[TenTec] Re: Negative reviews

[Rob Atkinson, K5UJ]

First, all the comments back and forth on the Orion specs make me think 
these are the good old days.  We're living in the golden age of ham radio.

A few months ago I was trying to get my Corsair II to drive my Centurion.  I 
had the cw working well--qsk and everything was FB but for some reason I 
just could not get it to key up and drive the amp on phone.  I studied the 
manuals, tried a number of different cabling combinations, and after a 
couple of hours gave up and decided the Corsair had to go back to TT for 
work on the amp enable switching.  I unhooked everything and was looking at 
the front panel of the Centurion when I saw the QSK switch and thought "Oh, 
I bet I have to have that on PTT/Vox."  Well, of course it worked fine after 
I reconnected everything and flipped the switch over to PTT for the Corsair 
on phone.  (The Omni VI switches the Centurion in QSK regardless of mode so 
I had quit thinking about that switch.)  I was relieved that I had not sent 
off the Corsair to TT and/or called them up to complain about it which would 
have all resulted in my looking like a complete idiot (once again).

I was lucky that time (in part because I don't have internet access at 
home).  I wonder how many reviews are put out by guys in similar situations 
who react before allowing some time to cool down and/or think?

I'm going through the same thing again right now because I'm trying to set 
up a packet station in my shack so I can get access to dx spots.  The TNC 
and pc aren't talking to each other but I'm trying to be patient, do some 
reading and try a few ideas I have for trouble shooting.  All this takes 
time which I don't always have.  I think we'd all like everything to work 
great right away.  Add to that the fact that these days, the local 
maintenance network isn't there (local parts stores, vendors and guys 
hanging around on a Saturday morning interested in talking about your 
problem with you) like it once was and the gear is harder to repair at home. 
  The result is someone starting out gets disillusioned and goes after the 
company.

Other manufacturers have dealers to take the heat for them and handle 
unhappy customers--probably one reason why the JA companies may not get beat 
up as often in Internet reviews.

Rob Atkinson
K5UJ
k5uj@hotmail.com

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