>
> This is my biggest
> gripe about TT. They announce way before the stuff is available,
> then never make the date when they say it will be available. What
> difference does it make you ask? These pre-announcements whet your
> appetite, then when they can't deliver, you go looking for something
> else to satisfy that hunger for a new rig. That's what I did last
> time. The 6N2 was announced and I wanted one now. I think it was
> over a year and a half later before it came out. Got tired of
> waiting and bought a competitive rig. I was ready to put the order
> in for this new 516 and could not wait for the January timeframe to
> come. Now, Spring...Spring when? Spring goes to the twenty
> something of June. Another six months! Yikes!
>
> Duffy - WB8NUT
>
Duffy-
It would be nice to deliver on time, every time, but... a lot of times stuff
happens. A little over a year ago the company I work for could not deliver
on their promises to manufacture several new products-- all of which cost a
heck of a lot more than a Ten Tec rig-- because, of all things, there was a
worldwide shortage of capacitors! Our customers were waiting months for
delivery of equipment they had already paid for. At least you didn't lay out
any money on a new rig that happened to be delayed for a while!
When we were in this condition there were several instances where customers
grew impatient and then went to buy a competitor's product, but in the end
many of them were sorry they didn't wait. You've got to balance availability
against quality.
Another time a relatively minor product was days from final production when
the assembly line had to be shut down. A unit that had been baking in a oven
was re-tested for EMI generation and failed the FCC spec just slightly. The
line remained quiet until they could add more shielding, so for a 2 month
delay I'm sure most folks were glad to wait. Our stuff has the reputation of
beating the published specs by a mile, and most folks are willing to put up
with occasional delays to maintain that level of performance.
Regards,
Al W6LX
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