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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
KG4WBH Rating: 2004-02-10
I love it! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This thing has to be the best rig that I have ever owned! Mind you, that I have only owned five HF radios including this one ;) Even with my limited exposure to different radios, I have had the oppertunity to operate sevarel different HF rigs and I must say, for the ease of operation and the sensitive receiver I like it the best. I am also a CW guy so that sort of colors my review. I still hears so much better than my old radios that I cant compare it to them fairly.

73- KG4WBH
KD7HU Rating: 2004-02-05
Jupiter: Solid Rig Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have had the Jupiter for about 7 months. This is the second Ten Tec Radio I have owned. I have a Ten Tec Argosy that I have used for QRP CW in the past. I have been very happy with the Jupiter's performance. Receiver sensitivity is excellent. Ths DSP performs nicely. The combination can be so effective you sometimes don't realize how really weak the signals are that you are copying! I have worked over 30 countries with a low dipole without much problem. The antenna transmatch (which is optional) works well. Audio is great, and the CW breakin is flawless. For the money, a very solid rig with good DSP and nice adjustable selectivity. Is it perfect? No. The only two things I don't like is the fact that you can't go "backwards" when you dial through the bands, so if you overshoot you need to dial around again. Also, the "feel" for the built in keyer is not exactly to my taste. The rig can be sensitive to RF in the shack, especially the keyer. I have not used the computer interface as of yet, but plan too in the near future. I like the concept of easy upgradibility and I was the first station in my area able to get on the 5Mhz channels. Why worry about what the exchange rate will do to the price of your next radio? Buy American.
KF7GC Rating: 2004-01-10
Overall a very good Radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have owned the Jupiter for about 2 weeks. It took a little time to learn most of the radio controls. I have to say that it did perform very nice. The receiver was much quieter than The Omni VI Plus that I use to have. But when I went to 20 meters the Jupiter had a mind of its own. I'm guessing this was caused by rf getting into the radio. I tried putting up an antenna cut for 20 meters, fed with coax and had the same problems. I mean the frequency, bandwidth, and audio just changed as I spoke on the TT 705 mic. It was worse with the Heil Pro Plus. I compared a Kenwood TS 430 sitting right next to the Jupiter and it perform perfectly. TT had sent me two Keypads and neither of them worked. TT said to send the Jupiter back, they would fix everything including the rf problem. So I'm using the 430 now until the Jupiter comes back from TT. It did perform very nice on 80 and 40. I must say that the TT People I have talked to, Paul, Gary and John, have been the nicest guys you ever want to deal with for radio service. Yes I think they are the best when it comes to customer service. I still have the option to get the refund. Right now I am just doing some serious thinking.
W7DUD Rating: 2003-12-26
This receiver is superb Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have had my Jupiter for about 1 week now, but I have to say, that this is a superb tranciever.

I can copy S2 or S3 signals, with a 10DB over S9 signal right next to it. Many times, I don't even know the strong signal is right next to where I am listening, untill I tune slightly. My Omni has the same good adjacent signal reception, perhaps just a bit better.

The tranciever, with audio DSP, that I replaced with the Jupiter, couldn't copy anything with a strong signal nearby, even if the strong signal was a considerable distance away from where I was listening.

The "Bandwidth" control appears to sharply reduce the IF bandpass, and does a good job of removing very close QRM...
W0JSB Rating: 2003-10-10
The Very Best Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Outstanding radio with outstanding features. Perfection in DSP - you can work magic with this radio - copying S1 signals sound like locals with the DPS noise reduction enabled.

All of the quality control issues that were posted earlier this year or last year have gone away as far as I can tell. The VFO is perfect, packaging is outstanding and the rig is solid as a rock.

Visit http://w0jsb.us/tentec.html for more details.

I would definitely buy another Ten-Tec radio - without hesitation.
AB0XE Rating: 2003-10-02
PERFECT FIT Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have had this radio for a month now. I did not get a mike with it as I use the radio for CW.
I did get the remote for it which I really like.
I Had an Icom 746 before this radio and I did not
like the Icom on cw. I find the Jupiter to be easy to use with its one menu system. I hated stepping thru menus on the Icom. I like the large knobs esp compared to those darn little knobs on the Icom. The CW is fantastic on the Jupiter. no noisy clattering like on the Icom. The speed , tone etc is very easy to set on this radio . This radio has made my CW much more enjoyable for
listening and sending. I also like the metering
I know what power , what my swr , what the incoming signal strength is. Its all right there in plain numbers. It is a great radio .
K1FPV Rating: 2003-08-23
Outstanding ! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I've had my Ten-Tec Jupiter now for just about 3 months. It is the second Ten-Tec Transceiver I have owned, the other being the 526 (6N2) which I reviewed a few months back. Ten-Tec has yet to dissapoint me!

The radio has performed as specified and in my estimation, is much better than other radios out there. A number of reviews have claimed that the receiver is numb. Well the receiver isn't numb, it is much quieter than many other radios. The noise figure I measured was much lower on the bench than a friends IC-706. Yet the sensitivity was as specified or better in all cases. Even out of the ham bands, the receiver sensitivity was great. The general coverage receiver in it is super for short-wave listening. Below the broadcast band, the sensitivity did drop off quite a bit, but this was mentioned in the instruction manual.

When 60 Meters opened up, I was there that night and was one of the first to use the band thanks to the firmware upgrade that you can download on Ten-Tec's web sight. This is a really nice feature.

I also like the Pegasus Emulation option. I've downloaded the Pegasus Emulation software and use it to computer control the radio. One thing I did notice using the Pegasus Emulation software. You have more step tuning options in the Pegasus mode than the Jupiter. Also, the software package for the Pegasus mode does not give you 60 Meter capability. These are minor items though.

All in all, I highly recommend the Jupiter. Nice job Ten-Tec! Definitely a 5 out of 5 !!
AD4BG Rating: 2003-08-21
Outstanding Rig Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have had this rig a short while very easy to operate has great receive will not go back to the little 3 again, There service dept, is outstanding also, i have never been put on hold at all, they will help you out with any problem you may have to do with amature radio very friendly people Kenwood, Yaesu, Icom, Can't even come close, to Tentec Radios or service Dept,
N6MYA Rating: 2003-08-08
Excellent rig! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Having owned quite a few rigs over the years
and with all things considered, i feel the Jupiter
is the best rig in its' price class. While the
receiver is only marginally below that of an
FT-102 loaded with filters, the Jupiter more than
makes up for this in its' versatility. Right up until the time of purchase, i was still considering the Ten Tec Orion. The reason the Jupiter won out is my operating style vs the expenditure. I don't do contests, however i will and do operate CW when there is a lot of activity on the bands and the variable bandwidth filter scheme suits me. No complaints on the menu system, this seems ubiquitous now and is something i have gotten used to. The notch filter works very well on sine wave signals but doesn't quite null out noisier carriers. My "fix" is to just use an outboard audio notch filter to clean up what the AN doesn't get. My wish list is short: Band output data to interface with my EZ Tuner, and a menue entry that allows tailoring the amount of DSP noise reduction.

That's it. An excellent rig in its' price class with no real problems.
N6MYA
VE7EPQ Rating: 2003-07-05
Very Good Radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Well, I have had my Jupiter for just about 2 months now. It is not my first rig, nor my first Tentec. Am I satisfied, in a word yes. For me, of prime importance was having a rig that was completely software controlled. I suffer from osteo-arthritus in both of my shoulders and some days I can not turn any dials on a radio. That dictated that all functions on my radio had to be controlled by my computer.

My first attempts were with TRX-manager. Using this program gave me valuable experience in seeking a solution for my needs. Next I downloaded the control program from Tentec and used it in demo mode to see if it fit what I was looking for. I finally decided on the Jupiter after weighing the pros and cons about the Pegasus. I am very satisfied by my purchase, and by Tentecs phone service. The radio functions great, and the receiver is every bit as good as others I have used. Before the radio even arrived I had purchased Carl's program and had it installed. Without the software the Jupiter is a great radio to work with, and on days when it really hurts, Carl's program makes the difference between using my radio and not.

I can not comment on the technical side of the Jupiter as that isnt my speciality. From an operators point of view it is easy to use, setup and the screen is very easy to read. For the price, I think it is a very good deal and I would recommend it to anyone who likes working with their computer, and or needs to work with a computer (as in my case). I find the screen, fit and finish to be fine and the radio to be a quality radio. I even like the internal speaker (which some have decried) as the audio is more than adequate and clear.

Mike Donovan
VE7EPQ