[TenTec] Jupiter display backlight

[Sherrill WATKINS]

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.



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