[TenTec] TEN-TEC Announcement January 4, 2016

[Al Gulseth]

A couple of things: one, encourage folks to particpate in this reflector. 
There's a wealth of "brainstorming" knowledge here to help users solve 
issues, even those not directly caused by the rig itself. Also, there are 
several "third party" servicers who post here if someone wants to avail 
themselves of a lower repair cost for their legacy TT rig.

OT: $4900 for a replacement touch screen for an automobile? At least in this 
area, one can find not just a part, but an entire older used vehicle (even 
pickups, which command a premium due to being in a "country" setting) in very 
nice condition for that amount or less with some careful shopping.

73, Al

On Mon January 4 2016 7:18:40 pm Gary J FollettDukes HiFi wrote:
> I, for one, applaud this policy statement.
>
> It is amazing to me how many folks think companies like Ten Tec should
> somehow pay a highly skilled technical resource to jabber for an hour about
> a problem that is well outside warranty responsibility.
>
> Yeasu won’t do it, Icom won’t do it, neither will Elecraft of Kenwood. They
> may give you 5 minutes of their time but, after that, you need to send your
> radio in for repair.
>
> To be fair to them, they WILL offer direction in solving a problem and I
> hope Ten Tec can do so. But we all need to be conscious of the value of the
> technician or engineer’s time, and not rag chew on the line. but instead,
> get directly to the issue.
>
> If something can’t be repaired over the telephone in 15 minutes or less,
> likely 6 hours won’t do it either.
>
> Now with this new “sustainable” service model, I hope TenTec can get back
> to the business of serving their patient service customers ASAP and also
> produce some products that evoke coveting like the Orion did when it first
> appeared…
>
>
> The Eagle is a cute portable radio with decent performance for that type of
> set. But I want an Omni 6+ without the birdies, a knob or a button for
> everything, no stupid processors that will go obsolete in 3 years.
>
> I want a Notch Filter INSIDE the AGC loop.
>
> DSP should be a plug in upgradable daughter board so, when its parts become
> unobtanium, we can get an update board. Apple offers this in their high end
> Mac Pro… Ditto on any CPU board that would be the radio’s controller.
>
> And why not use a display that is commonly used in a consumer product or in
> a commercial application such as a very common credit card scanner? These
> have GOT to be a lot cheaper than the custom displays and, when they fail
> in our fairly uncommon Ham radios, we will be able to buy junker
> electronics that use the same displays and do a replacement. There is NO
> logic to custom specifying a simple XY pixel type display. They all display
> the same thing and in the same way.
>
> (I wish Toyota would do that too! $4,900 for a replacement touch screen!
> INDEED!)
>
> Gary
>
> W0DVN
>
> > On Jan 4, 2016, at 2:13 PM, John Henry <jshenry1963 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > The following is from the new owner of TEN-TEC
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > As some of you may be aware, Dishtronix has purchased the assets (but not
> > the liabilities) of Ten Tec from RKR Designs. .  I had desired to keep
> > this under wraps  until Ten Tec is reorganized, but there is too much
> > speculation concerning the service department to continue without an
> > announcement of some sort.
> >
> >
> >
> > There is a myriad of things that must be accomplished before everything
> > is formalized. Unfortunately these things must be done before we can
> > continue with jobs that were sent in for repair to RKR. At this time I
> > would ask people to be patient and please do not call or email me about
> > your repair. When we get the phone numbers transferred successfully or
> > new phone numbers we will post them. As we progress with the change,
> > someone will contact you about your repair. When service resumes we will
> > be contacting the repair customers.
> >
> >
> >
> > As some of you may be aware I have been looking at all aspects of
> > operation of the company and restructuring operations has been necessary.
> > In reviewing the service department accounts, it is apparent that some
> > customers use the service department to diagnose the radio and elect to
> > not proceed with the repair. Unfortunately this open door policy costs
> > the company one hour of billable time to receive, unpack, open, diagnose,
> > provide an estimate and repack a radio for return to the customer.
> >
> >
> >
> > Effective immediately, all radios including those sent in to RKR, will
> > incur  a 140.00 minimum charge to look at a radio, even if it is not
> > repaired.  Service time is 125 per hour with the average repair requiring
> > from one to two hours. This means you can expect to pay at least 265.00
> > plus parts and return shipping for any repair.
> >
> >
> >
> > For customers who sent radios in to RKR which were not repaired, who
> > object to these terms, we will return your unit to you at your expense.
> >
> >
> >
> > A second problem in the service department is with the time technicians
> > spend on the telephone that quite often ends up having nothing to do with
> > the Ten Tec product but is some other station deficiency.  The problem
> > here is Ten Tec is not compensated for that time, yet Ten Tec pays wages
> > to the technician. When the service department resumes operation, Ten Tec
> > will charge the customer for any telephone call or email that consumes
> > more than five minutes of technician time.  That time will be billed in
> > quarter hour increments at the prevailing service rate.
> >
> >
> > I am fully committed to bring Ten Tec back to a sustainable state. This
> > will take some time. Please give us time to finalize these plans since
> > there are so many business related issues to get through. We will
> > definitely need to rely on you as customers to help continue the Ten
> > Tec tradition of
> > innovative product and cutting edge technology.
> >
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >
> > Given the content of the new owners announcement above, I (John Henry)
> > also request that if you can wait a while for your product to get
> > serviced in the Ten Tec service department, please let them alone until
> > they get back with you as he described above. If you absolutely have to
> > have your unit back now, then the service at tentec.com email address is
> > still working, and will continue to work. The phones are in transition,
> > so I doubt you will be able to call and get an answer for a while. once
> > phones are set up, the numbers will be announced. Once the website is
> > ready, everything will be on it. Remember, if going to tentec.com takes
> > you to rkrdesignsllc.com, then the website transition has not completed
> > yet.
> >
> >
> > Given the nature of this announcement, and it will almost positively
> > bring out more questions, again, please be patient. The new owner is
> > working through a lot of business issues, and I myself work a full time
> > day job and consult into the evening, so, answers may be few and far
> > between. Though this announcement is going out to a lot of venues, I will
> > attempt to monitor
> >
> > https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/ten_tec_radio_net/conversations/messa
> >ges
> >
> >
> >
> > 73, KI4JPL
> >
> > John Henry
> > _______________________________________________
> > TenTec mailing list
> > TenTec at contesting.com
> > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec
>
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