Hi, Mark, and everyone else,
I severely doubt Ten Tec could make a profit at $500.
They don't sell in the quantities Icom does and
certainly don't have much in the way of sales in Japan
which still has about twice as many licensed hams as
the U.S. I think their presence in international ham
markets is limited at best.
>
> 7) Minimum of 50 watts (preferably 100). It would be
> nice if the power could be reduced to QRP levels,
> but a new ham shouldn't be saddled with the
> challenge of QRP right from the start
Saddled? Hmmm... I posted this as part of a longer
post to QRP-F a few days ago. Perhaps it deserves a
repeat here:
----
Way back when I was first licensed I didn't know
nearly as much about the solar cycle, propagation, and
I certainly didn't have a clue about conventional
wisdom since I was learning from someone who was
unconventional to say the least. My first rig of my
own was a brand new Kenwood TS-660. It covered 6, 10,
12, and 15 meters only and put out 10 whole watts. I
had no clue that was supposed to be a poor choice for
a new ham at the bottom of the sunspot cycle. I knew
that I was a Technician and I could use 6m voice or
CW, 10m CW, and 15m CW on it and that I would have to
upgrade to use the rest of it's capabilities. Mighty
in my ignorance I went out, defied conventional
wisdom, and had a blast making contacts with that
radio.
I found openings at night on 6, 10 and 15. Whether
they were E-skip, transequatorial propagation, or
fluke F layer openings didn't matter since I didn't
know the difference. On weekends and days off I caught
daytime openings as well. Gray line propagation after
work on 15 was my friend. When I upgraded to General I
worked SSB and CW on all four bands with abandon not
knowing that it was supposed to be very hard to work
SSB with 10 watts on those bands near the bottom of a
cycle. I just did it because that was what I had and
that was what the people who taught me loved to do as
well.
----------------
> - for my first few years in the hobby,
> I remember how frustrating it was to spend a whole
> evening calling or answering CQ's and getting no
> response.
Calling CQ at QRP power levels is often a waste of
time. Tail ending or answering CQs usually isn't.
Were you blessed with a good antenna? Not having that
and running QRP certainly doesn't help. I also think
the elmer makes all the difference in the world. I'm
also capable of patience at times :)
You have a pretty impressive list of features there.
Please remember than Ten Tec is in business to make a
profit, first and foremost. I think the Argonaut V is
a wonderful starter rig or a rig for the seasoned ham.
Perhaps when finances are a bit more stable I'll
finally break down and buy one.
72/73,
Caity
K7VO/8
=====
Caitlyn M. Martin - K7VO
http://www.mizuhoradio.com/personal/k7vo
Blog: http://k7vo.blogspot.com
ARRL QRP-ARCI #11018 ARS #445 G-QRP #11577 AK QRP #637
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