I can tell you out of first-hand experience Martin, that it is tough; real
tough.
I ran an antenna company for two years here, until transferring it recently
to a friend of ours (a Ten Tec friend).
There was no way I could pay bills or support my family from it.
It was just supplemental income for one hellava lot of work.
My business doesn't count as American technology, as all of our products
came from Germany.
73
Rick
-----Original Message-----
From: tentec-bounces@contesting.com [mailto:tentec-bounces@contesting.com]
On Behalf Of Martin Ewing
Sent: Friday, December 17, 2010 4:50 PM
To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment
Subject: Re: [TenTec] "The End of Ten-Tec" (Yeah, Right)
and FlexRadio and SteppIR, plus lots of garage industries.
There's really quite a lot of domestic activity, but it's not clear how
profitable it is for anyone. You generally don't know who has got a problem
in a privately held company, until they suddenly close their doors.
73 Martin AA6E
On Fri, Dec 17, 2010 at 5:40 PM, Rick - NJ0IP / DJ0IP <Rick@dj0ip.de> wrote:
> Three (your forgot Elecraft).
> Four if you count Palstar.
> Then there are companies manufacturing amps such as QRO Technologies and
> Alpha (or whatever their name now is, under new ownership).
> And then of course there is Vibroplex, which is probably the oldest of all
> of these companies, and still manufacturing keys!
>
>
> Of the Golden Oldies, you forgot the Gotham antennas.
> That's all we kids could afford.
> Then there was Raytrack, Autronix, and Galexy.
>
> Where have all the flowers gone?
>
> 73
> Rick
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: tentec-bounces@contesting.com [mailto:tentec-bounces@contesting.com]
> On Behalf Of Jim Younce
> Sent: Friday, December 17, 2010 4:17 PM
> To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment
> Subject: Re: [TenTec] "The End of Ten-Tec" (Yeah, Right)
>
> I doubt that Ten-Tec is about to close the doors. It is a fact that the
> amateur market is only a small percentage of the company's business. Their
> biggest volume is the manufacture of tools & dies and metal boxes for
> electronic OEM manufactures. The amateur business was a labor of love for
> Al Cohn and Jack Birtchfield. When Al sold Electro-Voice and bought
> Ten-Tec
>
> a tool and die manufacture they decided to build a ham transceiver. Al has
> since become a silent key and I am sure Jack is ready for retirement or
> already has retired. Both were great gentlemen to do business with and to
> talk to on the air.
>
> However, I am old enough to remember when National Radio, Hallicrafters,
> Drake, Regency, Multi-Elmac, Gonset, Central Electronics, Swan
Electronics,
> Atlas Radio, Harvey Wells, Morrow Radio, Clegg Laboratories, Webster
> Bandspanner, Walter Ashe, Technical Material Corp., Barker and
> Williamson, Peterson Radio, James Millen, Hammurland, EF Johnson,
> Heathkit, World Radio Labs, Knight, Lafayette, Eico, Ameco, Hornet
> Antennas,
>
> RME Receivers, Master Mobile Antennas, Collins, and several other American
> ham radio manufactures were major players in the manufacture and sales of
> ham radio gear. Now we are down to two, Ten-Tec and MFJ. Some of the
> exodus was caused but the failure of engineering departments to keep up
> with
>
> single sideband technology but a great deal of them fell from the Asian
> manufacture competetion.
>
> 73
>
> Jim Yoiunce K4ZM
>
>
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>
--
Martin S. Ewing, AA6E
Member IEEE, URSI, AAS, ARRL
Branford, Connecticut
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