[TenTec] Popularity of ICOM 7300

[terry foskey]

Not sure how many of you have actually operated the 7300?  I do not own one and I am not particularly fond of ICOM although I own an ICOM 7800.  To me the tonal quality of  CW is better on the Yaesu...to my ears...obviously not everyones.  I currently own a Yaesu but it is not on active duty in my station, instead I have the Orion 1 sitting next to the 7800 and between the two I have substantial ability to work DX. The best CW rig in my house is the TenTec.  We have a 7300 at our DX club in Gulfport MS.  I have operated it for a couple of hours.  I am not crazy about the touch screen and to me that is not one of the better features.  The panadapter screen and onboard decode functions for PSK and RTTY are very nice.  The display is bright and crisp.  It has knobs and buttons just like a traditional radio.  I believe its a superb entry level radio. What i don't like about it is the lack of connecting two antennas ie a receive antenna and tx.  It limits the use at our station when we want to use beverages or 4 square.  It will be in service during Field Day and will be interesting to see how well it behaves on adjacent bands in close proximity to other transmitters, etc.  I love TenTec as many of you do, I like the idea of a Radio with IF out but the trend is towards onboard Panadapters with outputs to larger screens.  Same with onboard decoding of RTTY, PSK, etc.  you don't need a computer with software.  With my 7800 and my little "dirty" Yaesu FTDX 1200 I can decode PSK, RTTY and send my messages with a small external keypad...no computer needed...With the Yaesu, it even comes with live spectrum and CW decode as well.  Do everyone want these features, no.  The best TenTec can hope for is a small niche market something lower in scale than elecraft but able to produce radios which rival elecraft.  The right product has been debated here now for several hours.  Anyone wanting an Eagle can easily find one on the used market.  Look in Ebay today, there are at least three or four, one with bid starting around $800.  I have seen many sell for less than $1000.  I am sure it's a nice little radio, but that's all it will ever be, basic functions, small, no ability to expand.  I wish TenTec well but as many have pointed out today there are many issues with the website which could be easily corrected and there are many other products to start cash flow without need of modifications.  Some of you act as if we hate Ten Tec for speaking out, on the contrary we want to see the company survive we are attempting to offer our honest opinions.  It's called market input, input from experienced operators, people that have owned many rigs from multiple manufacturers; Flex, Ten Tec, ICOM, Yaesu, Collins, Hallicrafters, Heath, etc. No one is expecting Ten Tec to compete with the Japanese big guns or Elecraft but a company would be naive to not leverage ideas being presented in the current product lines.
N5TF,
Terry