[TenTec] Bring back the corsair 2

Fri Nov 25 10:12:38 EST 2016

I think bringing back the Corsair would be even more expensive. The 
enclosures and all those controls and knobs cost serious money. Three 
enclosures: transceiver, external VFO, and speaker/power supply. And 
these were nice enclosures and knobs compared to what is typical on an 
HF transceiver these days.

Also every ham has a slightly different take on what would make their 
Corsair III what they would want. I would not want DDS, but a PTO and an 
external VFO with that wonderful A-B balance control for dual receive.

As some have pointed out, the Corsair II had some deficiencies, such as 
the audio hiss. There is also the less than stellar sidetone and noise 
blanker. These would also have to be addressed in a redesign.

I would say keep the fundamental building blocks of the Corsair II, just 
redesign to accommodate obsolete parts, and deficiencies. The only 
additions I would want would be the 60 and 6 metre bands. No computer 
port! No additional digital electronics!

With the high cost of bringing a Corsair III to market, and the 
splintered requirements of the prospective buyers, I would say there is 
a very low probability of this being a profitable venture for Ten-Tec.

73, Darrell VE7IU

On 16-11-24 12:42 PM, rick at dj0ip.de wrote:
> Which parts are no longer available?
> Silly question. DOES NOT MATTER.
> You can substitute just about anything for that stuff.  This is not the
> problem.
>
> Redesign cost peanuts.  A dozen members here could do that.  ZERO COST.
>
> We could not use the same circuit boards but circuit board design with all
> of the current software available is peanuts.
> The cost is in building the prototype and testing it.
>
> Cost:  With $800 of filters required, I suppose the $2K price tag is hardly
> achievable.  The radio, fully loaded, will cost $2500.
>
> The VFO question is excellent.  My brain says go with DDS because PTO is too
> expensive, too inaccurate, and too maintenance intensive.  But the analog
> VFO did not have the distortion PLL has.
>
> Throwing in extra bands doesn't cost much.  I don't need 6m in such a radio
> though I suppose most do.  60m is a must.
>
> No external VFO.  The 2nd VFO must be built in.
>
> Serial ports are Fred Flintstone.  USB are better but you will find
> rejection to this to.
> Instead use a NIC.
>
> Computer Control:  sorry, stupid question.  YES.
>
> IMO, you would easier get 100 hams to buy this as get 100 hams to buy an
> Eagle.
>
> Is this something we want them spending their time/money on?  IMO, if you
> wish they stay in business, NO!
>
> Agreed Ron, I just don't see it happening . . . though I would love to own
> this rig.
>
> 73 - Rick, DJ0IP
> (Nr. Frankfurt, Germany)
>
>
>
> How much redesign would be recquired to accommodate those parts?
> Do the design specs for the circuit boards still exist?  Even if they do,
> would putting in different components require a complete redesign?
> Would the costs of this redesign work exceed the point where building the
> rig for sale circa $2K is profitable?
>
> How much do you 'tinker' with the basic rig?  And I don't mean putting in
> 'factory mods' or fixes that came along during the initial production runs.
> Do you keep it at 100 W out?  Or would 'beefing it up' to 200 W or so make
> it more marketable?
> Do you keep the PTO mechanical VFO, or do you go to a DDS type digital VFO?
> And if so, how does that affect the 'noise floor' of the rig?
> Do you throw in 6 meters?  60 meters?
> Do you retain the external VFO, or the capability for one?  (I would make
> the argument that slightly higher costs from a dual digital VFO is offset by
> no need for an external VFO) Do you put on a serial port (that includes USB
> port(s)) for feeding a computer logging program?
> If you go that far, do you give a computer some control over the VFO, and
> possibly some other functions?
>
> None of these questions, or many others like them, are deal breakers or
> insolvable in and of themselves.  With that in mind, my educated guess is
> that if someone could produce a limited run of a Corsair II or modern
> equivalent for a sale price between $2000 and about $2500, and not lose
> money on them, you might be able to get at least 100 hams to buy it.
> Whether or not you could get 200, though, well, that remains to be seen.
>
> If the price goes higher, the number of nostalgic hams goes down.  And maybe
> I'm underestimating the number of hams who would actually pay hard money (or
> at least use a good credit card!) for such a rig, as economies of scale
> would help bring the net per-radio cost down a little.
>
> But even if this COULD be done... Considering the challenges that Dishtronix
> and Ten Tec are facing right now to get back into the market, an start
> producing rigs again... Is this really something we want them spending their
> time, energy, money, and effort on?  Or do we want them to put all that
> design work into the next generation of rigs to come?
>
> I know.  That's why the original suggestion was to have the 'resurrected'
> Corsair II built in China.  Even if Mike was interested in this, and I don't
> know but I suspect he isn't, at best it would have to be done 'under
> license'.  And there would still be a ton of issues to address.
>
> So I just don't see it happening.  Pity.
>
> 73, ron w3wn
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: TenTec [mailto:tentec-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Reed Krenn
> Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2016 7:16 PM
> To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment
> Subject: Re: [TenTec] Bring back the corsair 2
>
> Here's a thought: How about making the production run a special limited
> edition? There is precedent, when TT had the limited edition Vibroplex keys.
> Maybe call it the 'Phoenix' series, representing Ten Tec's rise from the
> ashes. Perhaps there could be some unique new feature that would
> differentiate it from earlier production runs, and that would heighten its
> 'cache'.
>
> Thoughts?
>
> Reed / WW3A
>
> On Wed, Nov 23, 2016 at 7:05 PM, Steve Ellington <steven4lq at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> I tried an Eagle at the factory and didn't like it. Too small, noisy
>> TR QSK relay, menus etc.
>> For some reason everyone including TT stopped using those quiet little
>> reed relays and now use those noisy metal encased relays. I really
>> can't understand why unless it's something in the manufacturing
>> process. So there's no reason for me to want one.
>>
>> On Wed, Nov 23, 2016 at 6:59 PM, Barry N1EU <barry.n1eu at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Actually, I think several of us answered Mike's question saying that
>> $1699
>>> sounded too high.
>>>
>>> 73, Barry N1EU
>>>
>>> On Wed, Nov 23, 2016 at 11:51 PM, Steve Berg <wa9jml at frontier.com>
>> wrote:
>>>> Well so far none of us has answered Mike's question about buying
>>>> his
>>> first
>>>> lot of 100 Eagles.  I am willing to commit to purchasing one, but
>>>> that
>>> is a
>>>> grand total of 1% of what he needs to sell to make the production
>>>> run viable.
>>>>
>>>> I ran an Eagle at the factory station some years back, and was
>>>> very impressed.  It was like someone took my Argonaut II and
>>>> greatly
>> improved
>>>> its performance.
>>>>
>>>> Dreaming about Chinese built Corsair II's is very nice, and
>> pontificating
>>>> on how Ten Tec really should produce a software defined super rig
>>>> is
>>> fine,
>>>> but Mike needs to have some cash flow to stay viable.
>>>>
>>>> My $0.02 worth...
>>>>
>>>> Steve WA9JML
>>>>
>>>>
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-- 
Darrell Bellerive
VE7IU