I wasn't going to post anything, but I see corrections are in order.
First some history. I looked at Dentron's records as a favor for a
friend of mine who was VP of a bank holding a note for Dentron after
Denny Had lost ownership.
Denny Had and the past and present principal owners of Ameritron are
personal "friends" of mine. We have been to dinner together and visited
each others houses many times in the past, and still occasionally say
hello.
Dentron suffered from "milking the cow", too much money pulled out in $$
wages. There was also a high return rate, and low profit margin (nearly
all amateur radio related business's suffer this malady). Many things
drove nails in Dentron's coffin, but the transceivers and a two meter
amp that never worked right killed any chance of recovery.
A member of the Church of Scientology finished Dentron off.
During the course of running Dentron, Denny Had met John Moran...owner
of Prime Instruments and Actron (a major automotive electronics and test
equipment manufacturer). John Moran was a manager at Bud Radio, and an
old time ham. John Moran is one of the most direct and honest people I
have ever met. I would trust (and have trusted) John with all my cash,
his word is like a bond of honor.
Denny convinced John that he could pull off another Dentron, if John
would help with the tooling, parts, and labor. So John bought tooling,
parts and hired people to build "designs" Denny supplied.
At the same time, Denny opened a business in Twinsburg called Amp
Supply. Denny sought capital from other investors for Amp Supply.
When Denny could not pay John for Amp Supply parts, the "partnership"
failed. Ameritron stayed with Moran, and Denny went off to the
Carolina's with Amp Supply.
Contrary to false tales, Ameritron was never in danger of ruin nor was
it ever part of any "divorce settlements". John sold the business
because he was getting older, and wanted to spend his time helping his
son run Prime.
Denny Had could not make Amp Supply work, and it folded. Denny is
selling tube type hi-fi amplifiers at several thousand dollars a pop to
the fellows who can "feel" the warm glow of tubes pouring out of
speakers, and who appreciate the dynamic range and fidelity of vinal
records.
John Moran is one of the most honorable people I have ever met. I hate
to see some make up stories about his divorce from a wife of sixty some
years.
73 Tom
--
FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/ampfaq.html
Submissions: amps@contesting.com
Administrative requests: amps-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems: owner-amps@contesting.com
|