[TenTec] The Mechanics and Psychology of Negatve Reviews

[Ariel M. Elam]

Hi Brian -- I am a former service technician in the electrical
field.(Electrician) I understand entirely your point of view. I
compliment you on your remedy of your problems. 

I could not have said it better than you, and Pat and Rob, whose posts
followed!

Ten-Tec forever!!

73, Ariel, K4AAL

Brian Haren wrote:
> 
> All,
> 
> Over the last two months I've experienced problems seemingly related to my
> Jupiter that have opened my eyes to the the mechanics and psychology of
> negative reviews, not just for the Jupiter, but any radio.  Why bring the
> issue up here?  Simple.  This experience has taught me the value of proper
> troubleshooting, elmering, and biting one's tounge.
> 
> In April I purchased a new Jupiter.  Within two weeks of receiving it a
> transistor in the finals failed and the radio had to go back to TT for
> repair.  TT did a fine job of explaining to me what the problem was, and the
> fact that early component failure is an infrequent, but not uncommon,
> occurence in all electronics manufacturing.  Regardless, I was steamed.  A
> brand new radio had failed and I had to ship it back for repair.  A number
> of elmers on this site helped me understand that what TT had told me was
> true, what I had experienced was uncommon, and that TT would treat me
> fairly.  TT received the radio on a Thursday, had it on the bench that
> afternoon and on it's way back to me the next day.  UPS had possession of it
> longer than TT did.
> 
> All went smoothly until Field Day.  A number of friends were eager to 'play'
> with the Jupiter so I agreed to set it up as part of our contest station (if
> you worked WI4R on CW during FD, it was my Jupiter).  After bringing the
> radio home from FD and installing it back in my shack new problems began to
> pop up.
> 
> First, the receive audio was badly distorted and the radio would lock in
> transmit.  Again, I cursed the radio and suspected that another 'piece' of
> the Jupiter had gone south during FD operations.  I immediately emailed Paul
> at TT and put out a call to my local elmers.  To a man, they said "RF is
> getting back into the radio".  Paul outlined a quick, simple test, and a
> local elmer who is also an EE chastised me, "Think it through, and work to
> isolate the problem!"  Well, the test Paul outlined proved that the problem
> was not with the radio.  A careful check of the rats nest of cables in my
> shack turned up the culprit - a bad coax jumper.  Everything was working
> fine again, but I had been ready to blame the radio, TT, faulty
> manufacturing, bad components - everything except my own inability to
> properly solder connectors.
> 
> Last week a new problem surfaced.  Once again the Jupiter began behaving
> oddly.  On transmit the radio display would blank out and the radio would
> lock up.  Once again my knee jerk reaction was to blame the radio.  However,
> I calmed down and worked to isolate the problem.  Long story short, it was a
> power issue.  Hooking the Jupiter directly to the power supply instead of
> through a distribution panel eliminated the problem.
> 
> See the pattern here?  It's 'experience a problem, immediately blame the
> radio'.  It's a macho thing.  "Hey, I'm a big, bad, licensed ham radio
> operator.  It can't possibly be my fault!"  I detect this undertone running
> through a number of negative eHam reviews of not just the Jupiter, but a
> number of other radios.  Do you wonder what's going on when a guy writes,
> "The radio went back to TT and they checked it out and said nothing's wrong.
> But when I get it back in my shack the problem's still there!  TT can't
> build (or diagnose, or design) a decent radio.  I've been a ham for (insert
> your favorite two digit number here) years, and I know it's the radio and
> not my installation!"
> 
> I felt exactly the same way and was proven wrong twice.  So, thank you TT
> for building a great radio and holding my hand while I muddled my way
> through the problems, and thanks to my local elmers who offered support
> without judgement.
> 
> I will never again view negative reviews in the same light.  Based on my
> experiences they will always be a little suspect.
> 
> 73!
> 
> Brian
> W8BYH
> 
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