[K3PZN-List] Argonaut vi on sale

Mon Jul 14 17:52:09 EDT 2014

I like my Ten Tec Century 22 very much, always have. I liked the Century 21 before it too.

Now, as I said I paid $500 for both of my units the TS-50 was brand new when I bought it from a ham who bought it, never used it & sold it at a hamfest, come to think of it, that one cost $600 when I bought it. I bought the 757 in 1993 and the TS-50 the year it came out & was reviewed in QST, whenever that was. I just couldn't pass it up when I saw the guy selling it for $700, & I got him down to $600 cash - every penny I had with me. The 757 was used the TS-50 not though it was previously owned as stated. 

Still, $800 is a good price reduction for a NEW Ten Tec from TT! You, know, I went to the site & read the blerb but there was nothing about modes or bands or filters on the page. I guess one has to download some of the information to get the whole story. I'm still considering it...

73 de KE3FL,
Phil
AEC Carroll County
OES, ORS, & VE
http://cs.yrex.com/ke3fl
Karras' Corner: http://blog.solidsignal.com/content.php/1005-karras-corner

--------------------------------------------
 Date: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 10:12:29 -0700
 From: Curt Milton via K3PZN-List <k3pzn-list at mailman.qth.net>
 To: "k3pzn-list at mailman.qth.net"
 <k3pzn-list at mailman.qth.net>
 Subject: Re: [K3PZN-List] Argonaut vi on sale

 Phil

 well you are comparing c. 1990 dollars to now year dollars
 !? and maybe you don't wish to think about how much those
 rigs cost when they were new!? 

 An FT-757 was around $1000 when new, because I remember
 buying something else that was more in my price range then.?
 I remember the TS-50 being not much less than that.? 25
 years later I would have to look up the conversion factor.?

 Yes the purchase of an exotic QRP-only rig is a question in
 itself.? With the caveat that my K2 has been upgraded to
 100w, the most expensive QRP I now own cost around $200 -
 but 'only' does CW.? 

 The matter of how much to spend on a 100 watt rig now is
 driven by receiver performance.? Yes there are low end rigs
 around $800 (but only a few models), pretty good rigs for
 around $1300-1500 (TS-590 and FT-1200 to mention a couple
 examples) and of course more exotic rigs than these.? 

 one can try to make a case that Ten Tec and Elecraft are a
 little over-priced.? On the other hand, on CW I prefer using
 the receiver of an Elecraft or Ten Tec as they sound much
 better than some of the other rigs.? 

 good news is that our rigs tend to work for a long time, and
 cost a lot less than a car.? otherwise we all might be
 committed somewhere for our radio interest.? 

 In my imagination I would have time to home brew my own high
 performance rig.? I did choose to solder together my very
 nice K2 more than a decade ago -- if I were buying today not
 sure what would be in my shack (maybe a TS-590 perhaps or a
 modestly equipped K3).? 

 I guess my punch line for original message is my amazement
 at Ten Tec offering a 20-some percent discount (on their
 somewhat overpriced rigs, noting my bias that I don't own a
 ten tec rig).? We can hope its a trend.? I don't think they
 were bought to go out of the rig business -- let's see what
 happens from here.? 

 Meanwhile if someone had a 'requirement' for a 10 watt,
 multi-mode rig covering all but 12 and 6 meters - this would
 be a nifty candidate.? 

 CUL 73 

 Curt

 PS - apologies to those who really like Ten Tec a lot, some
 of my friends reading this!? I do really like that Argo VI -
 I just have enough rigs for the time I have to use them!? 