Whether or not I own a Jupiter, or whether or not I own a Ten-Tec radio at
all, is totally irrelevant to this discussion.
I, as an owner of Ten-Tec equipment and a potential owner of new equipment,
represent a point of view that should be important to Ten-Tec. You, as an
owner of a Jupiter, also represent a point of view that is important.
However... from a purely economical vantage, the view of a potential
Jupiter/Orion purchaser SHOULD BE more important than a current Jupiter
owner.
Why? How much additional revenue will Ten-Tec get from you concerning your
current Jupiter purchase? Zip, zero, nada, nothing (unless they go to a
subscription model for updates, and I think they should). My potential
purchase (and the thousands of potential purchasers out there) is important,
and if many potential purchasers are put off by what they see as QC
problems... then sales will be down. And that is not a good thing for
anyone who likes Ten-Tec (as I do).
Many years ago, I was at a meeting of ALL of the software developers for a
certain Redmond-based software company where we listened to an industry
pundit speak. His main topic... "perception is reality." This offended me
at first... HEY, we write great software! But as I listened to him and as I
thought about what he was saying, I realized that he was doing me, and my
company, a BIG favor.
You don't have a problem with several rapid buggy releases, or the general
level of Ten-Tec QC. Fine. Read the Jupiter reviews and comments on eHam
and various other Internet venues. Many people DO have a problem with it.
Many times MORE people read these comments and reviews, and these add a
level of uncertainty to the PERCEIVED wisdom of buying a Ten-Tec. If people
are unsure, they don't buy.
Perception is reality. Whether or not Ten-Tec's QC is better/worse/the same
as Icom/Kenwood/Yaesu/etc., the PERCEPTION out there is that it is WORSE.
Things like releasing three updates that have to be quickly reversed due to
bugs doesn't help reduce that perception... and since anyone can browse the
Ten-Tec elist this is very public to potential purchasers like most hams who
are willing to do a little bit of research.
My suggestion (and it is only a suggestion) is that it would behoove Ten-Tec
to visibly show an increased commitment to QC by having at least a six-month
window where QC was emphasized AND Ten-Tec publicly touted the proof of this
(percent of returns for QC problems decreasing from x% to y%). Remember
Ford's big slogan "Quality is Job #1" after they got beat up for numerous
design and manufacturing defects?
Again, I like Ten-Tec, and I do plan to buy a new rig (maybe more than one)
from them in the near future... but I want them to be around to support it!
That means all those fence-sitting hams who aren't sure whether Ten-Tec is
the way to go need to be convinced... and I am convinced that improving QC
will make a big difference all out of proportion to the costs involved.
- jgc
John Clifford KD7KGX
Heathkit HW-9 WARC/HFT-9/HM-9
Elecraft K2 #1678 /KSB2/KIO2/KBT2/KAT2/KNB2/KAF2/KPA100
Ten-Tec Omni VI/Opt1
email: kd7kgx@arrl.net
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