My first outing with the TenTec R4020 was my own backyard Sunday AM. The humidity was down so it was very comfortable. I had eight Eneloop AAs installed in the battery holders internal to the case. Ten-Tech leaves it to you to wire up the two holders in series. The initial voltage was 11.5 volts and that gave me 3.5 watts into a dummy load. I setup a 20 foot mast and a 20 meter Inverted V. I had some beginners luck working Indiana, Hawaii and Georgia. The Georgia contact was an example of NVIS I believe. Even though I was making contacts I thought the band is a little dead. It turns out I had the attenuator option on the whole time. Things sounded a lot more lively with it off. This rig has a great receiver!
Then I added a 40 meter dipole by using a T connector to give me a fan dipole. I re-adjusted the lengths of both dipoles and came to a good SWR on both 40 and 20. On 40 I had no problem working Mobile AL and Jacksonville FL. I noticed the battery voltage had dropped to about 9.9 volts after about two hours and the output power was dropping also. But I still managed solid QSOs.
I can say it was a pleasure having a rig with big rig features in a small package. The digital display, settable IF filters, memories are all very nice. So I look forward to more experience and outings with this rig.
I enjoy Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio, Field Days, QRP, satellites, and CW. I have many friends in the hobby that make it fun. I will keep you posted on what I learn about amateur radio on this blog.