View Full Version : Ten Tec slowing down?
ka5piu
02-25-2008, 11:46 PM
Hello.
Ten Tec, the radio people, had a massive selection of kits just a while back.
Now, the total number of kits is limited.
What has happened?
Hello.
Ten Tec, the radio people, had a massive selection of kits just a while back.
Now, the total number of kits is limited.
What has happened?
Slow sales, most likely. They also killed off their popular 6N2 all-mode QRP rig...
Hello.
Ten Tec, the radio people, had a massive selection of kits just a while back.
Now, the total number of kits is limited.
What has happened?
I discussed this with some of the Ten-Tec folks at Hamvention.
Two factors:
One, some of the kit sales have dropped off, especially on some of the older kits in the collection.
Two, some of the parts needed for some of the kits are no longer available, or have had price increases that makes the cost of the kit unaffordable.
My understanding was that some of the kits were in the process of being re-designed to take advantage of available parts and/or affordable parts. But some kits could not be re-designed at the present time to do so; and other kits have seen demand drop below the point where, at present, it's not cost effective to do the re-design right now.
[Disclaimer: I don't work for Ten-Tec, and as I am relaying information months old, take it as unofficial, not as gospel. If in doubt... ask them yourselves, they're very good about answering questions!]
Keep in mind that to survive, Ten-Tec has to treat the amateur radio product lines as a business. For example, I've talked over the years with a few people about the possibility of putting a 100 watt PA on the back of the Argonaut V, to create a mobile or compact rig. I've been told that at present, the costs to do so would price such a rig out of the market demanding it.
That's also why some products, such as the 6N2, didn't survive... when you factor in costs (parts, labor, design, etc.), if the finished rig is priced too high, it won't sell that well, and it has to sell at a certain rate within a certain price range to justify keeping it. An existing product can stay in production at a lower price point, but if a major or at least significant redesign is required because certain components are no longer available or cost effective... and they don't see enough sales to justify the modified/upgraded radio at it's new price point...
73
Slow sales, most likely. They also killed off their popular 6N2 all-mode QRP rig...It wasn't as popular as they'd hoped. However, my understanding is that the inability to get certain components at a reasonable price was a bigger factor. (But I could be wrong, best to ask Ten Tec yourself and get the story straight from the source)
The 6N2 was a 6 & 2 meter all mode radio; it's power level was higher than QRP. I know a few people who owned one at one time or another, and for non-FM use, there were concerns that the radio put out too much power to run many linears (ie the Mirage series), but not enough to go barefoot by themselves. [Yes, I know you can crank the power back to run the amp, but I'm just telling you what I heard]
The Argonaut V, which is an HF/MF rig, at 20 watts output (adjustable) not strictly speaking a QRP rig, is selling quite well at the moment. I had the opportunity to babysit one while it's owner was undergoing some medical treatments which required a long hospital stay. Good little rig, and I'm trying to figure out how to scratch together the cash to get one of my own!
WA6MHZ
02-26-2008, 11:03 PM
Thats so very true about the parts. Most of the industry is now all robotic Surface mount assembly, and not suitable for the newcomer just learning to solder. There are still a few Through hole parts made, but IC manufacturers follow the demand. In my own company, we have had a terrible time with our older products being no longer to repair as the parts are no longer manufactured. The circuits have to be redesigned to fit the SMT parts. Assemblers like my wife, who was NASA certified, are now almost out of a job since the robotics has taken over. I would bet a peek inside Tentec and Elecrafts new rigs show an overwhelming amount of SMT parts. Most hams these days can barely SEE a 402 Surface mount resistor, and certainly can't pick on up. I use a needle nose tweezers and a pinpoint soldering iron to install those. And a Hand steady enough to diffuse bombs!! So thats whats happening to Ten Tec. They realize they can't compete with YaeComWoo and are surviving because of military and commercial contracts, Unfortunately, LONG LONG GONE are the great days of US Manufacturers like Hallicrafters, WRL, Drake (almost gone), Hammarlund, National, Swan, MultiElmac, Gonset, Globe, and Clegg. Those sure were the days!
Slow sales, most likely. They also killed off their popular 6N2 all-mode QRP rig...
Popular? Yeah, right.:rolleyes:
I discussed this with some of the Ten-Tec folks at Hamvention.
Two factors:
One, some of the kit sales have dropped off, especially on some of the older kits in the collection.
Two, some of the parts needed for some of the kits are no longer available, or have had price increases that makes the cost of the kit unaffordable.
My understanding was that some of the kits were in the process of being re-designed to take advantage of available parts and/or affordable parts. But some kits could not be re-designed at the present time to do so; and other kits have seen demand drop below the point where, at present, it's not cost effective to do the re-design right now.
All of that is more or less the situation. The main factor in discontinuing a number of our kits has been the worldwide changeover to surface-mount only parts using lead-free solder due to the EU WEEE and RoHS regulations. Component manufacturers are either dropping the traditional through-hole parts or raising the price on the existing stock to the point where it's no longer economical to offer some of our kits.
[Disclaimer: I don't work for Ten-Tec, and as I am relaying information months old, take it as unofficial, not as gospel. If in doubt... ask them yourselves, they're very good about answering questions!]
Keep in mind that to survive, Ten-Tec has to treat the amateur radio product lines as a business. For example, I've talked over the years with a few people about the possibility of putting a 100 watt PA on the back of the Argonaut V, to create a mobile or compact rig. I've been told that at present, the costs to do so would price such a rig out of the market demanding it.
That's also why some products, such as the 6N2, didn't survive... when you factor in costs (parts, labor, design, etc.), if the finished rig is priced too high, it won't sell that well, and it has to sell at a certain rate within a certain price range to justify keeping it. An existing product can stay in production at a lower price point, but if a major or at least significant redesign is required because certain components are no longer available or cost effective... and they don't see enough sales to justify the modified/upgraded radio at it's new price point...
73
The 6N2 was a great little radio -- and what killed it off was the license restructuring in 2000. We had the no-code techs all stuck on the VHF bands until the 5 WPM code test for HF SSB access came into effect; the sales of the 6N2 radio dropped like a stone when that happened :)
In general, if a product is selling well enough to continue ordering parts in production quantity to build it and there isn't another compelling reason to change it, we keep building it. (Compelling reasons certainly include a competitor coming up with something new and flashy at a comparable price - then we need something new, and then they will come up with something new and so on and so on...)
73
Scott Robbins, W4PA
Amateur Radio Product Manager, Ten-Tec, Inc.
sales@tentec.com