I believe we'll see the Centurion stay in the lineup for a while yet. Maybe
even a single 3-500Z amp a la the AL-80B, or Drake L75. These are very
popular amps right now. I feel sure we'll be getting a new version of Titan
soon. It'll probably be dressed in black to match the Orion.
Talked to my good friend Tom Hix, of Tom's Tubes fame, this week concerning
the 4cx1600B tubes used in the Titan ll. Tom informs me that Svetlana is
winding down production of this tube, and is currently only supplying them
to major manufacturers like Tentec, and that even these are drying up
quickly.
Maybe we'll see a Titan lll later this year?
Cheers!
de Benton wb5twc
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rob Atkinson, K5UJ" <k5uj@hotmail.com>
To: <cherry@getnet.net>; <TenTec@contesting.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 02, 2002 4:33 PM
Subject: Re: [TenTec] Centurion in the new lineup
> I don't have a sure answer for this, only hunches which seemed to be
wrong.
> My thinking was that the cost of remaking the Centurion might outway the
> sales potential. Also, from a business point of view, it's priced not a
> whole lot less than the Titan II now (about $800? That sounds like a lot
> but not when thinking about $3K). I was thinking that since the company
> seems to want to continue to make 100 w. exciters (I don't have a problem
> with that BTW) they might eventually only make linears that can be easily
> driven to 1500 w. by them. I've been hearing lately about the supply of
> 1600bs drying up but not much about why it happened or when. Is this a
> recent thing? I'm not sure any tube is a safe bet--I think most 3-500s
are
> made by some factory in China for RF Parts. I would not assume they'll be
> around forever given the instability of international political & economic
> relations. For all I know, the factory owner might discover there's more
$$
> in making curling stones next week, and all of a sudden it's bye bye
tubes;
> hello granite, the 3-500 price goes up to $300 and everyone is scrounging
> and detubing old broadcast transmitters. I bought a couple of spares just
> in case, but this is more of an amp topic so I'll wrap it by saying I'm
glad
> TT seems to be planning black boxes for the accessories. I wish it
weren't
> so but I understand the business realities that dictate the need for a
> non-distinctive product line.
> 73,
>
> Rob
> K5UJ
>
> ----Original Message Follows----
> From: cherry@getnet.net
> To: TenTec@contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [TenTec] Centurion in the new lineup
To: <tentec@contesting.com>
> Date: Tue, 2 Apr 2002 12:35:20 -0700
>
> Why would they drop the Centurion? It uses the easy to buy 3-500Z's.
> The Titan II uses the hard to get 4CX1600B. It would be easy to put
> the Centurion in a black box.
> Jim W7ANF
>
>
>
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