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Reviews For: Ten-Tec Jupiter

Category: Transceivers: HF Amateur HF+6M+VHF+UHF models - non QRP <5W

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Review Summary For : Ten-Tec Jupiter
Reviews: 161MSRP: 1,189
Description:
Formerly known as the "PegasusFP" now renamed Jupiter
Product is not in production
More Info: https://www.tentec.com/ten-tec-538-jupiter/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001614.5
AA1BW Rating: 2022-01-25
A classic SDR rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is one of the first SDR architecture radios. ten-tec was the frist to adopt this technology. It has the great Ten-tec design, ergonomy. Very logical front panel. The band scope is useless. It is fery good for casual CW and SSB contacts, has digital filtering, no extra crystal filters needed. The noise reduction is Ok, but todays modern chips do much better. The receiver front end is not performing well in crowded contest, this radio is not recommended for that kind of work. But I still love its sound, verxy pleasant AM and SSB reception. A keeper for me, as I have other radios for contesting.
AC2YW Rating: 2022-01-24
This rig is a sleeper/keeper Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The best attributes of this receiver are the terrific sound, large frequency display, variable filter, quiet receiver, and good looks. Tuning around is more fun and signals tend to pop-out more with this radio.

I recently bought a Ten Tec Orion thinking it would be even better, but it's default settings weren't as useful as Jupiter's. In time, I did learn the Orion though. However, the Jupiter's AM reception is better when it comes to handling splatter. Jupiter also has a clearer NR algorithm, though it's only good on strong signals. Although Orion's AGC is adjustable, I prefer Jupiter's AGC as it is, though the audio level isn't constant. It just makes the receiver quieter and easier for tuning around the bands.

Given this is an early SDR with a slow clock, it's amazing how much was packed into this rig and how much Ten Tec got right. With the 6 and 8KHz filters, the Jupiter is great for SWL as well. That said, it's still an entry level up-conversion transceiver with a wide 15KHz IF. You won't see this rig on the Sherwood list. Some complain DSP filter also lacks in sharpness but that may be why it sounds so good. The sharpness is just right for me.

The reason for losing a star is the lack of sensitivity from 15m and up, getting worse as you go. On 10m, I couldn't even hear antenna noise. After investigation, it's due to poor choice in inductors in the preselector and poor RF amp design. Both can be fixed with minimal effort if you're up to it.

Originally, there was a problem with faint 2.5KHz birdies but found out it's caused by leaving the NB turned on. My blue screen also needed a replacement, but the radio is old, so no demerit. It's good to know suitable replacements are out there if you know what you're doing.
W0FEN Rating: 2021-07-17
Great Rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
About 2 years ago I purchased the Jupiter for the Club station. It has been a great radio. It is very easy to use and the menu interface is intuitive. We had been using an old IC-720A. The replacement process took a little adjusting since the TTJ does not have an ALC input for an Amplifier. We run an Alpha at the Club Station and it was easily overdriven. Turning back the power output where we had never had to before was a little confusing for some operators. Other than this -which is a cockpit problem- this is an excellent radio. I would buy it again. We got one of the first versions that would copy CW and have used it a few times. The Station is mostly used for SSB Net Control operation.
WJ2L Rating: 2021-04-04
Still does what others cannot, limit or evade QRM. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had the blue screen Jupiter for 10 years now. Best feature,is bandwidth control. No matter how much qrm is on you usually can find the station you want to work and narrow down the bandwidth till no other station is creating qrm.
WE5GNF Rating: 2020-12-28
Best transceiver. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned 2 of these Jupiters over the past 10 years or so. I traded the first one off just to see something different on my desk. Later wished I hadn't. The Jupiter has a very low noise floor level which helps me pull out signals that my other rigs could not. Case in point Kenwood ts-570DG not able to hear folks I can with the Jupiter. Icom 746Pro also not able to hear the signals that the Jupiter can.
The rig itself is very easy to operate. The menu easy to access, straight forward. I am in my late 70s and find that I don't have a problem operating this rig. I have had Ten Tec Omni 6s and even they didn't have the same good low noise floor the Jupiter has. I get reports of the good audio this rig has using a inexpensive Electret Condenser Microphone. The Noise Reduction and other features operate top shelf. The overall DSP on this model rig is very hard to beat even with the newer Japanese rigs on the market.
I have another Jupiter and am keeping it. Not going to turn loose of it like the first one. I can always find someone that has parts that can repair this rig if need be. No different than finding someone to work on a Japanese rig that is out of warranty. Of course these statements are just mine. I realize not everyone likes the Ten Tecs. Good deal I say, just leaves me a better chance of buying another Jupiter.
N2ZD Rating: 2019-09-09
Love them! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.

I have both the Blue screen and Green screen models, beside the limit to the green screens firmware update limits if it hasn’t already been factory or user upgraded, there isn’t much of a difference beside the case and screen color.
Like all rigs, there are some quirks which btw, are not limited to just the Jupiter. Like the encoders for bandwidth, pbt, etc. sometimes they get silly and skip around. I’ve seen this with Yaesu and some other rigs as well. Sometime, you just need to reset the knob, if the radio is shipped with the knobs pressing against the box, the knobs will push in which will place outward tension on the shafts causing the encoders to skip. On TT rigs with the push in knobs to change state, (like the Orion II,)Omni VII) this type of tension will also prevent the knob from being pushed in to change its options. Simply remove the silver trim ring and loosen the knob set screw, pull it out slightly and reset the set screw.
Anyway, enough of that, this rig has a superb RX, very wide transmit RX if you desire and a pleasant audio chain and lots of great features. Dsp, auto-notch, available AT, NR. The only thing lacking is a direct band selector (must scroll thru HF bands to get to desired, same deal with modes and no direct frequency entry. But if you run N4PY software, that’s a moot point. All of those desires are on the screen!!
Anyway, you’re getting a 1000 dollars worth of used radio for between 400 and 600 dollars give or take, there isn’t much out there in that range that can do what this baby does!
KG9H Rating: 2019-05-12
Great Radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had many Jupiters and like the radio. It has great audio on receive, and if you are listening to AM on the ham bands you will be amazed how well the audio sounds with the built-in speaker! The built-in filters are a breeze to use and on CW the radio shines like all Ten Tec radios. Mine is on the desk now just listening to the weekend guys on AM. (The 8kHz filter sounds amazing!) Not a bad radio for the money if you can find one in good condition and working

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Earlier 5-star review posted by KG9H on 2013-06-29

Probably my favorite radio over the years.
Does a great job on all modes, excellent on CW and AM....
Sounds best with a larger speaker, can't say enough about it.
Will get another one some day, now using another radio on remote base for CW.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by KG9H on 2011-07-21

For the past several years, I found that I have found myself moving away from CW because I couldn't listen to CW for hours on end like I used to. In fact the howel that I heard in the receivers drove me away after a half an hour. This was mostly using 250Hz filters, sometimes with 500Hz filters.
Enter the Jupiter.
I purchased this radio because a friend has one and recommended it highly.
I have never been more happy with a CW receiver, now listening all the time to CW with the 150Hz filter on. Yes... I said 150Hz!!! The receive CW signal reminds me of my Triton 4 from days long ago. (For the new hams that is another Ten Tec radio from the 70's) The howel that I heard in the others is not evident at all in the Jupiter! I spend most of my time is on 40 and 30 meters and the noise makes it hard to hear signals but this radio tunes it all out and the signals pop from the speaker!! I would recommend this in a minute to others on CW, have not had time to check it out on SSB yet, will have to do that in a few weeks. (Oh, I beleive that Ten Tec still offers a 30 day money back if you don't like it. How easy is that to place this radio front and center on your desk??) See you on 40 de Frank KG9H
WB0FDJ Rating: 2017-09-20
A solid all around transceiver Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought this radio, a blue screen model, 7 years ago and wanted to leave some comments for posterity, and those who might be thinking on buying a used one. Basically I love the radio and will never part with it. This is not, nor was it intended to be, the radio that will do everything including making your coffee. But as an all around 160-10 M rig, intended for use by Joe Ham, it's an excellent piece of equipment.

Those who love it always seem to comment on it's quiet sensitive receiver. With the phones one this is a radio I can sit and listen to for hours without experiencing fatigue. (Unlike the FT-897D which I could never get clean) I would describe the audio as "warm' and it's clear that this was carefully designed into the radio. The IF filters provide all the selectivity you'll need for day to day operating. The auto notch works very well and the noise reduction, on SSB, works well. It's a little heavy handed but for listening to nets I find it useful.

On CW it's got transparent full break in and a very nice note. IF filters down to 150. I use it mostly in this mode. I also do some digi and it just seems to work.

There is one menu that is mostly set and forget stuff and you will not need the manual to figure out hieroglyphics. As others have noted you change bands by either pushing "Band" to go down or Alt and "Band" to go up. Or just use the memories, not a big deal.

This is basically a Pegasus with knobs and buttons. So if you decide to use the fabulous N4PY software, once it captures the radio the display will read "Pegasus Emulation Mode" and you control all of the radio from the screen. I use mine running on my Linux box with WINE software. It shows everything (I mean everything) the radio has on the screen and then some. For example there is a WWV button that goes through all the WWV freqs. It will also calibrate the radio and automatically include the offset transparently.

The average ham might find a lot to like about this radio. Yeah I look at the catalogs and drool just like everyone else but there is nothing I need that this rig doesn't do. And as of this writing Ten Tec is doing factory repair for the newer stuff should I need it.



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Earlier 5-star review posted by WB0FDJ on 2011-02-25

Update: 9 months into this investment and I think I made a excellent choice. I've been doing a lot of A/B testing against by old Omni V and other rigs I have and it's holding its own against them. It is a great CW machine. I run a lot of digital, especially JT65a and it gets the job done nicely. Theres just enough bells and whistles to get you through most anything, without so much that it gets in the way. Everything you need for operating is right in front of you (i.e. a knob) and the set and forget stuff is in a very easy to understand menu. I've had zero problems with this radio. Yeah it's not exactly a "contest radio" for the hard core but the average Joe would find a lot to like here. I highly recommend it. If you get one join the Yahoo group. Earlier review follows.

When I went looking for a "full power" HF rig (everything else in my shack is QRP) I looked at all the of major offerings. I have nothing against any of the big three: my two favorite commercially built QRP rigs are the FT-817 and IC-703 plus. You won't hear from me about how Ten Tec is better than XYZ brand, but when I pared my list down to what I actually needed the rig to do, and eliminated all the extra stuff the list grew shorter and the Jupiter began to stand out. My "needs" were something adequate for SSB because I use it less than 1% of the time, something very good on CW with full breakin and enough of the extras to enhance basic operating i.e RIT/XIT, PBT, the usual suspects..... I like a radio with near bulletproof finals. Something simple with maybe one main menu. Well...thats the Jupiter. Competent, solid yet simple design, can be upgraded since its essentially software defined.

With Ten Tec's 30 day return policy no one ought to be reporting "I'm stuck with the radio" and that is one reason I decided to buy it. The first 29 days I put it through a lot of use and decided to definitely keep it. Like many of the others who have reviewed it, I thought seriously about one of Ten Tec's more elegant radios but realized that, for what I need, this is more than enough. If you are looking for something more middle of the road but still very competent, you might want to take a look at this one. If you are contester or do something more specialized we both know that this wouldn't be you first choice. If you are average well rounded ham that wants to do general operating this might just be the ticket.

I've also just decided to get into the digi modes so got Ten Tec's USB sound card that takes some of the drama and mystery out of getting one up and running on PSK31 and other digital offerings.

I've paired it with fldigi (the computer in my shack is Linux based) and use flrig to control some of the basic features, i.e. volume, frequency, filtering, mode choice, etc. It's "enough" without getting in the way of the simplicity I was seeking.

It's a good rig. Does what Ten Tec said it would. It's likely my last "ready made" rig. My dealings with Ten Tec (first rig from them was a new Argo 509) have been outstanding.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by WB0FDJ on 2010-06-24

When I went looking for a "full power" HF rig (everything else in my shack is QRP) I looked at all the of major offerings. I have nothing against any of the big three: my two favorite commercially built QRP rigs are the FT-817 and IC-703 plus. You won't hear from me about how Ten Tec is better than XYZ brand, but when I pared my list down to what I actually needed the rig to do, and eliminated all the extra bells and whistles the list grew shorter and the Jupiter began to stand out. My "needs" were something adequate for SSB because I use it less than 1% of the time, something very good on CW with full breakin and enough of the extras to enhance basic operating i.e RIT/XIT, PBT, the usual suspects..... I like a radio with near bulletproof finals. Something simple with maybe one main menu. Well...thats the Jupiter. Competent, solid yet simple design, can be upgraded since its essentially software defined.

With Ten Tec's 90 day return policy no one ought to be reporting "I'm stuck with the radio" and that is one reason I decided to buy it. The first 29 days I put it through a lot of use and decided to definitely keep it. Like many of the others who have reviewed it, I thought seriously about one of Ten Tec's more elegant radios but realized that, for what I need, this is more than enough. If you are looking for something more middle of the road, you might want to take a look at this one. If you are contester or do something more specialized we both know that this wouldn't be you first choice. If you are average well rounded ham that wants to do general operating this might just be the ticket.

I've also just decided to get into the digi modes so got Ten Tec's USB sound card that takes some of the drama and mystery out of getting one up and running on PSK31 and other digital offerings. I've paired it with fldigi (the computer in my shack is Linux based) and use flrig to control some of the basic features, i.e. volume, frequency, filtering, mode choice, etc. It's "enough" without getting in the way of the simplicity I was seeking.

It's a good rig. Does what Ten Tec said it would. It's likely my last "ready made" rig. My dealings with Ten Tec (first rig from them was a new Argo 509) have been outstanding.
G7HZZ Rating: 2015-11-21
Great rig - lousy support Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought a Jupiter from a dealer recently (without a microphone). I initially struggled to find a matching desk microphone for it in the UK, so I emailed RKR Designs: the reply took 5 days. OK there is a time lag across the Atlantic, etc. Finally, I adapted a Yaesu microphone.

Nevertheless the radio performed much better than I expected and the IF DSP was truly outstanding. I was more than happy.

And then the multi-function knob - driving a commonplace fly-by-wire encoder - started to become very twitchy and malfunction. Eventually the dealer sent it, under warranty, to a leading Ham Radio repairer who could not find a replacement part that fitted satisfactorily. Meantime I emailed RKR Designs separately to find out if replacement parts are available. Two emails and well over a week later I am still waiting for a response. Maybe they close down in November to go turkey hunting, but there is no such message on the website.

Finally after 4 weeks of looking for a solution the dealer gave up and sent me a full refund.

The Jupiter is a great transceiver although it does have a few 'klunky' handling issues which are common with modern 'fly-by-wire' radios: mainly poor menu layout, and the step-wise implementation of some features is annoying: band changing is a pain and switching from AF gain to RF gain and other incremental settings via the multi-function knob is infuriating. Ultimately, over dependence on the m/function knob is almost certainly its Achilles' Heel.

However, ultimately it doesn't matter if the performance * when working * is good if it stops working due to the failure of a cheap, easily replaceable part which the manufacturer or importer can't or won't supply. This is effectively 'built-in obsolescence' - and I have come to the view that the Jupiter - being a niche product - is probably packed with obsolescent (sic) parts.

Hence - just as a warning to would-be buyers of used Ten Tec Jupiters - I am giving it 2 stars. Better service - and easily available parts - would have warranted 5 stars.
N9FB Rating: 2015-06-24
Very Fun & User-Friendly! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This rig is fun & easy to use, with all the buttons you need and none more which means you do not need raccoon hands or eagle vision to operate it. The receiver is great and very quiet; it's very easy on the ears and causes almost no listener fatigue.

Because it comes stock with all the filters, you don't have to worry about equipping it with all those extras. Taking CW down to 150Hz bandwidth or going as wide as 8000 for phone gives you all the options you'll need. The sound of CW and SSB is just superb to my ear.

The auto-tuner, while not as lightning fast as the latest ones, is solid and fast enough if you can spare a second or two.

i sold my green/gray model to try a brand new xcvr and i don't plan on making THAT mistake again. I was lucky to find a late model blue/black version and again i am in heaven. I get great audio reports on SSB using the 705 mic (has a menu 'mic in boost' feature which is needed if you use a 708) and on CW -- well it's a Ten-Tec -- need I say more?

Biggest drawback is they are no longer made and Ten-Tec stopped offering firmware revisions in Dec. 2010, but despite that, imo newer is not necessarily better. It's a fairly big rig by today's standards, but it does not weigh much and I have decided the size is just about perfect. If you find you don't like your Jupiter and want it to go to a good home feel: free to send it my way HiHi