[TenTec] Choice of rigs for contests

[ac5e at comcast.net]

Pricing of any imported product depends on the demand and the exchange rate. Last spring the exchange rate between the dollar and the yen was 138:1. The last time I looked the rate was 108:1. And it is expected to fall further, perhaps into the 90 to the dollar range it was in when Bill Clinton assumed the presidency. That projected change in the yen/dollar ratio is the reason so many Japanese car makers are building plants here, by the way. 

The original estimate for the IC7800 was in the $7-8,000 range; and some of my European friends estimated the price in the 10-12,000 Euro range.  Logically, the estimated price should increase by at least 25 percent to account for the devaluation of the dollar. So the final price, and particuarly the street price, of the '7800 is very much in question. 

Of course, rigs such as the FT1000-Field, the PRO II, and many others are selling at far below last spring's price. That could indicate a lack of demand; or perhaps they are clearing the pipeline for a new series of rigs; or maybe there's some other reason. But whatever - if you have your heart set on a JA rig they probably won't get much cheaper. 

73 Pete Allen  AC5E



> I wonder how many will want to cough up the $7,000 - 8.000 it is presumed
> to cost.  Especially when we hear all the comments about the price of the
> Orion at less than half of that!
> 
>         73,  Duane
> 
> 
> On Mon, 17 Nov 2003 23:35:22 +0000 "Rob Atkinson, K5UJ"
> <k5uj at hotmail.com> writes:
> . . . .  I can imagine that would 
> > be a 
> > problem at first, at a multi-multi station with a lot of guest ops.  
> > If the 
> > 7800 is easy to figure out without a lot of manual study time it may 
> > wind up 
> > in some shacks, assuming the performance is there.
> > 
> > Rob Atkinson
> > K5UJ
> > 
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> 
> --------------------------------------
> Duane Calvin, AC5AA
> Austin, Texas
> 
> http://home.austin.rr.com/ac5aa
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