[Premium-Rx] Ten-Tec SP-325: opinions wanted

[Geoff Fors]

One of the problems with the Ten-Tec SP-325 is nonexistent factory support.
Evidently they built these for a single contract run for the Navy which
didn't include any spare parts or future service of the product.  People who
own them have told me that they called Ten-Tec and the company wouldn't even
acknowledge that they had manufactured the radio !

Last year, I called Ten-Tec regarding parts availability for the 325.  While
it would perhaps be going too far to say the service department was rude,
they were at least abrupt in announcing that they did not stock a single
part for the 325, and didn't even have the manuals available.  This turned
me off on one listed on eBay, which had a defective display.

At one time, Ten-Tec had one of the best reputations in the industry for
product service and support.  The 325 experience was a surprise to me, and I
wonder if the same attitude now extends to any of their other products.  I
can understand the economics involved in not wanting to support a small
product run, but it wouldn't take much to at least be able to provide
photocopies of the manual (for a fee.)

The main issues I would be worried about on the SP-325 are the vacuum
fluorescent display and any made-to-order chips such as microprocessors with
custom masked ROM built-in, or EEPROM chips (which usually have a + -
15-year programming retention lifespan.)  I also understand the 325 does not
have muting facilities which would allow use with a transmitter.

Geoff Fors