[TenTec] Serious market overlooked by ham manufacturers

[CSM(r) Gary Huber]

I agree with W3WN..... I've experienced the "boot strap problem" numerous 
times when trying to get a repeater (new frequency, CTCS, or new band) on 
the air, starting a new APRS digi-peater, or starting a VHF radio & TNC 
access to DX Cluster.  Most difficult is trying to get something going that 
requires the user to invest in a new radio and antennas.

Best regards,

CSM(r) Gary Huber - AB9M
9679 Heron Bay Rd
Bloomington, IL 61705
(309-662-0604)
www.csm-gh-com
glhuber at msn.com
gary.huber at us.army.mil

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Ron Notarius W3WN" <wn3vaw at verizon.net>
Sent: Sunday, August 03, 2008 4:29 PM
To: "Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment" <tentec at contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TenTec] Serious market overlooked by ham manufacturers

> Hmmm.
>
> Jim, I would have my suspicions about the size of the market.
>
> A lot of it is the "boot strap" problem.  You need to get activity to sell
> the radios, but no one wants to buy the radios to get activity going.  You
> need a "boot strap" to break this "chicken or egg" cycle.
>
> We know what doesn't work.  Giving Novices 1.25 cm repeater access was an
> interesting idea... only there were no repeaters for them to access, and 
> few
> other ops on the band anyway.
>
> And this is why the band was reduced 40% (the non-repeater/FM part of the
> band) and remains vulnerable.  In much of the US (and there are areas 
> where
> there is activity), the activity is so light that -- less face it -- loss 
> of
> the band would not impact the vast majority of amateur radio operators.
>
> I'm sure that the sales people at Ten Tec, and other manufacturers as 
> well,
> have studied the market.  My suspicion is that the market for 222 gear 
> just
> isn't there right now.  The relatively few contesters who would buy gear 
> (a
> thousand?) might not be enough to justify the investment in designing,
> building, marketing, and selling another radio for the band.  (And I could
> be wrong -- I'd sure love to be proven wrong on this one!)
>
> ----
>
> Here's something to ponder, FWIW.  A few weeks back, on a discussion 
> thread
> on another site regarding manufacturing, someone claimed that anyone who 
> was
> talking to the factories turning out inexpensive mass-produced FRS/GMRS 
> and
> similar gear (including the very cheap 2M HT's), usually got a response 
> that
> unless they could turn out several hundred thousand units, it wasn't worth
> it for them to tool up for production.
>
> For the sake of argument, let's assume that that's true, more or less.
>
> Now... if someone was to make the investment for a production run of, say,
> 100,000 or so 222 MHz FM HT's for use in the North American market (and
> anywhere else where amateurs have access to the 222 MHz band)... and it
> would have to be a decent unit that could pass FCC/IC type acceptance, 
> etc.,
> let's not get bogged down in the details... and could afford to profitably
> sell those units at, say, US$79 each (plus tax & s/h, natch)... do you 
> think
> the amateur radio market would buy enough of these radios to "boot strap"
> interest in 222?  (Obviously, you'd have to encourage some repeaters to go
> up in some areas... and other infracstructure and so on... again, I'm 
> being
> very general here)
>
> If the answer is "No," then I think it's unlikely that you could get any
> manufacturer to do a relatively small production run of a contest-quality
> rig at an afordable price.  And remember, the manufacturer has to make a
> buck at it... Ten Tec can't afford to give away radios or sell them at a
> loss, or they'd be out of business.
>
> (And if the answer is "Yes," why hasn't anyone done it yet?)
>
> I'd love to see the rig you're thinking of.  I'd even love to be able to
> afford it, right now.  I just don't see it happening.  I could be wrong; 
> I'd
> love to be on this one, but I just don't see it.
>
> 73, ron w3wn
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: tentec-bounces at contesting.com
> [mailto:tentec-bounces at contesting.com]On Behalf Of n3aws at aol.com
> Sent: Saturday, August 02, 2008 10:04 AM
> To: tentec at contesting.com
> Subject: [TenTec] Serious market overlooked by ham manufacturers
>
>
> I know Ten Tec monitors this list.? As one of the few US manufacturers of
> ham radio equipment, there is a market being overlooked.? 1.25 meters.
>
> Japanese manufacturers aren't interested.? But VHF contesters are lacking 
> in
> a supply of equipment for this band.
>
> A simple, relatively inexpensive self contained SSB/CW transceiver running
> maybe 10 watts if the price were in line with the single band units from 
> MFJ
> would fill a niche market that has no competition at present.
>
> A cheaper than Elecraft transverter (not everyone neds a high end x-verter
> for this band) could also be a winner.
>
> American built quality.? Competitive prices.? I bet a lot of VHF/UHF
> contesters would come out of the wood work and buy one.
>
> Jim Walroth, N3AWS
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