[TenTec] Ten-Tec Marketing (?) + Ten-Tec "FIRSTS"

[Lee WA3FIY]

This list is a good example of INNOVATION!  Most companies produce items already well 
defined by the market.  Little innovation.  Companies and individuals like Collins (mechanical 
filter and KWM1 transceiver), Regency (TR-1..first mass produced consumer transistor 
radio), Hallicrafters (FPM 200 mostly solid state transceiver in the 1950's...The FPM 200 was 
an amazing piece of engineering), Cosmophone and of course Ten-Tec.  

Other than Ten-Tec, where are all those companies today?  Innovation did not guarantee 
their survival.  I would argue that innovation may well hurt the companies who innovate to a 
degree.  When you innovate you are plowing new ground, doing things not done before.  You 
get some things right and some things not so much.  Customers often do not know how to 
deal with the "new" ideas and many are reluctant to jump in for a while.  It may actually 
benefit a company to let someone else plow the ground and then come along behind and 
smooth it off.

Recall the Orion introduction.  There were some (some will say many) issues.  that was a 
huge undertaking but Ten-Tec established a new class of ham radio receiver performance.  
Even though the Orion was in the market for all to see and critique, it took the competitors a 
number of years to join the class.

Keep in mind that Ten-Tec has weathered the storm of innovation for 40+ years and is still 
doing well as far as I know.  I have a huge amount of respect for them.  May they have 40+ 
more great years!

73,

-Lee-

WA3FIY


On 5 Jul 2012 at 8:39, Rick - DJ0IP / NJ0IP wrote:

> Jim, this is a reply to your post but I changed the subject, so that
> we can keep the "first ten-tec" thread homogeneous.
> 
> I helped launch Ten-Tec here in Germany in 2004.
> Scott came over and gave a presentation in Friedrichshafen.
> In that process, I did some research and put together a list of
> Ten-Tec's "Firsts":
> 
>   . First all solid state 5-band SSB/CW transceiver (Argonaut, 1971)
> 
>   . First 100 watt solid state HF transceiver (Triton, 1975)
> 
>   . First legal limit solid state HF amp (Hercules, 1980)
> 
>   . Pioneered tunable crystal filters (Delta II, 1990)
> 
>   . First HF transceiver with built-in DSP (Omni-VI 1992)
> 
>   . First software defined HF receiver (RX-320, 1998)
> 
>   . First Flash-ROM upgradeable HF transceiver (Pegasus 1999)
> 
>   . First selectable I-F roofing filter transceiver (Orion 2003) 
> 
> 
> SO WITH ALLTHOSE FIRSTS, it's even more astonishing that TEN-TEC never
> had more success than they had.
>