[TenTec] Paragon II

[Wa4aos at aol.com]

Hi,

Just a few words about the Paragon II verses the Jupiter. There are pro's and 
con's both ways. I have 2) Paragon II's and I have Had 2) Jupiter's. 

First, I have to say the audio for SWL and AM broadcast is very nice on the 
Jupiter; a real joy to listen to. The digital niceties of the Jupiter are great 
in terms of quickly tuning through the broadcast or SWL FREQs.

The Paragon II is much improved over the original Paragon. It too has great 
audio but not quite as nice as the Jupiter. Note, I said that I had two 
Jupiter's. I have many Ten Tec rigs, some 68 or 69 different TT rigs in fact. Yes, I 
know I am sick but I like the Ten Tec stuff and I like the company.
 I want go into my huge Heathkit, Drake and Collins collections at this time. 
Getting back to the Paragon II. What I like about this rig over the Jupiter 
is it's ability to receive weak signals above 14 MHz. I found both of the 
Jupiter's to have excellent sensitivity below 14 MHz but lacking above. I talked to 
Ten Tec service dept. and they mentioned a cap that could be removed from one 
of the boards and this did help a little. They also told me that the Jupiter 
is very quiet and that is why it seems to have low in sensitivity. 

So, I hooked up my calibrated HP signal generator and made the following 
observations.

                               3.7        7.2       14.2     21.3     28.4 MHz
_________________________________________________________________
Paragon II                

Sens. (S+N)/N          .19       .17        .2       .24         .27  uV      
        
Min. Disern.             .02       .01        .04      .05         .07        
 

_________________________________________________________________
Jupiter

Sens (S+N)/N           .37     .38         .58      .69          .7  uV
Min Disern.              .22    .29           .42      .51         .56 

Both Paragon II's and both Jupiter's tested very close to each other. Even 
with the Sensistivity of the Jupiter measuring higher than the Paragon II, it 
still was lots of fun to use; I will probably buy Jupiter #3 at some point but 
no rush. 

I can give any Paragon II user one piece of advice. If you will take an hour 
and go through and spray a small amount of Deoxit under all of the harness and 
coaxial connectors, you will be amazed at how the receiver will come to life. 
The Paragon II has been out of production for some time now and all of those 
connectors have oxidized a bit. The accumulative effect does take it's toll on 
the rigs performance.

Just be sure to be very careful and get all of the connectors plugged in 
correctly. the Paragon II has many connectors through out the unit and some take a 
little effort to get to. All of the cables should have labels that match 
locations of the various boards. 
If you have a decent digital camera take a pic or three before you get 
started in case you get lost in the process.

The other thing I like about the Paragon II is the fact that it is a NON SMT 
box. All, through the hole assembly, which means that it will be serviceable 
for years to come. I would hat to have to troubleshoot the Jupiter's main 
system board.

Please note that I am not trying to take away anything from the Jupiter. In 
it's price range, I think it is an outstanding rig and like I said, the audio 
alone is almost reason to have one. With the cold months coming up, the Jupiter 
will make a fine rig for almost anyone
.
Also note, that these were my observations and my measurements and may or may 
not represent the many other Paragon II' or Jupiter's that have been built.

If you do have a Paragon II, do try the Deoxit suggestion, You will not be 
disappointed...

Hope this list remains online and active for just a few more centuries...

REMEMBER: the Ten Tec Hamfest is in two weekends..
     
73,

Glenn WA4AOS