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Reviews For: TenTec Model 1054 4-band regen receiver KIT

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : TenTec Model 1054 4-band regen receiver KIT
Reviews: 6MSRP: $24
Description:
TKit from TenTec...4 bands, $24!
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.tentec.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0064.3
KA4DQJ Rating: 2015-06-03
Simple in Construction Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I ordered mine with the nice, pricey oak cabinet which I finished in pure Tung Oil. The construction is simple; takes perhaps three hours in no rush. Looks nice!

Sensitivity and audio quality on an inexpensive and simple circuit is fine. The only problem I have is the throttle control... there is absolutely no spread in the regen control. Your either don't have enough regeneration, or you way too advanced. The regen pot is so touchy that once in a blue moon you'll actually land the regen pot where it's supposed to be!

There is a mini PCB-pot on the board which is supposed to spread out the regen range, but it has little effect.

Still, for the low price the little kit is fun and educating to build. You might want to hold off on the cabinet - which costs double that of the kit - until you are satisfied that you'll be using the radio. :)
KU4UV Rating: 2012-06-22
Fun and educational kit Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I ordered one of these kits late last year from Ten-Tec. The kit went together in about 2.5-3 hours of building, and was really pretty easy to assemble. The only tools required other than the basic soldering iron and wire cutters is a second receiver which helps to properly align the kit. This is really just your basic regenerative receiver kit, nothing fancy, but it works. I wanted something simple to build that I could use for tuning in WWV and some of the more powerul shortwave broadcasters, and this kits does both nicely. I added an external speaker to the kit, and the audio is plenty loud. There is a warning in the instructions about only using stereo headphones with the jack that you solder onto the kit. Using a mono speaker or headset could damage the audio amp circuitry, as a previous reviewer mentioned. There is a space on the kit's board for soldering an external speaker, as well as LED for a power indicator. I use a long wire outside my apartment as an antenna, and the house electrical ground. This would be a good kit for anyone wanting to build a simple SWL regen receiver. This would make an excellent kit for Boy Scout groups or school electrical workshops. While the kit won't rival a $200 shortwave radio, it is a good receiver if you don't expect more than the kit was designed to do. The parts count on the kit is actually rather low, and the parts are easily available at Radio Shack or Mouser if you ever need to replace one. Overall a fun kit and a good reciever. I recommend this product to anyone wanting a fun and educational kit experience.
KG4NVV Rating: 2011-12-07
Nice Kit! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
My son and I just completed one of these the other night. It was my son's first experience at soldering so it was great when the unit worked on the very first try after power up. The regen works great on this little receiver and we picked up Radio Bulgaria, Radio Havana, Voice of Russia and many others that evening with only 10 feet or so of antenna length. Sensitivity is very good and not all that much worse than my ICOM 7200, although selectivity is nowhere near it, but what do you expect from a $39 kit? While it is more expensive than it used to be, this is a great way to introduce a son or daughter to electronics. Highly recommended and much better performance than a crystal set.
K6WHP Rating: 2006-11-27
Great instructional aid as well Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The great Paul Harden, NA5N, once said, in effect, that a regen receiver is a whole electronics course in one circuit. As with the other two reviews, I should add my vote for this being a quality kit and value. Oh, to be sure, you can scrounge the materials and it would have been nice if TenTec had included the *whole* case and knobs, but that's not the point. If you have a young one who wants to learn about radio, this is a good education!

It should be noted that TenTec offers five of these beauties and a special teacher's manual for about $125 (or so it was when I last looked). Nonetheless, if you have a Boy Scout troop or a ham club you want to get into kit building and the "innards" of electronics and RF, this might be just the ticket..

..usual disclaimer: no affiliation; just a satisfied customer.
KC0GGA Rating: 2001-06-13
Top quality kit! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
A day under the iron and this quality kit from Ten-Tec will amaze you. It has plenty of audio, if not too much, easy instructions and great sensitivity. Runs on two 9 volt batteries. It doesn't have for the obvious... bells and whistles that most seem to want.

For the money however it is hard to beat and would make a great gift for young and old alike. Performance is good and with a long wire will empress more expensive receivers. There is however a gripe or two.

Audio is way too hot. Instructions should make it clear that a stereo plug is required and that a mono plug connected to the audio jack will "cook" a resistor as it did with mine [grounding issue]. Aligning is difficult for those not familiar with regen kits.

I would recommend this as a starter kit and receiver to see if you really like SWL before moving up to something more expensive. It would also make a great field day demo/promotion rig.
K7FD Rating: 2001-02-22
$24 never sounded so good! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Wow...two nights of easy building and I have a 4-band shortwave receiver -- for only $24! And it receives AM, SSB, and CW! I'm having a blast hearing my favorite SW stations (DW, HCJB, V of Korea, etc) on a radio I built! The receiver uses a regen circuit that really brings 'em in...of course, there's a lil' bit of putzing with the rig regen control. But that's half the fun! I'm in the 9.5MHz band right now and the radio is FILLED with stations using my 70 foot long wire. This is an amazing FUN radio...a great learning tool or a trip down memory lane w/ a regen receiver w/ a modern twist (solid state components). Building it was very easy and the instructions very well written. Everything went together in a snap and worked the first time. I'm in the process of putting it in a custom case...and adding an ON/OFF bright red LED for added fun. The silk screen front panel that comes w/ the kit is really nice...I posted a few pics of my kit at: http://www.teleport.com/~cqdx/swl-kit.htm for those interested. If you're looking for a real blast, a very mild kit building experience, and a receiver that's more than easy on the pocketbook, try the TenTec Model 1054. You won't be disappointed!