[CQ-Contest] Kenwood repair

[Mark Beckwith]

 >After two years and five returns to the Kenwood factory, they told
 >me to go to Hell. I responded that I would go to ham conventions
 >and hand out papers describing accurately my experiences with
 >Kenwood support. They responded by sending me a USED TS-950SDX
 >with fewer filters than were in my broken SDX.

I would have hoped they'd at least have sent Bill's own filters back.  I take
the filters out when I send in the radios.

I had a similar ongoing situation with Kenwood with my TS-850.  I also have a
950 and two 930s, and I am not inclined to turn my back on Kenwood if only
because of how much I prefer the radios when they ARE working.  The 850 works
enough to send my callsign and exchange as the second radio.  Mostly it is an
SWL rig now.

But I know this frustration.  One day after Field Day, the receive signals just
didn't sound good like they used to.  Then the bad signal reports started 
coming
in.  After multiple trips to Kenwood repair, the last time the rig came back,
they said over the phone basically:

"We can't help you, your rig is a pile of junk, we found multiple damaged
components, we don't know what you did, we don't know how to fix it, have a 
nice
day, that'll be $270."

So, yes, I also know what Bill went through, and I wish they would have offered
ME a working used 850.  I suspect it was a static discharge or Field Day 
station
proximity which killed it (all that massive ERP, of course), but it is
definitely "off the mark" now.

Mark, N5OT


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