| KB9NGX |
Rating:  |
2023-02-10 | |
| Low price in rewarding Operators' engagement |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Years after its sale to a Ham friend, I've enjoyable memories of having operated a Tempo One. That Rig's Receiver produced voices in a authentic, relaxed way. And SSB transmit, equally "smooth," a comment by receiving Stations.
Dismissing editorials, I find Reviews of this Rig (operating) confirming; my enjoyment of it being quite mainstream. Any immediate lack that I've witnessed while operating this Rig, seemed only the 'inconvenience', resulting from its contrast with Solid State architecture.
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| KB0TTL |
Rating: |
2023-02-08 | |
| First HF rig I picked up at a Hamfest years ago |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| This was the first HF rig I owned. I picked it up at a Hamfest when I was a teenager back in the 1990's. I had just gotten my no code Technician ticket and wanted something inexpensive to listen in on the HF bands. At the time, I wasn't made of money and the $100 price tag grabbed me. The rig was no disappointment and provided several hours of enjoyment receiving QSO's and listening to troublemakers on 3840. 10m was pretty dead at the time, so I didn't get the chance to make any contacts on it. I sold the rig while in college as the VFO was no longer able to be properly aligned and I lacked the patience to completely reassemble the rig. A few years later when I had some more space (and had completed my tech degree), I picked up yet another Tempo One at yet another Hamfest for a similar price. Again, I did some listening around on it and it sat on a shelf for over a decade until I managed to upgrade to my General ticket during the COVID outbreak. I was greatly impressed at how the rig sprang back to life after some minor cleaning and maintenance after all those years, and I have made several excellent QSO's on this rig. It sits operational in my HAM shack today and is used as a backup rig. Compared to modern rigs that I own, I am impressed with the audio quality, the durability, and the signal reports I receive when I use it. The simplicity of operation as well as the cool nostalgic feel of the rig makes these well worth picking up if and when you can still find them. Not bad at all for a rig that is almost 50 years old. I was able to pick up a complete parts rig at a recent Hamfest for next to nothing, and I now have the parts to keep mine running for likely another 50 years. I might also note that despite using sweep tubes, the finals on the Tempo One are much more forgiving than the finals on some of the other rigs of its era. These radios used to be plentiful on Hamfest tables but supplies are drying up quick. These days, they are pretty difficult to find. At the Dayton Hamvention this last year, I did not see a single one available! |
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| HB9DDS |
Rating: |
2022-11-20 | |
| Still flawless after 50 years |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Let's put it this way: This TRX still receives the same as a state-of-the-art TRX. It just doesn't have as many gimmicks. But do you really need them to make QSO's? No. So you get a lot of TRX for the money. |
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| K9MHZ |
Rating: |
2022-01-05 | |
| It's an OK novelty radio |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
The Tempo One was offered for sale by Henry Radio primarily during the 1970s. It had 4 positions for the 10 meter band, only one of which included a crystal to operate on a 500 KHz segment of the band. The other three were intentionally left open for CBers to drop in their "funny crystals", and the rig was then easily tuned to operate anywhere on the 11 meter band. Tempo One radios flew off of the shelves at local CB shops, and funny crystals were sold right along with each new radio.
This is not an impressive radio. The AM and CW modes are so bad that they're almost unusable. The sweep tube finals generated a lot of heat, and no cooling fans were included in the design. It just sat there and cooked. Two critical silver mica caps between the driver and final amplifier stages were undersized, and when they pop, your final amp tubes go into full, uncontrolled conduction and fry. The tuning dial, of course mechanical from that era, is very sloppy and the backlash varied quite a bit from one radio to the next, depending upon the build quality of the individual rig. The power supply wiring was a joke, and the wire sizing was minuscule given the currents involved. The power transformer ON/OFF switching was placed on the "backside" or "exit side" of the AC input, which was bizarre and downright dangerous under certain failure conditions.
But it is what it is/was.....a purpose-built radio for that CB enthusiast, or at best the Novice to General class transitioning amateur. It was never top-end gear, and it's lightly built inside (definitely NOT "rugged" as someone earlier described it). If you're bent on getting one, look around for a clean one. DEFINITELY replace C40 and C55, and also the power supply AC cord with a modern 3-pronged cord, and change the ON/OFF switched line to the new hot (black) side as it enters the power supply/radio. Also make sure you have a sufficient earth ground attached, as the power supply has a fair amount of bypassing to chassis ground with ceramic caps, and you'll know it immediately if you happen to get between the chassis and some other grounded metal in your shack.
In summary, just avoid this radio. If you want some nostalgia and have some maintenance savvy of old-school rigs and want to dig into a rig with a soldering iron, then knock yourself out. But, if you're new to the hobby and looking for a starter rig....AVOID. Find a modern solid state rig from one of the big 3.
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| NN2X |
Rating: |
2017-11-05 | |
| My First Ham Radio |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
My first real Ham Transceiver. Worked well, had many QSOs over my modest set up with the usual dipoles. During that time the 15 meters band was open, and I had fun with CW mode and of course SSB..
Of course these Transceivers can't compete with the RX side in today's SDR...But for their time, in the early 1970's all good!
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| KF5OAS |
Rating: |
2016-02-26 | |
| 5/5--The Iron lady |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I have owned 3 Tempo one's. I still have the last #2 radios. All have been the fully black cabinet. It was the first radio I ever owned back in 1984 and it is the radio that opened up this whole hobby for me. I love the old girl. There are of course, prettier newer faces at the dance, and I have a few in my harem...but the old Reliable Tempo One has my heart, and always will. Very solid radio...no frills.....I bought my third radio with the intention of starting my teenage son out with the same radio I started out with so many years ago. He is starting to show some interest in the Ham Radio hobby, so I have my fingers crossed. I already showed him the Tempo One I have for him, but I told him he cant have it till he passes his Technician test. The smell of warming tubes, the soft glow of the incandesence ...the velvet touch of the knobs and switches....the memories of the great Mystery of Amateur radio, kindled inside my chest so many years ago by this Iron lady and myself.....I will always have her by my side...and I will may stray from time to time...seduced by the chrome and gleam of others..but i will always come back to her. The Tempo One. |
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| N2HUN |
Rating: |
2014-11-11 | |
| Great old tube rig |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Well I just got my third Tempo One from Ebay and now am in the process of aligning it. Interestingly, with the exception of 10m (this particluar one was modified for 11m - heaven forbid!) it was pretty much in alignment. Most of the trimmer caps still had the original white marker paint on 'em and in their original positions.
Am awaiting a crystal for 42.5 MHz to get it back on 10m. In the meantime have used it on CW and darn if it doesn't make me happy every time I sit down at night and watch the glow and smell the smells of heated tubes!
As for receive, some of the receive coils had to be adjusted slightly(after carefully removing the coil wax, remember that?) and the receiver is now as good as any radio I have owned. The fact that it does not have 160m - not a problem. Puts out about 100 watts on most bands, a little less on others, but that is more than enough power.
Okay so it does not have any selectable filters but not a problem, I like 'em wide open - no tunnel sounding filters for me.
Mine must have been owned by a former smoker so out came the Q tips to rub off smoke residue. Cleaned off all the switches, even though they worked well just to be thorough.
This rig also came with a nice outboard frequency display that plugs into the accessory socket.
Tempos had no cooling fans but the chassis and case are pretty ventilated. Will add a $3.99 cooling fan from Staples anyway, just to cool the finals.
Well I like this rig as much as the original one I had back in '77 and I vow not to sell this 3rd Tempo!!!!!!!!!!
Why I sold the previous two? I guess it was a matter of seeing if the grass was greener on the other side, but in the end I keep coming back to my old black-cabineted Henry Radio Tempo.
Maybe my giving it a 5 rating has mostly come from the heart and not the head but it's just a great, no frills workhorse that appeals to me.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by N2HUN on 2003-02-20
My first rig after passing my General exam was the Tempo One, purchased new from Barry Electronics in NYC, around 1977. Interestingly, the rig at first would not transmit, and after opening the cabinet, I found the final was out of the socket and the pins were bent. After straightening the pins and reinsertng the final, the rig worked fine, and I had it for about 10 years with no problems whatsoever. I was on a low budget at the time and the Tempo was a no-frills rig, and one of the least expensive at the time ($498 with P.S.). I had many a wonderful SSB and CW QSO with that radio. Interestingly, it had no cooling fan, the cabinet being so full of vent holes that none was needed. It had about 16 tubes, a lot more than the state of the art rigs of that time. I sold the Tempo in 1987, and of course, in later years I regretted it. Whate ever possessed me to sell!
Anyway, in 1998, in a fit of nostalgia, and after much searching, I purchased a used mint Tempo One, with P.S. and VFO in mint condition, along with the original boxes! And from the original owner! It was as much fun as the first time I purchased my original Tempo. And guess what? Again, it did not transmit - this time due to one of the caps in the hi-voltage cage disconnecting due to a bad solder joint. Anyway, since then I have used it for CW mostly (SSB modulation drops after a while - this rig has some quirks). For me, it has a lot of nostalgic value and I wouldn't sell it for the world. Of course I am a boatanchor lover, so my opinion is very biased.
I hope my Tempo One outlasts me! 73's. |
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| WB7QXU |
Rating: |
2013-12-17 | |
| Good rig |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I give it a 5 for the time period it was built. I own 2 one black and white. Both work well and receive well. I get about 180w or so out. Great audio and it seems to be quite stable after a nice 30m warm up typical for tube rigs. It is a Yaesu FT-200 or Summerkamp in Europe. During the beginning of the 70s it was well priced and affordable. Henry sold them and They worked well. Not as nice as my Drakes, Swan or Heathkits. But still base rig that gave exceptional performance. Nice printed circuit boards with tubes but overall I have worked lots of dx with mine over the years and they are fun to use. |
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| KB8QEU |
Rating: |
2013-12-17 | |
| A great Radio!!! |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I was given a Henry Tempo One last CHRISTmas by KG8JG. Since then I've used it every day.
I've read the other reviews and found them much different than what I experience.
After an hour of warm-up, it is stable like a rock!
I've made contacts all over the world and all stated that the audio were warm and full, not tinty at all.
I have other rigs and none works as great as the Henry. They are a Collins, Central Electronics, Swan, Kenwood and a new Icom 720A.
In case you are wondering, I use a fan Di-pole with it's lobes at an east-west orientation. Located at 38' AGL it does very well!
However, I don't have all the crystals for ten meters.... just A and D. I need B and C to have the full ten, but I doubt I get'em.
Oh well, for ten, I use a ranger 2950 and still cover the world on my fan di-pole on just 25 watts! :D
OH! BTW, it has a Sure EM26A mic labeled General Electric.
Seven Three and Keep Hamming it UP! |
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| KE4ZHN |
Rating: |
2013-03-21 | |
| Not so good |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I had one years ago. The receiver on mine was deaf as a rock. The vfo was drifty. You couldnt work an entire band without having to recalibrate the vfo dial or it wouldnt track what frequency you were actually on. This is why many of these had an optional digital display added as the dial was nearly useless unless you constantly checked its calibration. No notch filter. Not much in the way of selectivity either. The pa is sweep tubes which in my opinion suck for an HF rig pa. Real tube transceivers use 6146's or other purpose built transmitting tubes, not crappy TV parts. They were never intended to be used as such and they were just a cheap way for Yaesu to build the rig. Any time you see short cuts taken like that it makes you wonder what other design short cuts the rig has. They didnt even provide a cooling fan for the tubes which were already marginal for the task. Elcheapo. Their later cousin the FT101 series wasnt much better. Even these offered the fan as an option. How silly can you get? These are fine for nostalgia buffs or CB pirates, but to use one of these on the ham bands...good luck. Especially when it comes time to find sweep tubes which havent been made in over 30 years...and the ones out there have all been "CB'ed" to death. A mediocre rig at best. |
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