[TenTec] Orion VFO Knobs

Wed Aug 8 20:43:50 EDT 2018

Well said, gentlemen,

I work in the defense electronics industry and we run into parts 
obsolescence issues all the time.  Usually its a chip that goes 
obsolete.  Sometimes there is a substitute part available. Sometime a 
redesign is possible.  Some manufacturers give notice when a part is 
going obsolete and they offer a last-time buy opportunity.  With 
pressures on price and profitability that all companies face, spare 
parts inventories are usually pretty thin.

If you can find a parts rig, great. Another way to stay on the air is to 
have an older rig as a backup.  My Heath HW-100 and Ten Tec Corsair use 
mostly common parts that are reasonably easy to find. Having said that, 
good luck if the frequency counter chip in your Corsair fails.

And, yes, a $10,000 radio may not be such a good investment if the 
processor or DSP chip dies obsolete in 5 years.

In the meantime, I'm trying to think of a substitute for the VFO knob 
rubber tire on my Paragon that I can find in a hardware or auto parts store!

73,

Bob WB2VUF

On 8/8/2018 12:43 PM, Bob McGraw K4TAX wrote:
> As an additional point to support, based on the legal department for my previous employer, there is no statute or law in the US which requires a company to supply support or parts past the original warranty period.
>
> Bob, K4TAX
>
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Aug 8, 2018, at 10:58 AM, Bob McGraw K4TAX <rmcgraw at blomand.net> wrote:
>>
>> In many cases, the original supplier of the parts has discontinued specific items.  The new ownership has little to nothing to do with this fact.  Some parts were custom made for Tentec while some were made in their own tool and die shop or injection molding facility.  Those of course no longer exist. Unless someone builds after market items, many parts for older radios {those 10 + years} simply won't be available.
>>
>> This also is the same for many other brands as well.  I've encountered this fact with my attempted repair of Kenwood, ICOM and Yaesu products and is one of the reasons I've stopped repairing radios.  No parts available in many cases.   In other instances, the supplier has a minimum of 100 piece order.  If I have to order 100 pieces just to get one or two, this makes the repair very expensive.  Certainly is not profitable for me.
>>
>> Folks, we must realize that anything older than the Omni VII {now 10+ years old}, Eagle {now 8+ years old}  and Argonaut VI {now 6+ years old}  are, in many instances, in trouble with regard to parts.    With my former company, having been in charge of repair parts for products that are no longer in production, we did forecast and purchase inventory to support products for 7 years. In most cases the supplier or vendor informed us that this was the last production run on these items.   This is inventory that takes space on the shelves, and must be paid for in advance.  Hence we have to spend dollars for parts that may set on the shelf for 7+ years.   The accountants do not like this and the facility manager may say "why do we need to use this space for obsolete parts"? And in many instances our "forecast" was not sufficiently accurate and we simply ran out of parts before expected.  In some cases we were forced to limit purchase quantities to prevent hoarding.
>>
>> With Tentec and other brands, just be thankful you can get any service work done and parts being available.   Yea yea yea I know you're saying your 30 year old radio still works and I can get it repaired.   In general that is correct.........until one of those unique parts fail.     The Orion series has several unique parts and many to most of the PC board assemblies are no long available.    If either fails, look for a "parts only radio" and hope the part is good that you need.
>>
>> This is no different than looking for a brake controller for anti-lock brakes from a junker at the auto junk yard.  Oh, the Dealer has them for $650.   That's 1/2 the value of the vehicle.    Radios are much the same way.
>>
>>
>> 73
>>
>> Bob, K4TAX
>>
>>
>>> On 8/8/2018 10:18 AM, David J. Ross wrote:
>>> Sorry to hear that. I bought the parts for my Paragon just last Nov.  I had heard that service parts were drying up under the new ownership.
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: TenTec <tentec-bounces at contesting.com> On Behalf Of km4bsham via TenTec
>>> Sent: Wednesday, August 8, 2018 11:10 AM
>>> To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec at contesting.com>
>>> Cc: km4bsham <km4bsham at aol.com>
>>> Subject: Re: [TenTec] Orion VFO Knobs
>>>
>>> Naturally "out of stock,  try back at a later date ". Thanks
>>>
>>>
>>> Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
>>> -------- Original message --------From: "David J. Ross" <rossdj at verizon.net> Date: 8/7/18  6:32 PM  (GMT-05:00) To: 'Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment' <tentec at contesting.com> Subject: Re: [TenTec] Orion VFO Knobs I purchased one directly from TenTec but there was a $25 minimum order. I needed the plastic panel end ears so the ring was a price padder.
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: TenTec <tentec-bounces at contesting.com> On Behalf Of Dave Beghtel via TenTec
>>> Sent: Tuesday, August 7, 2018 6:04 PM
>>> To: TenTec at contesting.com
>>> Cc: km4bsham at aol.com
>>> Subject: [TenTec] Orion VFO Knobs
>>>
>>>
>>> Is there any source for the newer vfo knobs with the solid rubber ring?
>>> Thanks, Dave KM4BS _______________________________________________
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