The Ten-Tec JUPITER 538 Resource Site

Welcome!

Welcome to the Ten-Tec Jupiter Resource Site. I'm your host, Scott Johnson, KD4DCY.

If you find something here that's not working, out of place, or missing, please e-mail me right now, so that I can get it squared away.

General Information

Nets

There are presently TWO Ten-Tec nets on HF each week:

Day	Time Z	Freq. KHz
Sunday	2130	14329
Sunday	2300	7251

Hidden Commands

Beginning with Jupiter firmware revision 1.23 and onward, you have the following undocumented **ALT +** commands:
ALT + this key	Has this result
SWEEP	Continuous sweep. You can set bandwidth during scan.
REV	Speech Processor Setting
BAND	UP one band
SPOT	Display contrast adjustment
STEP	Display the current firmware revision and date

Other Info

RF Feedback Information -UPDATED 8-12-2004-: I am collecting and sharing information about RF feedback issues with the Jupiter, and good solutions for those issues. Please let me know if you have something to add!
Serial Numbers: How to decode the "hidden information" in the serial number of your Ten-Tec rig. Maybe.

Modifications

WARNING/DISCLAIMER:Each of these modification notes is the work of its respective author. I do not endorse, recommend, or guarantee these modifications, and specifically disclaim any responsibility for the results if you perform them on your radio. Some of these modifications are sanctioned by Ten-Tec, some are not. In the latter case, be aware that you will probably void your warranty by performing the modifications.

Speaker Isolation Modification: The Jupiter can't drive a speaker or external DSP box that's grounded on one side (unbalanced). This isn't really a mod, but an external solution to the problem.
Audio Output Modification: This modification improves the audio output of the Jupiter by removing a resistor. Later production models of the Jupiter have this mod already performed at the factory.
Bias Pot Modification: It has been rumored that the power output of the Jupiter can be increased to 150 - 200 watts by simply tweaking a pot. The story here.
IF Output Modification: Reception of some digital modes, including Digital Radio Mondiale, requires the addition of an output tap from the rig's 12KHz IF. Here's how one ham did it.
Internal Fan Modification: This mod adds an internal cooling fan and heat sinks to the Jupiter.
IF Gain Modification: Will turning the Jupiter's IF Gain all the way up improve performance? Should you?
C107 Modification: This factory-approved modification improves ALC performance on voice peaks.
VE7TK Low-Pass Relay and Reverse Polarity Repair: This PDF from Rick VE7TK shows the procedure for repairing a common fault in the Jupiter and Pegasus radios, failure of the low-pass relays.
UPDATE: July 2, 2004: Rick says:

Gary (VE7GGJ) had another relay fail so we replaced ALL the relays in the rig with an updated version provided by Ten-Tec. In the midst of this repair we powered the rig and inadvertently reversed the power leads! Poof! Yep -- pretty stupid but it was getting late! That repair is now included in the document.
N4JK External T/R Control Expansion: This little project from Art Driggers, N4JK, expands the single Transmit / Receive output on the Jupiter to six outputs, each rated like the original.

Jupiter Links

The Official Ten-Tec Jupiter Web Site
The Yahoo Groups Jupiter 538 Discussion Group
The Official RFSquared Jupiter Firmware Update Site
Reviews of the Jupiter at eham.net (first group)
Reviews of the Jupiter at eham.net (second group)
K5YEF's Jupiter Web Site

General Ten-Tec Links

Dale K5GU's Ten-Tec Links
Ten-Tec Corporation Amateur Radio Division
Unofficial Ten-Tec Web Site
W8KC's Virtual Ten-Tec Museum
contesting.com: THE list for Ten-Tec Discussions
Hunt for Ten-Tec gear on eBay!
K8ZT's Wonderful Ten-Tec Info Web Site

Accessories

Ten-Tec Custom Covers
W5JAY Knob Upgrade: Jay's upgrade for both the main tuning and smaller knobs on the Jupiter looks very, very sharp!
D104 Mic Mods: N4JK has some good info on modifying the venerable Astatic D-104 "lollipop" microphone to work well with modern rigs, including the Jupiter.

Computer Interfaces

The N8ST Computer to Rig Interface

The Donners of Onio have put together some very fine digital radio interfaces. They've gotten good reviews on eHam, which you can read here.

The RASCAL Computer to Rig Interface

RASCAL digi mode interface box for Jupiter

The Rascal interfaces are designed and sold by G. E. "Buck" Rogers, K4ABT. I have an original Rascal, which I use with my Icom radio, and it's been great. There's now a newer model with a better case (the original was built into a soap container) but without the optoisolator, so grounding seems more critical to prevent hums. Before ordering one of these, I strongly recommend reading the reviews on eHam.net, located here, here, and here.

UPDATE:As of 9/1/2004, all of Buck's web sites appear to be unreachable.

Software

Control Software

N4PY Control Software: Carl's software is outstanding in both it's features and ability to interface more than one computer-controlled rig. You get the best of each rig plus features not available anywhere else.
UPDATE: Carl has a "Yahoo Group" for users of his software, located here.
Callsign Software: Exciting new software for computer control of your Ten-Tec rig.
Dave VE1ADH: Pegasus 550 control software that also works great on the Jupiter!
Stan W3EWL: Jupiter/Pegasus control software.

Remote Radios & Remote Radio Software

KA3ODJ Remote Base: An online-controlled, operational Pegasus remote base radio.
W7DXX: Another Internet-controlled Pegasus
W4MQ Internet Remote Base: Yet another online remote radio
N2JEU: Remote Web Transceiver project
Remote Radio Reflector: An e-mail "reflector" (mailing list to most of us) dealing with remotely controlled amateur radios.

Other Software

TUNEWIN: A better solution for tuning radios that don't offer a true zero beat. A miniature version of spectrogram that will show you exactly where your sigs are in relation to others.
K5YEF Software: New software from Art K5YEF that shows you the response from the Jupiter to control codes.
K4MG Software: ILG database integration software for Jupiter and Pegasus.
DXtra: Another RX320 control program for SWL use.
ERGO software: Controls Drake, Japan Radio, AOR, and other receivers in addition to the RX320.
KH2D: This is the author of ClusterBuster, which (sadly) appears to be no longer available. There is quite a bit of other software available here, though, so it's worth a look.
GRNX320: Gerd Niephaus's RX320 control program.

Windows emulators for Linux

Win4Lin
VMware

Books & Articles

Ten-Tec Emulation Mode Info: A PDF from Ten-Tec on Jupiter's Pegasus Emulation mode
Free 650 page book "The Scientist and Engineer's Guide to Digital Signal Processing"
Doug Smith DF6DX: Fast Fourier Transform information from the man who wrote the Ten-Tec Orion FFT code. Includes the article, "Signals, Samples and Stuff: A DSP Tutorial, Part 3", which has descriptions of FFT's and how to compute them. The specific article is here or here. Recent editions of the ARRL Handbook, 2001 and 2002, have a similar treatment of FFTs in Chapter 18.

Photos

Ken N9VV's Jupiter	First Dayton 2000 picture	Jupiter debut at Dayton
Click for a pageful of pics from the day Ken's Jupiter arrived!	Jupiter at Dayton Hamvention 2000 (may not reflect production model)	Dayton Hamvention Picture May 2000 Scott Robbins, W4PA Amateur Radio Product Manager

The Man

Ken Hopper, N9VV
Ken is the man who singlehandedly assembled, organized and maintained most of the material you see here. He's one of two people who finally convinced me to buy a Jupiter in the first place. While I have stepped into some very big shoes to host this material, I'll try to keep the standards as high as Ken's. TNX, OM!
Click the picture for a bigger one, or the name for the Ken's web site.

This web site was assembled and tested by Scott Johnson, KD4DCY, and contains no user-serviceable parts. Please refer maintenance to qualified personnel. Use only as directed. Void where prohibited.

Jupiter Resource Page