Hello fellow contesters,
Looking for some collective wisdom from the group about repairing or replacing
rigs.
I've got 2 TS-940's that I like, know well and feel like they work well
for me (i.e. I'm not missing the 2nd or 3rd tier of stations because I
don't have IF DSP or narrow 1st IF filters, it's limited antennas due to
CC&R). Both of them have some minor annoyance issues that make
operating them less than 100% convent, but none of the issues make the
rigs unusable. Things like a vox delay slider that only works if it is
slid just the right way, a narrow/wide filter switch that seems to
switch in the narrow filter every 3rd time it's pressed, a power supply
fan that is dead, etc. As I said, fairly minor issues from an operating
standpoint, however I don't have a clue how much they will cost to repair.
So herein lies the dilemma. It seems that a good condition 940 with the
IF10B installed goes for somewhere between $800-$900 on the online swap
sites. A reasonable replacement would be in the $2k range in my opinion
(i.e. k3 or ft-2000). The question becomes how much is it worth
spending on repairing these issues on a radio that's now 3 or 4
generations old.
My initial thought was that I would be willing to spend 25% of the cost
of a new rig on repairing a rig (i.e. around $500). But then I realized
that amount is more than 50% of the value of the rig. With Beltronics
bench rates just under $70/hour it seems a repair could easily push $500
depending on how quickly they can identify the issue, how much digging
is involved in fixing the issue, and how available the needed parts are.
I would be appreciative of any thoughts or wisdom you could impart.
Thanks.
73 de Al, KE1FO
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