> But don't forget, all of the trim screws were perfectly aligned...
What this signifies to me is perfect attention to detail. It's a pretty
good bet that, if that level of attention was paid to the trim screws, the
rest of the car would also be of similar quality-of-assembly.
No one would be willing to pay tons more for these minor fit-and-finish
details... but if two items were substantially identical in function and
similarly priced, the one with the better fit-and-finish will win the sales
battle. This is how Japan, Inc. put a whipping on the American car industry
and the American consumer electronics industry.
Finally, as a person who has been involved in creating and selling products
that have won their niche of the market, I can tell you that most consumers
don't, and can't, understand the intricate technical specifications of a
product. This is true even of ham radio! But they can see and appreciate
fit and finish.
Case screw alignment is not worth spending a lot of time on. Noticeably
eccentric knobs and/or displays/meters/etc., are because they affect the
customers' PERCEPTION of quality even if the radio works incredibly well.
Perception IS reality when it comes to sales and marketing. If you as a
manufacturer want the perception of quality, then it behooves you to ensure
that everything that is visible on the exterior is flawless... even if you
have miles of wire inside to fix ECOs.
I just did a quick knob evaluation of my HW-9, K2, Drake R8A, and Omni VI.
The HW-9 and the Drake have perfectly concentric knobs, and the K2 and Omni
VI don't. (I am running a Yaesu FT-100 knob on the K2, the original knob
did run concentrically.) The difference here is the knob designs, and I am
sure that the Omni VI and K2/FT-100 knobs are the MORE expensive!
Think about it... you're going to have to buy thousands of knobs anyway, so
does it really matter if, during the prototype stage, you spend a little
extra time designing/spec-ing a knob/shaft/mounting technique so that all of
the knobs will be absolutely centered on the shaft they mount on? If just
ONE person doesn't buy the radio because the lack of concentricity bothers
him enough to doubt the radio, then the money you lose on that sale probably
exceeds what doing it right would have cost. Why NOT do it right if doing
it wrong doesn't cost any less?
Some ardent Ten-Tec fans think I write these posts because I hate Ten-Tec.
Give me a break... I own an Omni VI, Centaur, and 238B tuner, and am
strongly considering buying an Orion. I like their product line. I write
these posts not to piss off anyone... but the worst thing that can happen to
Ten-Tec is for it to believe that fit and finish don't matter to their
customers. That is a sure way to declining sales and the eventual demise of
America's best-loved amateur radio equipment manufacturer.
- 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
Alinco DR-605TQ
Icom T90A
email: kd7kgx@arrl.net
|