[TenTec] Repairs

[Steve Berg]

Back when I worked for a Motorola Service Depot, the Big M would charge 
$65 an hour for my services.  As, I recall, I was paid about $7 an 
hour.  This was in 1980.  So, since the value of the currency has been 
dropped by at least 75% since then, I really don't think that Ten Tec is 
out of line on their service charges.

What it boils down to, is how much does this old equipment really mean 
to me?  I have spent quite a bit of money on getting my Corsair II, and 
my Argonaut II, serviced at the factory, and have done so because I 
really like these older radios.  This has not prevented me from buying a 
new Argonaut VI, and Omni VII.  Try getting factory service for a decade 
old Japanese radio, even one like the Icom 706, of which millions were 
made.  When I had a Kenwood TS-790A VHF/UHF multi-mode radio, it was no 
longer being serviced by the factory. The ALC was acting up on SSB, and 
so I took it up to a prominent Wisconsin store's service department.  
Their tech (obviously not Miles) kept keying it on FM, and said that 
there was no problem. So, I paid the bill, and let a local shop fix it.  
It was a bad diode on the ALC board.

Product life cycles keep getting shorter, but I fully expect that my 
more recently purchased Ten Tec equipment will still provide me with 
more than satisfactory service for many more years.

Steve WA9JML