[Yaesu] FTdx 9000

[waltah at earthlink.net]

Bruce D. McLaughlin wrote:
> I probably don't know what I'm talking about but $10,000 to $14,000
> radios obviously aren't aimed at hams. 

Well, certainly not at the *average* ham ... but any marketing guy 
will tell you that the piece of your market you want first of all, 
before you sell anything to any of the others is the very top.   Why? 
Because that's where the big profit is.   You also need volume to 
keep down unit costs, so in most businesses you can't *just* go 
for the top but you want to own the top if you can.

There is a very substantial (and growing) number of Americans for 
whom a radio costing upwards of $10,000 is a realistic purchase.   
In fact, I don't even think that's a ground-breaking price.  What was 
a KWM-2, back in the 60's?   Over $1000, right?  Wouldn't that be 
the same ballpark in today's dollars?   And at the time, it would 
have been almost half a year's pay for me.   Today, retired with a 
bit here, a bit there (but far from wealthy) the FT-9000 would take 
maybe half as long to pay for.   

My KWM-2A cost me about $75 and 25 hours of work about eight 
years back; since my interest largely ends with the end of vacuum 
tubes, the question of living long enough to get an FT-9000 is moot.

Price/performance, who knows.  But the number doesn't seem out 
of line and certainly won't keep the radio from selling into the 
market such radios target.

Walt Hutchens
KJ4KV