[Elecraft] Which ONE rig would I buy - BUT somewhat off topic

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

My first "world class" receiver was a National HRO5TA1 from the early
1940's. It came to me via another Ham in the mid 50's. By the mid 1960's the
HRO was in need of some work. In those days resistors drifted, capacitors
leaked and tubes grew weak and gassy. But I had no manual. So I wrote the
National company, asking if they might have one and what it might cost. 

A few weeks passed and a large envelope arrived in my mail. Inside was an
HRO5 manual and a note from a "secretary" at National. She said that she had
spent several lunch hours digging through old file cabinets (remember this
was before personal computers - even before Xeroxing!) and found a copy.
With the complements of National Radio. No charge. 

That's when I learned that a company serious about supporting a market, like
National was about Ham radio in those days, was serious about world-class
customer support. 

And that's how you can tell the Elecraft is also very serious about
supporting the Ham market today.

73, Ron AC7AC

-----Original Message-----


Don:
Looking out my window, I can just see the old plant where National Radio
used to be housed, about a mile and a half away.  It's on the Malden -
Melrose line, beside the railroad tracks.  As a teenager, I dreamed of one
day owing one of those new HRO-500s.  Never did get one.
Brian KB1VBF
http://home.comcast.net/~b.denley/index.html