[TenTec] Orion screen darkening, etc.

[Rob Atkinson, K5UJ]

Jim,

Good luck.  I have no doubt you will be back soon and telling us about it.  
I am looking into getting an EBT scan.

now, on to your comments:

<<<As any manufacturer must do,  Ten Tec was careful to use just the
"right cost" components.  But some of these selections,  I believe
perhaps could have been upgraded a spot or two. However,  we
would have seen a noticeably higher rig cost for those component
changes.>>>

You gave good examples. Another, offered by Steve Katz, on eham, was the 
Orion PA transistors:

"The FT1000MKV-Field uses a pair of Toshiba 2SC2879s in its PA stage. Each 
is rated 100W output power with 14Vdc supply voltage; so, it's got a '200 
Watt' PA stage, at least in terms of transistor device specifications.

The Ten Tec ORION 565 uses a pair of Toshiba 2SC2290s in its PA stage. Each 
is rated 60W output power with 14Vdc supply voltage (part of the same 
product family as the 2SC2879, just rated lower power, and costs less); so, 
it's got a '120 Watt' PA stage, at least in terms of transistor device 
specifications."

I personally would have liked to have seen a PA with a bit more headroom.  
This to me is an example of cost cutting on the aggressive side.

<<<All else about the business: engineering,  admin, marketing,  plant rent,
all other employees except assemblers,  etc. etc.  and finally profit
to pay for new product development and plant growth, etc.  must
come from that selling price mark up from prime costs.  And,
we ALWAYS had to make a profit,  or the shareholders would
withdraw their capital and>>>

I believe Ten Tec owns its plant and real property.  Shareholders are the 
company employees, i.e. it is not publicly traded.  One expense you omitted 
is medical plan.  These in general have become very expensive.

<<<Well,  how much more would you be willing to pay Ten Tec for a
new rig that had all of Orison's features and benefits plus absolute
guaranteed operating performance,  needing no on-going firmware
upgrades,  all was perfect at production release?  How about
three, four, five times higher price a la the "other" new rigs coming
into the amateur market.>>>

That would have been fine.  There would have been a market for a high priced 
super rig, provided it delivered on its claims and did not have an egregious 
number of problems.  This may come as a shock, but there are in fact, a lot 
of hams out there with a lot of bucks to blow on expensive rigs.  Yaesu and 
Icom seem to realize this.  I am hearing more IC7800s on the air all the 
time.  Now, you all and I may not be able to afford them, but I for one, am 
not so selfish that I am going to demand that Ten Tec only satisfy me, with 
something made on the cheap.  If Ten Tec wants to pull out all the stops and 
make a top quality rig with first class everything for $10K, I say, have at 
it with my blessings, as I would like to see them succeed, even if it is 
with a product i cannot afford.

<<<What I am saying is:   we have gotten a bargain for the performance
now of the Orion at the price we are paying Ten Tec for it.  Yes,  it
is taking time to get all the nits and bits just so,  but our going in price
was very fair for what we got,  what Ten Tec got and is allowing Ten
Tec to remain in business and continue to engineer new products up
and down the product line.  Had we waited longer before production
release (and remember all the pressure we all were putting on TT to
get that Orion on the market??) or had the engineers sold the company
on some absolute need for "better" components or a different case
design,  you can bet the price would have been significantly higher!>>>

I would have preferred higher price/fewer problems.  But these are
opinions.  I do not consider a flawed rig a bargain at any price.
Judging from the posts over the past 24 months or so, I'd say
there have been flaws.

73,
Rob/K5UJ

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