[TenTec] The Next Flagship

[Bill NY9H]

actually in Total Control is a guy who is an Amateur,
a technoid
and an astute businessman

And I'd venture that any good ideas are not lost.
Only a ham would invest in this vast land.

bill  ny9h/3

At 02:29 PM 5/21/2014, you wrote:
>RF concepts and Ten Tec business decisions are Totally out of the 
>control of Amateurs........
>
>So I would not waste much time on recommendations.........
>
>k4PV
>
>Sent from my iPad
>
> > On May 21, 2014, at 3:02 AM, "Rick - DJ0IP / NJ0IP" <Rick at DJ0IP.de> wrote:
> >
> > I understand the desire of many of you for a new flagship radio, but in the
> > interest of survival of the TT brand, I hope they do not do it.
> >
> > Kenwood, Icom, Yaesu, - ALL are daughter companies of large enterprises in
> > many other business areas.
> > They won't go out of business if a particular ham radio flops.
> >
> > I don't know anything about RF-Concepts, but Ten-Tec was owned 
> mainly by two
> > families, neither of which currently have a family member actively
> > participating in the business.  Up till now, TT has survived on its own
> > accomplishments. There was no mother company to bail them out.
> >
> > Let's learn from the recent past.
> > In 2006, the rumor at the Friedrichshafen Ham Fest was that Kenwood was
> > going to exit the hf market space.
> > Their two old mares in the race (TS-2000 and TS-480), though decent radios,
> > were long in the teeth.
> > In 2010 there were new rumors that Kenwood would return; 2011 
> they did, with
> > the TS-590.
> >
> > IMO, the TS-480 had been the best buy (most bangs for the bucks) on the
> > market for many years.
> > Perhaps it still is.  If anything has replaced it, it is the TS-590.
> > You can currently get a 590 for about $1500/$1600.  Despite its known
> > shortcomings, that's a lot of radio for that price!
> >
> > The 590 radio gave Kenwood a great come-back into the hf market.
> > The TS-990S followed later.  IMO, they chose the right strategy.
> > Show the mother company that there is still demand for Kenwood hf products
> > in order to get more resources for the development of the Flagship.
> >
> > The Flagship market is too small, the Japanese currently own the low end
> > market, and the Chinese soon will (next 5 years).
> > The focus of Ten-Tec's engineering should be on the mid range.
> > The target price has got to be $200 more than that of a TS-590.
> > People will pay more for made in America, but not a lot more.
> >
> > The Argo VI has shown us that the RX quality can be maintained, even in a
> > transceiver costing just 60% of the entry level Eagle, and even 
> with cheaper
> > roofing filters.
> > Now what's needed is a box in the middle, merging the two.
> > It should be somewhat larger than the Eagle and priced such that Wade and
> > Rick can afford it.
> > I'll bet there are a lot more people out there, recently retired or coming
> > up on retirement are or soon will be in this category.
> >
> > The K3 has shown us how to do it. modularity.
> > In its basic entry level version, it is affordable for most people, though
> > that price needs to come down by $600.
> > In its full blown version it can compete (on performance) with most
> > Flagships.
> > Fancy stuff like the scope is an external box, not built-in, but perfectly
> > matched.
> >
> > IMO, this AND the innovation Ten-Tec has already shown in the area of open
> > source, coupled with matching products from Alpha, is how Ten-Tec will have
> > a bright future.
> >
> > Alpha should have a low end amp, sold under the TT brand, matching the rig
> > above.
> >
> > 73 - Rick, DJ0IP
> > (Nr. Frankfurt am Main)
> >
> >
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