I have had many Jupiters and like the radio. All of those desires are on the screen!!Īnyway, 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! But if you run N4PY software, that’s a moot point. 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. Simply remove the silver trim ring and loosen the knob set screw, pull it out slightly and reset the set screw.Īnyway, 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. 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. 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. I’ve seen this with Yaesu and some other rigs as well. sometimes they get silly and skip around. Like the encoders for bandwidth, pbt, etc. Like all rigs, there are some quirks which btw, are not limited to just the Jupiter.
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. Good deal I say, just leaves me a better chance of buying another Jupiter. I realize not everyone likes the Ten Tecs. Of course these statements are just mine. No different than finding someone to work on a Japanese rig that is out of warranty. I can always find someone that has parts that can repair this rig if need be. Not going to turn loose of it like the first one. I have another Jupiter and am keeping it. The overall DSP on this model rig is very hard to beat even with the newer Japanese rigs on the market. The Noise Reduction and other features operate top shelf. I get reports of the good audio this rig has using a inexpensive Electret Condenser Microphone.
I have had Ten Tec Omni 6s and even they didn't have the same good low noise floor the Jupiter has. I am in my late 70s and find that I don't have a problem operating this rig. The menu easy to access, straight forward. Icom 746Pro also not able to hear the signals that the Jupiter can. Case in point Kenwood ts-570DG not able to hear folks I can with the Jupiter. The Jupiter has a very low noise floor level which helps me pull out signals that my other rigs could not. I traded the first one off just to see something different on my desk. I have owned 2 of these Jupiters over the past 10 years or so. The DSP filter also lacks in sharpness but that may be why it sounds so good. You won't see this rig on the Sherwood list. That said, it's still an entry level up-conversion transceiver with a wide 15KHz IF. With the 6 and 8KHz filters, the Jupiter is great for SWL as well. 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.
Although Orion's AGC is adjustable, I prefer Jupiter's AGC as it is. Jupiter also has a better NR algorithm for some reason. However, the Jupiter's AM reception is better when it comes to handling splatter. 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. Figuring that out really turned the tide on my opinion. There was also a problem with faint 2.5KHz birdies but found out it's caused by leaving the NB turned on. Signals tend to pop-out more with this radio. The internal AGC uses a high threshold, reducing the band noise. That's after I changed the internal speaker with a Visaton FRS8. First, the audio is so good, it sounds like people are in the room with me. It looked and felt cheap, but I started appreciating the rig over time. At first, I was pretty disappointed when my rig arrived and it sat around for a while.