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[TenTec] eHam reviews....& obsessions

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Subject: [TenTec] eHam reviews....& obsessions
From: w5yr@att.net (George, W5YR)
Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2002 10:34:17 -0500
Quite right, Bill - sort of the other side of the "buyer's remorse" coin!  
<:}

I think that there is another factor at work here, as well.

*Somehow* - surely the PR guys would never do anything like that! - the
notion has been supported and encouraged that "digital" radios can offer
top of the line performance at "mid-line" prices, all due to the wonders of
DSP. So, someone with limited experience and/or knowledge about digital
radio architecture and DSP operations is likely to view a radio such as the
Jupiter or Pegasus as a way to obtain near-perfect performance while
spending only a kilobuck or so, instead of three or four.

When reality sets in, that person is disappointed and not a little
chagrined and begins to transfer the "blame" - for not educating himself
properly and learning how it is that those $4K radios do things compared to
how those $1K radios do things - to the radio, loudly proclaiming that it
does not live up to its "specs." In this case, replace "specs" with some
combination of "hype" and "unfounded expectation."

Radios are not unlike most other "things" we buy and use. And I don't think
that anyone would expect that a mid-line Ford or Chevy would do what the
top-line Caddie or Mercedes can do, other than get one to and from the
grocery store.

Yet, the "mystique" of the digital radio leads many to expect performance
and capabilities that simply cannot be provided without the full, complex
and expensive implementation found in the big-$ radios.

TenTec is no more or less guilty of any sin in this situation than the
other manufacturers. But, in the end, it is the customer/user who must
ultimately decide what radio to buy, and clear accurate technical data from
the manufacturer combined with the prospective buyer's capability to
understand it should be the basis for that decision, not the color of the
cabinet or the type of knobs.

73/72/oo, George W5YR - the Yellow Rose of Texas         
Fairview, TX 30 mi NE of Dallas in Collin county EM13qe   
Amateur Radio W5YR, in the 56th year and it just keeps getting better!
QRP-L 1373 NETXQRP 6 SOC 262 COG 8 FPQRP 404 TEN-X 11771 I-LINK 11735
Icom IC-756PRO #02121  Kachina 505 DSP  #91900556  Icom IC-765 #02437


Bill Steffey NY9H wrote:
> 
> Someone earlier in this thread got close to it....
> Old friend Sigmund  maybe . I feel we all DO identify with our rigs, and
> OUR CHOICE OF RIGS. I think we would admit we can't get it up, before we
> would admit we bought THE WRONG RADIO. A mistake...in this critical and
> MOST important process!  That might explain if someone spent a few months
> obsessing and dreaming how a Jupiter would make his life complete.
> Then he buys it, But it doesn't fix his complexion or his marital status.
> It's only a radio. He has to admit he made a MISTAKE.  His "radio" life is
> confused as he had sold his Yaesu ft101 on ebay .  Even the TT liberal
> return policy can't help him.

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