[TenTec] COST OF OWNERSHIP (COO)

[Wade Staggs]

*Some very good logic there and Thanks! Of course this means that my
Heathkit in 1971 with Power Supply was about $400.00 and since it still
functions as new. It has cost me $9.00 per year to own it. I will look up
the receipts on my minty Paragon now. I bet the cost per year is very low.
Except for DSP the Paragon will do everything I need and we would bet the
cost of ownership is very small. Anyway, your post makes a lot of sense
Rick. *
*            Thanks and 73 from Wade/KJ4WS*

On Tue, Jan 27, 2015 at 3:35 PM, Rick - DJ0IP / NJ0IP <Rick at dj0ip.de> wrote:

> Long ago Rob Sherwood began speaking often of COO, shortly after paying for
> an expensive repair to his IC-7800.
> Most people listening to his presentations and looking only at his
> performance charts, failed to pick up on his message.
> For some reason it took me several years for the message to finally sink
> in.
>
> It all boils down to the transceiver manufacturers ability to support a
> radio is no longer dependant on their service policy alone, but just as
> much
> dependant on their ability to obtain good quality components several years
> down the road.  Unfortunately they don't have too much control of the
> latter, other than stockpiling shelves full of spare parts - which
> ultimately raises the cost of the radio.
>
> As a result, we've seen radios of many brands terminated early in
> production
> and in some cases, unavailability of critical parts after just 5 years on
> the market.  I am not referring to Ten-Tec; rather a JA brand for which
> there were no more final transistors available in less than 5 years after
> its End of Life.
>
> If we are lucky, our new toy will last 10 years or more.  But if it fails
> prematurely, and it is due to one of these components which are no longer
> available, the value of our toy just sunk to near zero, unless we invest
> time and labor to part it out and sell it one component at a time.
>
> Let's assume this happens to Bob and Bill.
> Bob paid $8K for his flagship, but Bill paid only $2K for his toy.
> Both fail after 6 years and there is no replacement part.
>
> Bob's COO = 8000/6, or $1333 per year.
> Bill's COO = 2000/6, or 333 per year.
> Bob's radio cost $1000 more per year than Bills.
>
> OK, maybe Bob's radio is worth $1000 per year more, but if we're careful
> how
> we spend the $2K, then it's hard to believe any other radio can be worth
> that much more.
>
> As a consequence, especially being semi-retired, I have decided that I
> won't
> be purchasing any radios costing more than 2 to 2.5 K$.
>
> COO is a factor everyone should consider.
> What each of us can afford varies from one OM to another, but everyone
> should keep this in mind when purchasing their next new toy.
>
> My "2c worth" for tonight.
>
> 73 - Rick, DJ0IP
> (Nr. Frankfurt am Main)
>
>
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