[TenTec] Looks like company is fading away

[Ron Notarius W3WN]

Why was the Centurion dropped?
 
1.  Sales had dropped to the point that keeping the product in production was no longer economically feasible
2.  Certain critical parts are no longer available.
2a.  Haven't there been general complaints about the quality of available quality high-power amplifier tubes, the last few months?
3.  A new amplifier will be replacing it in the lineup, but the new amplifier isn't ready yet.
3a.  That new amplifier might be labeled an Alpha amp.  Or might not.
4.  The company is retrenching, cutting back, about to fold.
 
Well now.  Items 1, 2, and 3 are all very plausible.  Item 4?  Not so plausible.  Oh, not impossible, I grant you.  But with the amount of backlog they currently have, since the "summer" or "moving" sales did so overwhelmingly well... I have my doubts.
 
And yet, some automatically go to Item 4 and presume the worst.

Now, WRT the Orion 2, we know that Item 2 was the primary cause of the end of the line.  Will there ever be an Orion 3 or equivalent?  Time will tell.  
 
Having used an Orion 2 (and an Orion) in the past, as well as an Eagle, and as the current owner of an Omni VII... I have no doubts that Ten-Tec can come up with a new high-end radio to take the place of the Orion/Orion 2.  Will they?  I'm sure that if they feel the market will bear such a rig, and at a cost to the consumer that is not out of hand, and let's them make some money... they will.  
 
We shall see.
 
73, ron w3wn
 
On Sun, Jan 25, 2015 at 12:41 PM, Robert P. Santella <bobw2pnj at optimum.net>
wrote:

> FIRST) No replacement for the Orion 2 series
> SECOND) now they dropped the Centurion Amps
> Bob W2PNJ