| N4AUD |
Rating:      |
2008-03-21 | |
| Fun kit, fun radio |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| Bought mine at the Ten-Tec hamfest, had a blast putting it together. One part was missing, no big deal, I emailed and I received it in a day or two. Like Mac said, watch the wires and the battery holder, cut them EXACTLY or it won't work. The band switch is funky sometimes, jumps over a band so you have to go around the Horn again to get the band you want. It's a hands-on radio, not one you are going to tune and then do something else. Regens are for active radio listeners. |
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| PYTHONGUY |
Rating:     |
2007-10-21 | |
| Simple kit assembled in 2 nights |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
After not picking up a soldering iron in 15 years or more I put this kit together in 2 nights, not including the week it took to replace a resistor I blew up when I hooked up the power backwards (3.3 ohm, Radio Shack around here does not have less than 10 ohm so I had to order it).
The only think i don't like is the fancy bandswitch button doodad versus say, a dead simple rotary switch. I may even replace the thing with a rotary switch as it can sometimes act flaky and jump a band or get "stuck" or jump two bands some of the time and work correctly most of the time.
None of the parts were hard to install. if you take your time and double check your work by the 4th or so stage you can do an "optional" test where you wire in a single band and try out the radio, well worth the time! Then take a break and finish it off in one shot. I was listening to radio Havana that night! |
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| W8ZNX |
Rating:     |
2007-02-02 | |
| remember its a autodyne, not a superhet |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
this is a regen/autodyne
not a superhet
don't expect it to be a superhet
read all the instructions and tec up dates
you will have no probs
worked fb right off the bat
no prob geting all bands to work
if you came up
as old time rock bound 75 watt novice op
using band set/loging scale bandspread
simple superhets
you will have no probs running this receiver
if you are a new age op
and have only run digital read out radios
this receiver will be a bit of a challenge
but once you get use to it
it't not bad
its a good example of a solid state autodyne
could have been less mechanical
too many nuts and bolts, sharp edge sheet metal
the band switching arangement
is nice when done, but extra work to build
more wiring work than most modern qrp kits
made in the last few years
cut the wires correct length
or the battery shelf will not fit inside
Drake 2-B it ain't, fun little receiver it is
Mac W8ZNX
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| SSN700 |
Rating:    |
2006-02-18 | |
| You Get What you pay for |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I do believe you get what you pay for. First, I thank Ten Tec for staying with the tradition in kit building, for my generation, it's appreciated. However, they are no heathkit.
As expected, one component was missing from the kit. A 103 mylar cap, no big deal, I left it out of the circuit for band 9, as band 9 will never recieve anyway in this kit.
Assembly is straight forward, but confusing at times. The manual needs big time clarification, the same for the 1254 kit as well. Fun unit to operate. I used mine for about an hour and threw it in the closet. There it will age gracefuly until I decide to sell it on e-bay or give it ti someone with patience, as it is a regen receiver.
Main tuning knob cumbersome to calibrate, band switch board mounts to front chasis sloppy, not precision fit as I am used to in other kits such as the Elecrat K2 and other.
But for the money, it should bring an old time tuning style to those that never knew what it was like before Digital tuning. |
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| KB3IPE |
Rating:     |
2004-09-12 | |
| better than i expected |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| While I found the manual a little skattered iin spots (perhaps it is just me), I did enjoy building this kit. It's sensitivity is pretty good, but that is what I was expecting from all I have read about 'gennies. I was able to rig up a switched hi-sensitivity option with little effort (couple of drilled holes and bending the battery tray), but the box is a tad cramped with all the C batteries. I will probably still mod it for an 1/8" headphone jack in front and use the 1/4" hole for an antenna jack (BNC or 1/8", I am still undecided). I could not get it to regen for the full scal on the top 2 bands, but I was not concerned about them anyway (perhaps I was just not patient enough, but I did read all the manual and erratta and did spend a fair amount of time on it). Overall, an enjoyable receiver I will enjoy passing down to one of my nephiews if they show an interest. |
|
| STEVEL |
Rating:     |
2004-04-10 | |
| Good Kit overall, descent receiver |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
First, my kit was missing the mounting screws for the external power socket and the instructions call for a 1.8k resistor (if memory serves) for the band switch board when the actual resistor included was a 1.4k.
Instructions were generally clear and logical.
The radio performs surprisingly well, certainly better than any solid state non tube SW receiver that I have owned.
Sensitivity is very good, though selectivity leaves much to be desired. Selectivity is very touchy and depends greatly on finding the perfect balance between RF gain and regeneration. The addition of an active antenna tuner helped greatly.
Surprisingly, the set experiences no overloading or reduction in selectivity with a 100 ft longwire antenna |
|
| NX7E |
Rating:     |
2003-07-29 | |
| A lot of fun to build! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I just built one of these over a weekend when my wife and son were out of town. I'd had the kit for a few years and only just found the time to build it. So Ten-Tec may have updated the kit since then.
At any rate, I had a blast building it, although there was one hair-pulling moment when I soldered the band switch onto the wrong side of the board. It sounds like an idiotic mistake, but if you look at the board, you can see that it's easy to do if you aren't careful. That said, I should have been more careful. But it's a lesson we all need now and then: Read instructions carefully - Don't just put things where the look like they belong!
After some fumbling around and cussing, I got past that glitch and everything else went smoothly. The instructions were well-written and very clear, with a few minor exceptions. I wish they'd had drawings of the hardware pieces as well as the electronic components, but that's just because I'm a hardware moron. I can tell the difference between a diode and a resistor (duh), but don't know a self-tapping 4-40 screw from a helicopter blade. But I figured it out.
Assembly took about 14 hours, working without haste. If you can solder and follow directions, you should be OK. I found the final adjustment of R6 a little trying. I was able to get regeneration on all the bands except 9, and not through all of 8. I was getting pretty frustrated with this, until I read some USENET posting by another builder with the same problem. I decided I didn't care, as those were the bands I was least interested in.
Once I let that go, I completed the assembly and fired it up. I hooked up a "joke" antenna - About 10 feet of plain hookup wire tossed across the floor - And started to get signals. They were a little weak, but hey - lousy antenna. Last night I really got down to learning to use the regen control and finding stuff to listen to. I was "flying blind," so to speak, since the dial is uncalibrated, but I listened to the bands from 80m to 20m. Last night (from Seattle, WA, USA) got a loud signal from Radio Havana, some Chinese programming of undetermined origin, Radio New Zealand, Deutsche Welle, and the usual assortment of right-wing kooks and religious programming. (DISCLAIMER: I am not saying conservatives are kooks, I'm saying many wackos like to broadcast on shortwave and they're usually right-wing wackos.) I heard some SSB on band 2, and spent a lot of time fiddling with knobs to make it intelligible. Turned out to be some east coast hams talking about their prostates and knew I was on 75 meters! It was a lot of fun. Tonight I'll set up a real antenna and expect better results.
Using a regen is kind of an art, and it takes practice. The RF gain and Regeneration controls work together in mysterious ways that must be learned by doing. RF Gain can actually changed regeneration, but I found with SSB that at some RF gain settings I couldn't clarify the signals with the regen knob, so it took a lot of trial and error. But it was surprisingly fun to do. It was kind of like driving a stick after years of automatics. It's more work, but you sort of feel more in touch with the circuitry, and the radio becomes an extension of you.
I also got some good copy on 40 meters CW.
Once you get the hang of making BC and SSB stations intelligible, the audio is *very* nice. I thought it was more ear-pleasing than my YB400, which is my favorite SW radio. Careful with the Volume while you're adjusting R6, though: You can start the thing oscillating and it'll make a screech that will wake the dead.
So in all: Fun, pretty easy, and educational to build. Good, sensitive receiver. Nice audio. Regen receiver a change of pace from the usual modern receiver.
Why did I give it a 4 instead of a 5? First, because I couldn't give it a 4.5. But also, the radio has its drawbacks. It can be hard to get BC and SSB stations to be intelligible. It's drifty, although it settles down to an acceptable level after it warms up a little. Regen and RF gain can be really touchy. This can be either fun or frustrating. The audio sounds good, but it's pretty hot. Volume goes from nothing to LOUD in about a quarter turn. I don't like the way the battery shelf is mounted, bolted only on one end with the heavy batteries dangling over the circuit board. Seems cramped, and could use support on both ends. Lastly, it takes a lot of time to get the dial "calibrated."
Drawbacks aside, I'd recommend this kit to anyone interested in building an SW receiver, but I wouldn't make it my main SWL rig. |
|
| TUBESAREKING |
Rating:      |
2003-05-26 | |
| Great Kit! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I bought and assembled this rig a couple years ago - it greatly exceeded expectations. The quality of the case and PC board are outstanding.
Keep in mind that this is a regenerative rig, and as such, selectivity is poor. But as regenerative rigs go, its at the top of its class.
The internal speaker is pretty tinny sounding - but hook it to a good external speaker and the sound is great - it is very wide in bandwidth - but on strong clear signals the sound is almost Hi-Fi.
I would tend to discourage people from using this as their "first" shortwave radio. However, once you have at least one top quality portable or table top, this rig will give you a lot of fun. I enjoy tuning in stations on my Sony ICF SW-77, then finding them on the Ten-Tec 1253.
If you have a YB400 or equivelent radio on up, this will round out your shack very nicely, you'll learn a lot and its portable and great sounding too! |
|
| K9FTB |
Rating:     |
2001-11-15 | |
| Enjoyable & Fun |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
AFter reading one other review, I decided to spend the $70 for this kit. Haven't built a kit since high school, so I was looking forward to both SWLing and the kit building.
The instructions were clear and understandable. I had to use my imagination in a few places to be sure I understood what the step was saying but all went ok in the end.
I liked to concept of work a little and test....work a little more and test.....etc. etc. This strategy caught a soldering error I made and resolved it because it had narrowed the area of suspicion down significantly.
It took me about 3 nights and 6 glasses of wine to complete and test. I also decided to install a modification before completing final assembly (outboard power cord).
The radio worked on the first try and I've enjoyed it very much. My first superregen experience - very sensitive, especially with a multiband dipole connected. Lots of SWL DX and SSB / CW. Tuning is a bit sensitive, but I'm surprised at the clarity. The oscilator is reasonably stable, even when tapping the box. Without an HF receiver to listen for the LO, I'm not sure how you'd ever determine the freq. your listening to, unless it was announced during a broadcast.
Operates on 12Vdc or 8 C cells. Would be good for emergencies I believe. Strong enclosure and good quality parts and PCB.
I'd buy it again for the receiver and the kit building experience. The directions are not Heathkit quality (almost zero illustrations, but the few that were there are ok). |
|
| MSHIVES |
Rating:     |
2001-06-14 | |
| Another Top Quality Kit! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
**Kit***
Excellent kit from Ten-Tec for beginner/intermediate kit builders. May require an "Elmer" for some beginners. Well written instructions for construction and testing broken down into 7 phases with testing between each phase. Each phase done in logical order with explanations of which part of the radio or circuit being built.
Excellent "user" instructions on how to use a regenerative SWL radio.
Took about 3 days to build using only 2 hours each evening.
***Radio***
Very sensitive radio across all bands (160, 80/75, 49, 41/40, 31/30, 29, 21/20, 15, and 13). Once I got the feel of using the fine-tuning, RF Gain, and Regen controls I was able to "pull-out" some really distant and faint signals when using a 25 foot long wire antenna. A good ground is suggested. Able to tune in AM, CW, and SSB. Uses 12v from 8 internally mounted C batteries or an external power supply (connection provded). I use an old computer power supply (clean DC) tapping off of the 12v (yellow/black) feed. Internal speaker and 1/4' headphone jack (stereo).
***Negatives***
Audio is very strong but a bit noisey. Too much hiss even when the regen control is adjusted to its minimum setting. External audio filter is suggested for serious listeners.
***Summary***
Excellent kit, Super valued SWL reciever, Excellent beginner SWL receiver and would even suggest it for the intermediate listener as an alternate radio to use. |
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