[TenTec] The Eagle inflation costs, etc.

Wed Sep 29 12:16:00 PDT 2010

I agree AND I was trying to make the point that at the time I bought my 
Corsair II station in 1988, I was buying technology that met MY requirements 
as a DXer for sensitivity, no phase noise, and large signal handling 
capability in the pile-ups.  I could have purchased a Japanese manufactured 
radio for more or less money. I could have purchased a leading / bleeding 
edge technology from TenTec ( the Corsair II was in its last year of 
production at that time) but none seemed to do what the Corsair II and ext 
VFO could for the price. I have purchased and traded in / sold both a 
Paragon (extended coverage capability for MARS was the primary driver) and 
an OMNI-VI+ while keeping the Corsair II.  Just after Dayton this year I 
purchased a OMNI-VII, PS, and 300 and 500Hz filters.  The total cost of the 
OMNI-VII station was less than the cost of the OMNI-VI+ or the Corsair II 
price adjusted for inflation.  In my opinion, TenTec radio technology 
continues to get better at a lower price.

The Eagle appears to be a great radio for the price.  Is it a replacement 
for a OMNI-VII or Orion?  No.  Will it satisfy everyone's needs, wants, or 
requirements? No.

It may be possible to manufacture / market  a 100 Watt SDR for less than 
$1000; think FLEX 1500 with a 100 W PA, but you'll still have a radio 
without knobs and a computer requirement for control.  And in any SDR you do 
need to consider the cost of the computer because if you are going to be 
competitive in the pile-up or contest the computer needs to be as good as or 
better than the SDR, so the computer and screen are going to add $750 to 
$1000 to the SDR's cost.... whoaaa we are at the cost of an Eagle.

73,

Gary - AB9M

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Kris Merschrod" <Kris at merschrod.net>
Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 2010 6:08 AM
To: "Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment" <tentec at contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TenTec] The Eagle inflation costs, etc.

> Gary raises the question.  The Cosair $1940 in 1988 and inflates to $3580 
> in
> present dollars.
>
> BUT, Joe provides the answer.  Instead of "controlling for technology" (or
> gzimos) which is like comparing apples to pears from the same orchard, we
> need to control of a constant of some sort.  Joe provides to clue in his 
> "I
> design and sell 25-100k$ tube audio gear for crazy rich people ."  The
> satisfaction index,  No offense, but some of our non-ham friends think 
> that
> we are "crazy" when internet had replaced us..; rich?  Well, that is a
> relative.  But, gettiong to the point, at the time that the decision was
> made to buy the Trition, Delta, Corsair, etc. we all had a reached the
> decision poit because ti would satisfy our desires.  Sort of like the
> saturation point of a component and we flip to positive from neutral.
>
> So, if we flip for the Eagle at less than $2k today, then we are getting a
> better deal for satisfaction and excitement (plus grief from the XYL for
> bringing in another "box").
>
> Judging from the excitement here, I'd say that Tentec is doing a great 
> job.
> :>)
>
> 73,
>
> Kris
>
> Merschrod
> 123 Warren Road
> Ithaca, NY 14850
> www.merschrod.net
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "CSM(r) Gary Huber" <glhuber at msn.com>
> To: "Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment" <tentec at contesting.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, September 28, 2010 10:18 PM
> Subject: Re: [TenTec] The Eagle inflation costs, etc.
>
>
> I just pulled the sales slip for my Corsair II,  263 ext. VFO,  282 and 
> 288
> filter, 705 mic, and 961 PS purchased on 10-21-88.
>
> (still on the desk as the back-up rig and psk-31 radio)
>
> The total price then was $1940.00 ........ what would that be in 2010
> dollars?
>
> 73,
>
> Gary - AB9M
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> From: "John Molenda" <cdistflatfoot at gmail.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, September 28, 2010 6:36 PM
> To: "Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment" <tentec at contesting.com>
> Subject: Re: [TenTec] The Eagle inflation costs, etc.
>
>>  Well said Art !     John kb2huk
>>
>> On 9/27/2010 1:57 PM, Art Trampler wrote:
>>> One needs to remember that the surge in American prosprity, post WW2, 
>>> was
>>> largly because with the possible exception of Argentina, the US had the
>>> only sizable industrial/manufacturing infratstructure left in the world.
>>> Bombs took care of the rest.Peron took care of Argentina.
>>>
>>> So for 25 years the only place one could turn for halfway decent to good
>>> consumder goods was the US; and for another 15 years, the only place to
>>> go for decent capital goods was the US.
>>>
>>> Under that system wages and benefits grew considerably as there was
>>> little (price) elasticity of demand for US made products, as substitutes
>>> were largely unavailable.
>>>
>>> This is no longer the case and said change, coupled with comparative
>>> advantages in labor and tax rates (and in many countries regulatory
>>> costs), makes the US goods relatively mroe expensive worldwide, even
>>> without an artificially devalued yuan. Of course productivity benefits
>>> used to offset the wage differential, but that gap is closing too.
>>>
>>> I think we need to recall the state of the world's industrial base post
>>> WW2 to understand the arc that we are on.
>>>
>>> Art, KØRO
>>>
>>> PS: I'd happily own an Orion II and maybe an Eagle (let's hope it does
>>> not turn out to be a screaming chicken). There aren't many rigs for 
>>> which
>>> I'd give up my Omni VI.
>>>
>>> PPS: Good thing this is not another reflector concerned more with
>>> vertically oriented implements of steel and aluminium; we'd have been
>>> warned to find a more suitable venue by now!
>>>
>>> --- On Mon, 9/27/10, Kris Merschrod<Kris at merschrod.net>  wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> From: Kris Merschrod<Kris at merschrod.net>
>>> Subject: Re: [TenTec] The Eagle inflation costs, etc.
>>> To: "Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment"<tentec at contesting.com>
>>> Date: Monday, September 27, 2010, 12:48 PM
>>>
>>>
>>> I, too have been drawn into the QSO here.  If you use the US currancy
>>> inflater at :
>>>
>>> http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/
>>>
>>> Then at $700 in 1978  the Titon would be $2,343 today.  So T-T is 
>>> running
>>> at
>>> the inflation rate.  Unfortunately, the competition started off way 
>>> below
>>> our wage rates and is still way below - hence the low cost of imported
>>> radios.
>>>
>>> Our blind faith in free-market ideology has kept us from looking around
>>> to
>>> see what is happening (or what was happening to other countries when we
>>> had
>>> the comparative advantage).  Balanced trade would have been a better
>>> strategy, but, heck, when you are sitting at the card table and the 
>>> chips
>>> are flowing your way, who would want to change the game?
>>>
>>> I wonder why the house keeps giving us more chips to play with when it 
>>> is
>>> obvious that our luck has run out?  Actually, the answer to that 
>>> question
>>> is
>>> in a great book called "1421"  It is about the Chinese navagation
>>> advances,
>>> but also about their trading policies way back then.
>>>
>>> We are playing checkers and they are playing Go.
>>>
>>> Moral of the story?  Buy Tentec!
>>>
>>> Kris KM2KM
>>>
>>>
>>> Merschrod
>>> 123 Warren Road
>>> Ithaca, NY 14850
>>> www.merschrod.net
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Pumbaa"<pinkertontommrs at bellsouth.net>
>>> To: "Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment"<tentec at contesting.com>
>>> Sent: Monday, September 27, 2010 12:47 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [TenTec] The Eagle
>>>
>>>
>>>> A lot of people did not have their income increase some 285% from 1978
>>>> to
>>>> today.  That is the problem as companies can't sell as many ham radio
>>>> sets
>>>> as they do large LCD TV sets. HTs now seem very cheap especially a
>>>> certain
>>>> brand made in China. If your income has equaled the inflation rate then
>>>> today's radios are probably cheaper than those of 1978,
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: "mike bryce"<prosolar at sssnet.com>
>>>> To: "Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment"<tentec at contesting.com>
>>>> Sent: Monday, September 27, 2010 10:52 AM
>>>> Subject: Re: [TenTec] The Eagle
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> This has been an interesting thread. It got me out of the shadows.
>>>>
>>>> I haven't looked it up but in 1978 the triton was someplace around $700
>>>> stripped with no noise blanker or cw filters, analog version.
>>>>
>>>> today that's about over two grand.
>>>> <Clip>
>>>>
>>>> Mike, WB8VGE
>>>> SunLight Energy Systems
>>>> The Heathkit Shop
>>>> http://www.theheathkitshop.com/
>>>> J e e p
>>>> o|||||||o
>>>> Note: No trees were killed in the sending of this message, but a large
>>>> number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>>
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