Kevin, don't you think a lot of expensive radios have been "paid for" using
plastic money like Visa.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kevin Anderson" <k9iua@yahoo.com>
To: <tentec@contesting.com>
Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 2010 9:41 AM
Subject: Re: [TenTec] The Eagle inflation costs, etc.
>I didn't mean any disrespect for the Eagle in my post of a few days ago.
>And I appreciate Jack noticing my post and specifically replying to it.
>
> I personally would buy an Eagle if I could afford it (and would have
> bought the Argo V earlier if I could have afforded it then, as I am mainly
> a QRP operator). I'm partial to the wider and not so tall format of the
> Scout, Argo V, and Eagle. I much prefer their smaller size and
> proportions to the format and size of the Jupiter, Orion, and Omni VI (and
> before that the Paragon II, Omni V, and Omni VI), as I've long considered
> them too boxy and large for my shack. Before I got my two Scouts, I used
> to own an Argosy II and Century 22, which again share more similarities to
> my preferences. I parted with those two older radios mainly because I
> grew tired of having to rebuild PTOs and wanted someone else to enjoy
> those radios while they had the chance. And the PTO limitations of the
> older Corsair, early Omnis and Tritons, is why I wouldn't personally buy
> one for myself, regardless of how good they are. While the Scout has a
> PTO (the last of the Ten-Tec
> PTO radios), it is a much different PTO design and one not requiring
> rebuilding. My only beef with the Scout, besides the module-based band
> switching, is that I wish the RIT covered +/- 6 khz, instead of its very
> limiting 1.4 or so, because then I might be able to work a bit more DX in
> pileup situations; right now I'm basically out of luck for thinking about
> working DXpeditions and sought-after DX. Otherwise, for its cost, the
> Scout was/is a decent, solid, dependable, usable radio.
>
> I don't doubt that a cheaper or more bare-bones radio is not good in
> serious contesting situations. I wouldn't want that either. My limited
> experience operating at club field days and some other multi-multi
> situations is that Ten Tec and maybe Kenwood work well, with Icom
> generally being the worst and Yaesu being somewhere in between, at
> tolerating station-to-station interference.
>
> And I don't deny Jack's business assessment that even Ten-Tec couldn't
> produce a Scout today, let alone a multi-band version of such a low-end
> radio, at an affordable (to me) price. When I look at what an Elecraft K2
> costs new, $699 for just the 10-watt CW-only version, which is for the
> kit, with assembly still required, there is no way I can expect Ten-Tec to
> do that or less with an assembled radio. Nor is it fair to ask them to.
> But I want them to stay in business, so I have the option of buying a
> well-built radio made here in the States, and more importantly still being
> able to get older radios repaired.
>
> And so I will still watch the Eagle with interest, and hope that it does
> get bought and become successful for Ten-Tec, as at least then I might be
> able to buy a used one in six to ten years time (as I still hope someday I
> might upgrade to an Argo V).
>
> But in the meantime I still also sit back in amazement at how much radio
> buying you guys do, and the prices you can afford to pay, as I know there
> is no way my wife and I can ever justify it (and we are in our early
> 50s) -- to us, a non-essential purchase such as a transceiver at even
> $1,000 (or even a K2 kit for $699) is well beyond our scope of
> consideration. Obviously you guys earn a lot more than I do, or have a
> way different set of priorities than my family. I'm not disappointed --
> just amazed.
>
> And speaking of Tritons of old now costing thousands today if bought new -
> there is now way I could have afforded to become a ham then (or now) if
> that is what it cost to get into the hobby. The only way I figure people
> were able to do it then is that we/they didn't have nearly the range of
> necessary expenses, at least in proportion to income. Despite the
> advances in some areas economically, it does cost a whole lot more today
> proportionally to live, and with it our expectations on equipment
> performance, etc.
>
> Cheers/73,
> Kevin, K9IUA
>
> --
> -------------------------------------
> Kevin Anderson, Dubuque IA USA, K9IUA
> k9iua (at) yahoo (dot) com
> -------------------------------------
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