I think it's called Summit Racing. Their stock of "car stuff" is very
impressive. If I was still into hot rodding, I'd be spending $$$ there on more
than just radios..
In a message dated 9/22/2016 2:32:27 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
wb5jnc@centurytel.net writes:
Slightly OT but there is also a motorsports-oriented company owned and
operated by the same folks as DXE. Same "above and beyond" customer
service
from them also. (If you're curious who it is look at a DXE catalog and
you'll
find items like gloves with their logo.)
73, Al
On Thu September 22 2016 1:20:07 pm Joe Papworth via TenTec wrote:
> I don't have a dog in the fight but I have to tell you guys this
> unbelievable story. I wrote it for our club's newsletter. I hope the
> formatting doesn't get discombobulated too badly.
>
>
> Words To Shop By:
>
> Going Above and Beyond the Call of Business…
>
> Some tales are so strange, they just couldn't be made up, like the one
I'm
> about to tell you:
>
> Some of you may remember that I bought ERD-Bob’s Pixel mag-loop receiving
> antenna not too long ago. Within a few days I had it installed and
> operational.
>
> Apparently my expectations were too high. I thought the loop would hear
> things I couldn't hear before and be able to eliminate all kinds of
> man-made electrical noise. You know, work miracles.
>
> When it didn't, I posed questions to the guys who had posted reviews on
> eHam about the antenna. The guys came back with some good suggestions but
> none of them turned up anything. It was looking like “this is as good as
> it’s gonna get.” A call to Pixel netted nothing except to find out they
> were no longer carrying the product.
>
> Then I received an email from Mr. Mark Ludwick at DX Engineering. He had
> seen my post on eHam. He explained that DXE now all owns all the rights
to
> the antenna. Mark offered to fully test the antenna and make any repairs
> needed, FOR FREE !!!! All I had to do was ship him the antenna.
>
> I thanked him for such a generous offer but told him the antenna was
> purchased used and was now two years old. In fact, it wasn't even
purchased
> from DX Engineering.
> Mark said "I stand by my offer!"
>
> Well, who was I to stand in the way of a deal like that? And it just so
> happened that Linda and I would be in the Akron area within a few days,
so
> I told Mark I'd just drop it off.
>
> It gets even better...
> When we arrived at the store, they told me that instead of testing the
> antenna, they were just going to give me a brand, spankin' new one.
> Remember, this was an out-of-warranty item, bought from a different
> company, and I wasn't the original buyer. Have you ever heard of such a
> thing? I'm sure those guys will hate me for telling this story because
> everyone is going to want that same deal.
>
> By the way, this wasn't my first amazing experience with those guys. Some
> years ago I bought a mobile mount from them. It was a big two-inch ball
> mount, perfect for my Hustler HF antenna. When I installed it, I was
> dismayed to find how cheaply it was made. “This will never hold up”, I
> said to myself. And it didn't.
>
> I called the manufacturer and told them it was junk and that I wanted my
> money back. “Oh, we can't do that, but we'll be glad to send you a new
> replacement.”
> “Why in the world would I want the same piece of junk?” I asked. I told
> them “No thanks”, and hung up. On a whim, I called DXE and they took it
> back, no questions asked. I was amazed.
>
> Here’s a better one: I bought four 811A’s from them a while back. I put
> them in my amp and ran them hard in a weekend contest. They did fine, for
> that one weekend! The following Monday they started arcing internally.
The
> plates had warped. To make things worse, I broke one of them removing it
> from the amp.
>
> I remembered my good experience with the mobile mount and called DXE to
> plead for mercy. They said to just send ‘em back for a full refund. My
> reply was that I could only return three because I had broken one. The
guy
> said it was no big deal and they took that one back too!!!!
>
> By the way, the new loop behaved just like the used one. It really was “
as
> good as it gets.”
>
> And finally, if I hear of anyone buying anything from anyone other than
DX
> Engineering, you will get a visit from my pals Guido and Knuckles.
>
> Like DXE, they will make you an offer you can't refuse.
>
> Joe, K8MP
>
>
>
>
>
>
> In a message dated 9/22/2016 1:56:22 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> wn3vaw@verizon.net writes:
>
> Thanks Steve.
>
> Without going into the gritty details (to, paraphrasing Dragnet, protect
> the guilty)... quite a few years ago, I heard a tale of woe regarding a
TT
> amplifier on a DX related reflector. As the story seemed incredible, and
> unlike the TT service I knew of, I contacted Scott W4PA (obviously this
> happened long before he bought Vibroplex). Suffice to say that the other
> side of the story was quite a bit different, and it all boiled down to
> someone wanting something he wasn't entitled to, on someone else's dime.
>
>
> I even found an individual who was willing to look at the amp and see
what
> he could do, at no charge save for parts. But that wasn't good enough
for
> the ham in question. And then I got a few less than friendly emails from
> the perpetrator, implying I hadn't done enough.
>
>
> Here I thought, prior to this incident, that I'd see the heights, or
> depths, that someone's chutzpah could go to. I was wrong.
>
>
> 73, ron w3wn
>
>
> On 09/22/16, steve jobes via TenTec wrote:
>
> Well said Ron, I agree!
>
> 73,
> Steve W1DXH
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ron Notarius W3WN <wn3vaw@verizon.net>
> To: tentec <tentec@contesting.com>; k9yc <k9yc@arrl.net>
> Sent: Wed, Sep 21, 2016 1:40 pm
> Subject: Re: [TenTec] Post to the Amps Reflector from Dishtronix
>
> Ralph,
>
>
> The reality is that there are people in this world today who expect or
> demand things that they are not entitled to.
>
>
> One of those things being warranty support for items out of warranty, or
> 'free' repairs from someone who is not legally liable to provide them.
( I
> could tell you more than a few stories from the time between IT jobs
that
> I worked at several big box hardware stores, but I'd be digressing )
>
>
> That these are a small percentage of the population (and by extension, a
> small percentage of the Amateur Radio licensees) does not make them any
> less annoying. To put it bluntly.
>
>
> Sadly, yes, there are people upset with Mike over things that he had
> nothing to do with. Including but not limited to warranty or even
> non-warranty repair issues for items bought under previous owners of Ten
> Tec and/or Alpha. They don't care the minutiae of what he bought (or
> didn't buy) or when. To them, he is Ten Tec and/or Alpha, therefore,
it's
> his problem.
>
>
> Yes, some people have a lot of chutzpah.
>
>
> To his credit, Mike appears to have a good handle on the issue. (My
> response to that person would have been shorter, blunter, and probably
> more than a touch profane.)
>
>
> I think the companies are in good hands right now. And I'm looking
forward
> to the (re)introduction of new gear, hopefully in the very near future
> (and I hope it is October as has been previously indicated, but better
> that it be done right than done too soon)
>
>
> 73, ron w3wn
>
>
> On 09/21/16, Ralph Arnold wrote:
>
> Hi Jim this is KD8BTQ-Ralph I have been a TenTec fan for years being a
red
> neck Electronics Tech retired USN anyway I too do not approve of jumping
> on Mike like that. I see Mike Dishop as a good guy trying to fill some
> really big shoes. I'm an old school ET Navy trained to component level
> repair. To repair that amp that you didn't make with defective 3rd world
> parts is a bit much to ask for and then complain when you come through
and
> fix it. Some people have more nerve that common horse sense. Oh well
I've
> already said to much But I just had to say something 73 KD8BTQ
>
> On Tue, Sep 20, 2016 at 3:46 PM, Jim Brown <k9yc@audiosystemsgroup.com>
>
> wrote:
> > Members of this reflector will almost certainly appreciate this post
to
> > the Amps reflector from Dishtronix, the company that bought RKR. The
>
> third
>
> > paragraph is particularly interesting. The complaint is about service
on
>
> an
>
> > Alpha 9500.
> >
> > 73, Jim K9YC
> >
> > = = = = = =
> >
> > Hello Jim,
> >
> > In reading this it appears rather negative to me, which I don't quite
> > understand. Regardless of the 95 days, you do realize that was RKR
who
>
> you
>
> > had the problem with? I have more people working there than RKR had!
> >
> > The long and the short of it was this - you called me with your
problem
> > and in less than a calander week you got your amp back. I didn't sell
> > you the amp, and I am not liable for any of RF Concepts or RKR
warranty
> > work
>
> by
>
> > the terms of the sale, yet I gave you two free hours of work - AFTER
you
> > were so mean on the telephone to Carol that you made her cry!
> >
> > You are right - the new Alpha is not the Alpha you knew. The Alpha you
> > knew was bought by a corporate raider who didn't pay his suppliers and
> > alienated the entire supply chain for Alpha and Ten Tec, who built
> > every possible unit he could build and sold for a cut rate price,
> > reducing
>
> prices
>
> > constantly until everything was gone, liquidated every piece of
> > equipment he could, and then moved on to do something else leaving
> > everyone holding the bag.
> >
> > The new management is putting capitol into the business, paying
>
> suppliers,
>
> > paying employees and attempting to regenerate the brand. We bought the
> > business with the express intention of finishing the tuner. When the
>
> tuner
>
> > is finished it will be even better that it would have been because I
> > personally am supervising the engineering and I'm not known for
> > compromising or ever saying "That is good enough", because good is
not
>
> good
>
> > enough when you intend to be great.
> >
> > I'm not responsible for what others did. I'm responsible for what I
do.
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Mike
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Arthur Movius [mailto:ajmovius@gmail.com]
> > Sent: Saturday, September 17, 2016 11:24 AM
> > To:amps@contesting.com; Dave Movius<dave.movius@gmail.com>; Alpha
>
> Service<
>
> > alphaamps1@gmail.com>; Steven M. Dishop<Steven.Dishop@Dishtronix.com>
> > Subject: Re: [Amps] FW: alpha 9500
> >
> > Hello Steve,
> >
> > For what it may be worth, here's a brief summary of my recent
> > experience. Your inquiry is timely.
> >
> > Yesterday, Sept. 16, 2016 I received an email from Alpha RF Systems,
LLC
> > that my 9500 delivered to Longmont, CO on June 10 for warranty repair
> > (RA 11050) of a failed band pot, plus any upgrades, was completed. I
> > called owner Mike Dishop of Dishtronix Tuesday Sept. 13, explained
that
> > my amp
>
> had
>
> > been at Alpha for 95 days, and had a nice 20 minute conversation with
>
> him.
>
> > He said that he has been involved with Alpha a short time and that he
>
> would
>
> > follow up.
> >
> > The bill shows 2 hours warranty time and 3 hours non-warranty time at
> > $120.00 / hour for a total bill of $512.50 including $105.00 shipping
>
> cost
>
> > via Fed Ex Home Delivery back to MT. The bill also shows a $35.00
charge
> > for a Hall Effect sensor to replace the failed band pot--the reason
for
>
> the
>
> > warranty repair.
> >
> > Other work: re-calibration of band positions, installation of a fuse
> > in the cathode 40v circuit, update of all firmware (5
microprocessors),
> > tested amp on all bands, checked tuning and output. The amp and tube
> > condition were reported as good.
> >
> > Conclusion: at the present time Alpha is "under resourced" regarding
> > repairs. I had asked whether billed work gets priority over warranty
> > work and was told by Carol who answers calls that repairs are done in
> > the
>
> order
>
> > received. Glenn Pladsen their one full time tech says he has only part
> > time help.
> >
> > There are others who repair Alpha reputed to be competent, so you have
> > other options to investigate besides the manufacturer.
> >
> > Bottom line, which I will think about--no hasty decision--is that I
will
> > pack up the transformer and sell this amp when it returns without
> > opening the factory carton. Good service after the sale is important
and
> > strongly affects purchase decisions, and here, no criticism of Alpha
> > employees intended, Alpha disappoints--this is not the Alpha I knew
when
> > the amp
>
> was
>
> > purchased in 2013. Also, my order for the Dream Tuner placed Feb.
2013
> > might soon be cancelled. There is reason to doubt whether this good
idea
> > will ever make it to market. As mentioned to Mike Dishop, the Alpha
> > brand will suffer damage if he does not take corrective action soon.
> > Reviews of the Prometheus solid state HF amp give Dishtronix high
praise
> > for a good product and good service after the sale.
> >
> > GL Steve es 73,
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > TenTec mailing list
> > TenTec@contesting.com
> > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec
>
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