Sherrill;
My recall is that the strips were designed for aircraft usage (440 Hz AC
or so). We used them on a product and supplied a variable AC source,
unfortunatly 60Hz, to illuminate bargraph meters on a professional audio
console. They were darn expensive strips to buy, did have a shelf life,
and didn't last as long as we hoped for once put into daily usage. The
company that supplied them went out of business, the technology was sold
to another company and they started the manufacturing process. They had
a lot of quality problems which indirectly drove up the cost which was
passed along to the users each step of the way. As we quit using this
technology in the products, the demand went down and up went the cost
again. It got completely out of control with regard to suppling
replacement parts. Customers refused to pay the price, the company
demanded a minimum order qty which we could not financially justify.
The product was last manufactured and we held an inventory for 7 years.
Legally we were not required to take this step. The end result is that
we couldn't justify the cost of making a customer happy after a product
was no longer available. Yep, we got a bad rap. Unfortunately, the
design engineers didn't know 15 years earlier what the outcome of using
that technology would be. 'Hind site is always 20-20.
I think Tentec made good decisions. However, certain unknown factors at
the design point caused good technical decisions to become bad business
decisions.
73
Bob K4TAX
Sherrill WATKINS wrote:
>
> Question: Is the electroeluminescent material that was used in the Delta II
> a material with a known finite lifespan, similar to an incandescent lamp? -
> Corn k4own
>
> >>> <seweber@netnitco.net> 11/29/00 03:06PM >>>
>
> Thank you for the constructive reply. Actually what I am asking is if
> TenTec learned from history. Let me address the issues individually:
>
> 1) The Delta II is not an ancient radio. QST reviewed it in 1992 so
> presumably they were made and sold as recently as 92 or 93. Mine had a bad
> panel in 1998
>
> 2) The original panels were made by ELTECH in Austin TX. They are still in
> business and those of us that have repaired our rigs have purchased new EL
> material from ELTECH. http://www.ellamp.com/
>
> 3) TenTec chose to not support this display even though EL material is
> still available from the original supplier.
>
> I am a long time TenTec fan. I own and use a Triton IV, Omni B, Delta II
> and even have a TenTec 2591 HT with the optional PL deck! My station is
> littered with TenTec accessories and goodies. I hope to never be seduced by
> dark side and buy a Yaecomwood. But my Delta II had a dim display when I
> bought it used in 1998 and I was amazed that in stark contrast to my
> previous experiences with TenTec, they would not provide support!
>
> THEREFORE, the questions remain:
>
> How does TenTec illuminate the display on the Jupiter?
> Is it backlit with an EL panel?
> If so, are they ELTECH panels?
> Will repair parts be available for a reasonable time?
>
> After all, TenTec is describing the Jupiter as possibly the last radio we
> might need to buy. Five years down the road will the display be so dim
> that I will need to carefully position a desk lamp in a darkened room in
> order to read the frequency, as I had to do with my Delta II?
>
> Inquiring minds want to know!
>
> At 6:40 AM -0600 11/29/00, Carter Grabarczyk wrote:
> >Steve,
> >Hopefully this will be construed as a constructive comment....
> >
> >With the Delta II, what you are really asking Ten Tec to do is have a
> >crystal ball. TT did not make the panel, they got it from a vendor. TT
> >can just go by the MTBF (mean time between failures) that the vendor
> >provides (assuming the vendor has a crystal ball too). Then you are
> >asking TT to guarantee that the vendor won't go out of business or stop
> >manufacturing that particular item (apparently what happened with the
> >Corsair issue). This seems a bit much to ask of TT (and as generally
> >good of a company as TT is, it seems a little harsh to hold them
> >responsible for a vendor going out of business or no longer making a
> >particular item).
> >
> >That you are "...wanting to KNOW and to have ironclad assurance" is nice
> >to have, but unfortunately the real world tends not to work that way.
> >
> >73/Carter/K8VT
> >
> >P.S. Just as an exercise, see how many parts Yaecomwood carries for
> >10-15 year old radios (compared to TT). I think you will be surprised.
> >
>
> 73 de Steve Weber, KD9BO
> --
> An infinite number of rednecks
> in an infinite number of pickup trucks
> firing an infinite number of shotguns
> at an infinite number of road signs
> would eventually produce all of Shakespeare's plays
> in Braille.
>
> --
> FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/FAQ/tentec
> Submissions: tentec@contesting.com
> Administrative requests: tentec-REQUEST@contesting.com
> Problems: owner-tentec@contesting.com
>
> --
> FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/FAQ/tentec
> Submissions: tentec@contesting.com
> Administrative requests: tentec-REQUEST@contesting.com
> Problems: owner-tentec@contesting.com
--
FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/FAQ/tentec
Submissions: tentec@contesting.com
Administrative requests: tentec-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems: owner-tentec@contesting.com
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