Official Ten Tec Post Regarding New Phoenix 599 From Owner, N8WFF

From N8WFF:



Phoenix is NEW from ground up!



Please wait for the story to be published. We do our new product introduction at Hamvention Friday morning at 10 sharp!

One week from the following Monday the website goes live. I support DARA and if you want to be first you need to be there. Otherwise you wait.

There is already skceptism starting regarding the new Phoenix 595 SDR Transceiver, so to set the record straight:


I saw the other radio you think it is years ago and the developer and I agreed to build a NEW ground up radio.

He has added his know how to my know how and PHOENIX is born…

It is VERY MUCH TEN TEC inside!!!! I took the BEST of what we had, and the BEST of what he had, and the BEST of what I know how to do, and we added this up and you have the PHOENIX!



PASS THE WORD!



I need 100 pre orders for PHOENIX club. It costs you 500 NON REFUNDABLE DEPOSIT and I’m using that to buy parts.



IF you love Ten Tec, and you want Ten Tec to STAY in ham radio then you need to join the Phoenix club which assures you get a radio. The price goes up after the 100 spots close to be just like the other people’s price. Who knows how long parts will take? If you aren’t in the club you are going to have to WAIT and maybe WAIT a LONG TIME, because WHO KNOWS the state of the world and the economy then! IN the club gets you a certificate thanking you for the rebirth an relaunch of TT in Dayton and your name/ call on Plaque inside the lobby, free shipping lower 48, next year banquet pass for 1, limited to you and your SO if you are married, and a factory tour after the BBQ “Dining with Ten Tec under the Stars (or Christmas tree lights if there are no stars ) Like everything else we will just have to make our own probably.



I HAVE DONE MY PART FOR TEN TEC!

I HAVE FULLFIILLED EVERY PROMISE I MADE.



Ten Tec stayed open and still is open.

Sevierville is CLOSED because they had 100 radios sitting on the shelf they did not open for a YEAR when they had NO WORK to do other than repairs!

I sent every radio back to the owners and asked them to send the postage back to me if they could at a personal cost to me of over FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS.

Not ONE person sent back their postage.



I promised you a NEW RADIO and you have SEEN it with your own eyes this weekend.



Again I have done MY PART, MORE THAN ANY PERSON ON EARTH HAS EVER DONE FOR TEN TEC.



Now it is YOUR turn.

It is up to YOU if Ten Tec continues, or if I close it forever or just SELL it to the Chinese, and don’t think I won’t do it either.

This is a two way street gentlemen.

I’ve kept my mouth SHUT about a lot of things for a long time until I could let my actions speak for my words. Forgive me if I am too direct and for not pulling any punches, but I’ve been fighting an uphill battle with no money, no backing and no resources ever since I went in to this in 2016. You have no idea of how terrible things were at Ten Tec and the rape and pillaging that was done to the company by previous owners. It literally was SQUEEZED like an orange so hard that there wasn’t even any rind or pulp left. I have had to rebuild EVERYTHING and clean up a 50 year old disaster.



With the demise of MFJ there is a real need for some of the older TT products like the manual tuner, watt meters, etc. But it takes MONEY to do this folks. I have an extensive electronics production and I was building a metal shop before the pandemic hit. I need money for parts and to finish the metal shop. EVERY CENT from the sale of these 100 radios is going to be reinvested into TT to bring products back on the market. YOU can’t do this cost effectively without a metal shop. If anyone loves TEN TEC and just wants to send us a check to help to buy the stuff we need it will accelerate the process. Again I’ve gone as far as I can go for Ten Tec. Keeping things open best I could in Pandemic has cost me literally a fortune. I’ve done the best I could do for everybody and mostly got nothing in return but criticism and attacks.



One more thing, PLEASE NEVER come up to me and say “Is TEN TEC still open” Please correct anyone you hear saying that or asking that. There are a couple people who have an axe to grind with Ten Tec and Alpha whom I’ve never even met who keep doing this constantly all over the internet. It causes financial damage to me because it undermines confidence and nobody wants to buy product. These people are uninformed trolls and liars. Know them for what they are.



As a reminder, to the best of my knowledge I am the only guy left brick and mortar manufacturing my own products with the demise of MFJ. I’m the last man standing for entire in house production in the US.



When I go your choices are down to, well , you know.

PLEASE wait for me to post the official release. I will not be answering comments in the forums. I work for a living very hard 16 hour days 6.5 days a week. The longer I spend here the less I can get done for YOU!

 

Sorry, model 594, I hit the wrong key.

 

I know that this is a waste of time but... Palstar, Elecraft, Telepost Inc, Flex and Mercury all manufacture ham gear in the USA. So, maybe my reading comprehension is off a bit unless Mike was talking exclusively about Ten-Tec and Alpha.

I'm hoping that Mike makes a go of this; I know that he's been trying to get off the ground with ham radio merchandise for years and we desperately need more ham gear made in the USA. I've been doing my part with everything but radios, having purchased gear from Palstar, Mercury and Telepost Inc. over the last few years. I wanted Ten-Tec stuff but never got an opportunity to purchase any before they closed the first time.

 

In house manufacturing meaning having pick and place machines and complete surface mount lines, sheet metal fabrication in house ino a building you own as opposed to renting some sort of place and having someone else build your boards for you and make your metal for you. IE raw material in the front and finished goods out the back.

 

What is the price?

 

Mike, I'm a big fan of the older TenTec equipment. I've never owned an HF rig of any other brand. So I'm not any kind of a hater. So, intending nothing but the best for you and TenTec, I would beg you to control the anger when you post in promotion of a new rig. Isn't the main objective right now to gather funding to buy parts? I'm an example of someone who is on the fence having trouble deciding whether to pony up $500 with my fingers crossed. I can't imagine anyone in my position being influenced positively, increasing their inclination to buy in, by the anger and browbeating, however warranted it MIGHT be in some contexts. You seem to have to wear a lot of hats right now, and one of them is that of a salesman. I suggest that when you put on the salesman's you also take off whatever hat it is that makes you sound like a bullied schoolkid whining (however justifiably) about the mistreatment and threatening revenge. The light in which you cast yourself doesn't engender the kind of trust that's needed to encourage people to plunk down the greenbacks. It's probably the main reason that I, for one, probably won't.

 

+1

Also as a Ten Tec owner, and to be a bit more blunt, coming on a public forum such as this and intentionally p*ssing off the very people you hope will be your customers is not a good business model for success. Another consideration is that some of your commercial clients may be reading these forums, too, and might begin to question their association with the Ten Tec brand.

 

Undercapitalized businesses cannot succeed. Good luck.

 

Best of luck to you, I know being a businessman how tough it can get.

I would recommend you start repairing the older Alpha amps also. Many of the guys that have repaired them for years have slowed down and not wanting to do much work. I have numerous friends without the amps that would love to get them back on the air and will pay good hourly wages.

With MFJ gone, amplifiers and Tuners are definitely a niche market you can continue to do.

I think you would see instant cash flow, and you should have a handle on getting parts if anyone can.

I know there's a lot of good Ameritron amps that are in the same condition. Tens of thousands of Alpha and Ameritron amps.

I know it's a businessman you don't want to put all your eggs or cash into one basket. You've got to have cash flow and customer satisfaction. You have two of the best and most recognized branded products out there, Ten Tec and Alpha, which are not getting any value out of right now.


Many of us do appreciate hearing from you here on QRZ. I know we can be a tough crowd, but we all appreciate U.S. American built quality products. Also your product lines have such a great heritage.

 

In another part of the Forum, he said there's a $500 upfront payment to get in line, then pay the remaining $3250 on delivery.

 

We have been and are repairing Alphas and producing them.
You have a point. at the same time people reading lies are persuaded to go elsewhere. Its a catch 22. I'm not a bullied school kid. The bullies are not bullies when they hide and throw rocks from a distance. It takes guys to do it face to face. I appreciate the input. It is never good to feed trolls. At the same time you have to defend your reputation. I am not a liar or a cheat. The deposit is not for capitalization, it is to guarantee you don't back out on your commitment when I lay out all the money to do production. If you think you could buy the parts for 100 of these radios for 50K you are dreaming and I want to live where you are living!

 

And in this post you don't sound like one, either. Thanks.

 

Mike, I am thrilled that you are keeping TenTec alive. Ive been a fan since I bought an old omni d to listen to HF after I got my tech license when I was a teenager. I was super psyched when my father sent the a YouTube video from Dayton showing you introducing the radio. I know it's early days in the release schedule, but any chance you can make the deposits available online so those who can't be there this year can support your company? Also, as maybe a suggestion, having a pay over time option like affirm available at checkout might make this radio more available to Hams on a budget. I understand the pricing and the reason for it, but we have to acknowledge that it's on the premium end of the spectrum. Until then, I will keep enjoying my Argo VI and count down the days until the Phoenix is ready for purchase!

73

 

That is for the fully loaded, dual receiver, internal antenna tuner version.

Mike said the basic radio, single receiver, will hopefully be $2000.

Glenn AE0Q

 

The rig that mirrors the Ten-Tec Phoenix is the "Ermak TT" (wondering if the "TT" refers to Ten-Tec) being created by Konstantin UT2UK from Ukraine. It's not yet been released as it's in beta right now. I will seriously consider buying one if Ten-Tec brings it to market as it looks like an incredible radio. Here's a video:



This would certainly put Ten-Tec on a footing with the Elecraft K4 — and at a better price!

73, Randy K7RAN