminded me of the first rig I used (had my license for some 13 years at the time) at the club station of W4UVA (UVa -- University of Virginia) in 1977, and it was a great feeling. So good was it, in fact, that I recently acquired a second 540/Triton IV which is in pretty good shape -- full output on all bands, good SSB and CW receive AND transmit, and is even pretty good cosmetically. This radio was an eye-opener for me: I had only just heard of Ten-Tec and admired their Argonaut 509 but wasn't aware that they were selling a serious radio as well. Well, the Triton IV was a fantastic introduction: quiet on receive (though plenty sensitive) and a spare yet functional panel with plenty of room for fat fingers around knobs. The only down side is the AF-derived AGC which pops (not as badly as the Argonaut or Argosy does) when tuning across a strong signal. This classic, though, is truly a keeper.
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KF3EG
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 11, 2003 22:40
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outstanding
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I bought the Ten Tec 540 for my son, married with kids and I figured I would get him something to get him back on the air.
I found the rig at a fair price with the 262g power supply, well I got it home and it lit up, found the switch next to the so239 on back was bad, so I replaced it. I ran the rig to make sure it was ok and used it for about 2 weeks, I was amazed at the reports I received and the receive on this old rig is great. I worked France first contact on 75 meter with just the rig.
I kept the 540 here and sent my son the Yaesu FT 920 I had that I hated from day one.
After 39 years of being a ham on and off, I finally got a RADIO I enjoy so much that I just bought the Orion, Should have bought Ten Tec years ago and my hamming would not have been on and off. Ten Tec works on their old rigs , not like the Yaesu or Kenwood who leave you in the dark after a time with no parts or service on older radio's.
Ten Tec is American and I was in their plant last year and they all speak english ! and want to help you !
My hats off to Ten Tec
My pants down to Japan (the royal Moon)
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KA2IWR
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Rating: 4/5
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Aug 18, 2003 01:49
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Good rig!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I suppose if this was 1980 I would have to give this radio a 5 but, as I've only owned it one day, a 5 would be premature. I picked this radio up at a hamfest today and now, after listening to it for about 4 hours, am very pleased with it. I don't like the analog dial but then again, its a basic rig with few bells and whistles. Which I have never used on any radio. For the price I paid for it, around $150.00 I can't imagine anything better. The receiver is quite nice and though the rig tends to drift a bit, after a while, it does stabilize....mostly. But then again, the last radio I bought was an older Heathkit tube radio and I sometimes feel like I should attach a steering wheel to the VFO to keep it on frequency.
I was also lucky to get the radio with the extra 10 meter crystals and the cw filters installed.
All in all, I have no qualms about paying the low amount of money for what appears to be a nice, basic radio with Ten-Tec willing to stand behind their products.
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K8DE
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Rating: 4/5
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Jun 18, 2002 14:46
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Simple and Pleasant
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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My memories of this radio are mostly pleasant. The mechanics looked a bit cheezy, but the radio really worked well. This was in many ways the radio that made CW function quality a goal again. Very pleasant on CW, great QSK, no thumping, nothing missed between characters. It was OK on ssb too, but that wasn't where it starred.
Also a wonderfully easy radio to work on, supplemented by Ten Tec's *enlightened* warranty policy. They didn't smack you upside your head if you opened the box -- it didn't terminate a warranty. If you couldn't fix it, or didn't want to, a phone call to a serviceman would identify the problem board, and 9 times out of 10, they would UPS one to you right then, you'd plug in the new one when it arrived and send the old back to them and you were usually fine.
Huh. What a concept, eh?
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N5XM
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 2, 2002 10:28
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Can you spell fun?
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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What a fun radio! I don't care that it is pushing 30 years old. For what it is, and how well it works without any of the "can't do without" modern bells and whistles, I am forced to give it a "5". It is a little quirky at times, yes, and I don't feel right pushing it very hard even if the folks in Tennessee went through it last year, but darnit, it's as much fun to use as my Corsair II, my Omni VI+, my Century 21 ( do you see a trend here? ), and on days when I'm in the mood, I'll use it instead of my FT-1000 MP. Notice I didn't say it outperformed any of these other rigs, but it has a "Fun Factor" equal to any of them, and that, boys and girls, is what this whole hobby is supposed to be about. Now, my next problem is to decied which Ten Tec radio to rescue from the scrap heap of time next, hi.
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ZIPPO
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Rating: 5/5
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May 11, 2001 13:49
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Super Radio
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I could have spent much more on a fancy new radio, but why bother when I frequently bust pileups before operators with radios costing 10 times more than mine! I get great audio and signal reports, the radio has superb QSK, and it's easy to set up for digital operation. Also, Ten Tec did an incredible job bringing this rig back to life(I got it used, and in sad shape). It's like I just bought it new off the shelf.
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KO6Z
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Rating: 4/5
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Mar 23, 2001 16:06
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Good Rig Overall - Great receiver
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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Compared to today's radios this one is very basic, which also translates to simple to use (that's good). And, what it does it does very well. In 32 years as a ham and more HF rigs of all brands than I can remember, this one has the best receiver of them all. I expect to use it for quite awhile even if it is 20 plus years old.
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KG2NP
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Rating: 4/5
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Feb 19, 2001 17:40
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Still an amazing performer
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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After 25 years as a Technician, I decided to venture into HF and upgrade. I bought the Triton for $200 planning to use it to develop my code speed in the Novice bands. Instead I used it on 10 meter SSB, and practiced code on my computer. After upgrading to General, Advanced, and Extra, the mighty Triton is still going strong. It made one $40 trip to Sevierville to replace an IC. The folks at Ten Tech were cordial, and I was delighted that they would still service the old relic.
The only drawback is the analog readout. It's easy to get used to, but the slide rule dial pointer sometimes gets stuck at the low end of the dial. It's not annoying enough to attempt a restringing job, however.
If you want to try HF on the cheap, this is a great rig. It's got a sensitive receiver, great QSK, excellent audio, and is very easy to operate. No WARC bands, though!
Ten Tec did an amazing job with 70's technology. I still use it.
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WD0EVX
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Rating: 4/5
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Oct 16, 2000 22:12
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Still a good starter rig.
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I first used the Triton IV back in 1977 when I was first licensed. It was my first HF rig, and I liked it enough to buy another one used in 1999. By today's standards, the venerable Triton IV probably leaves a lot to be desired, but it's a dependable, reliable basic HF rig that you can even today service yourself easily or send back to the factory for any required maintenance (they're still happy to fix them for you). With Ten-Tec's legendary QSK and great receiver performance, among other things, this rig makes a good CW machine. But I've operated plenty of SSB, and even digital modes with it. (It does tend to drift very slightly, making it ill suited for long PSK ragchews, but otherwise it does fine on digital modes.) Even with its ordinary 100 watt output, I've worked my share of DX with it, and often get good positive remarks about audio quality and signal. Look for units with the noise blanker, CW filter, and all the 10m crystals installed. For about $300, you can get one with the matching power supply, and provided you aren't looking for cutting-edge capabilities like DSP, you'll be pleased to own one. I know I am (though mine was recently relegated to back-up and occasional use service).
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