[TenTec] Omni C + new Ham = Oops.

[Paul Harker]

Mike et al,

Where I stand/sit/hop right now:

I suffer from TMHS. For those of you unaware of the affliction, it stands
for Too Many Hobbies Syndrome. As such I have to spread my resources among
bicycling, woodworking, electronics (now improved to include Ham Radio as
of June), photography, guitar (both electric and acoustic), blues
harmonica, chess, computers, and a homemade CNC router, which is a melding
of computers, electronics, and woodworking. Oh, and in my spare time I like
to read and study German. For this reason I like to be in the "Most bang
for the buck" category rather than the "Top of the Line, with bells,
whistles and optional handlebar streamers" category.

So though I won't draw a line on the ground, at this point I believe the
Omni is where I'm gonna stay. I plan to get a matched transisor pair -- no
question. Also, I am STRONGLY leaning toward the 454s because in the long
run the extra price is a drop in the bucket ---AND--- though I will take
all possible precautions to avoid my transistor toasting behaviors in the
future, the 454s have just a little bit more "oops" tolerance in the power
dissipation category. And I don't want to have to replace these transistors
again.

Which brings me to where do I buy them. I agree that the "custom made and
matched"  from TenTec is likely just marketing. However, I do put a certain
premium on supporting a company that seems to go the extra mile. The
question I'm fighting with is whether that is worth $30.

Paul



On Wed, Oct 16, 2013 at 11:57 AM, Mike Bryce <prosolar at sssnet.com> wrote:

> Paul,
>
> Remember there are three things in life that always must be taken into
> account.
>
> 1. Time
> 2. Labor
> 3. Materials
>
> It's going to take just as much time and just as much labor to install a
> low beta transistor pair.
>
>
> Now, before you plop your credit card down, think about this.
>
> Do you plan on keeping this Omni or selling it to get something better? I
> end up naming 'em and they stay.
>
> If you want to fix the rig and offload it then the  MRF458 @$60 is a good
> deal.
>
> Personally, I'd go with the MRF454 MATCHED at $96. And while I did say not
> to pay extra for matching, for the extra $6 why not get them matched. I
> WON'T pay $20 premium for matching devices.
>
>
> If you plan on selling it, then use the Chinese devices and sell it on
> eBay as "worked the last time it was used."
>
> There is a name for the the custom made gain and gain-range matched pair.
> It's called 35% markup.
>
> Did you get the old ones out?
>
> Mike, WB8VGE
>
>