The only thing constant in life is the reappearance of this thread - ugh.
But I have a new spin on it this year, after reading it for 10 years in a row.
It has been suggested that a Chinese company has cloned the IC718 and will make
that available for $450 new. It is also suggested that this will put all of the
Japanese makers out of ham radio. I am pretty sure I have seen it, the HF
version of those cheap Puxing jobs on the online bidsite.
Of course this is nonsense. Even today, why would anyone purchase an EAGLE over
an IC718 at a third of the cost?
Hint - there is an actual logical and valid reason, actually many.
I am a little confused, since EAGLE is the best idea of the year in my mind - a
simple to operate and high performance radio, why they made it too small? If
you are buying this radio as a mobile - well that's some real Grey Poupon in
the car or on the bike - way to go. But if you have this little radio in your
hamshack, I dont see how the novelty would not wear off, leading the operator
to use something that may be lesser, but that at least you can get your hands
on.
If EAGLE was packaged as OMNI 6 or OMNI 7, and simplified like EAGLE has been,
it would seem to be more on point for those that will use it at home.
YMMV...
Re: [TenTec] "The End of Ten-Tec" (Yeah, Right)
from [Jim Younce]
[Permanent Link][Original]
To:
"Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment" <tentec@contesting.com>
Subject:
Re: [TenTec] "The End of Ten-Tec" (Yeah, Right)
From:
"Jim Younce" <k4zm@comcast.net>
Reply-to:
Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec@contesting.com>
Date:
Fri, 17 Dec 2010 16:17:29 -0600
List-post:
<tentec@contesting.com">mailto:tentec@contesting.com>
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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