Pass on used Ten Tec gear

[AA6ZE]

              Ten Tec doesn't provide photos or description of condition of their used equipment. I can't recommend buying used gear under those conditions.

[N3QE]

              Ten Tec doesn't provide photos or description of condition of their used equipment. I can't recommend buying used gear under those conditions.

I have bought used/demo equipment from Ten-Tec several times over the years and the "demo" equipment has always been 100% pristine original with every original accessory and manual in complete original packaging, in a condition that I have never ever been able to describe as anything but indistinguishable from "new".

The "used" stuff is really, truly top notch "like new" stuff. And they do have photos of "used" equipment on their site.

I will heartily recommend buying demo and used equipment from Ten-Tec. I encourage you to call and talk to them if you have any concerns at all about any item or the process. Sales, shipment, and customer care of their used/demo equipment is done with all the care that they give to buyers of "new" equipment. I know this last part because of a UPS shipment problem that happened on one of my used/demo purchases, and Ten-Tec went way above and beyond in taking care of that shipping issue. It was their handling of the UPS shipment problem, that lets me be so confident in saying that they will take care of the buyer.

Tim N3QE

[AA6ZE]

          As I said when starting this old thread Ten Tec's treatment of my friends used Jupiter purchase was far from stellar "As new" would hardly describe the condition of the rig which had a bad tuning knob and developed more faults soon after. Your mileage may vary of course.

                   

[K1ZJH]

They offer a full 30 day warranty on used gear:

Used TEN-TEC equipment purchased directly from TEN-TEC is warranted for 30 days from date of purchase.

I would have asked for a sales rep. to resolve a used equipment problem, not the parts department.

Pete

[W9BB]

I had bought one of their Jupiters that was a send it back if you don't like it arrangement.  Got the radio, was squirrely out of the box.  Sent it back, found out it was wired incorrectly.....got it back, after that QC issue, I decided to just return it....wasn't all that great and with one QC issue, I figured more may be forthcoming..never went back, not sorry.

[W4RCY]

Ten Tec is one of the best! They are very helpful!

[W8AAZ]

So tell me of any ham rig manufacturer that has 100% customer satisfaction.  Not some maker of dinky little simple items like keys or QSL cards or wire dipoles.  I am saying I am 99% satisfied with Ten Tec.  I had a component failure once a long time ago under warranty.  Decided to do the simple fix myself under warranty and got good help from the mfr with that.  They did not threaten me with nulling the warranty if I did it myself.  Changed a bad capacitor.  Ten cent item in my junkbox.  So far I have not had issues with the late rigs.  Occasionally odd behaviour due to computer glitches but recycling power cleared it and does not recur afterwards, just at start. Rarely.  Might even be some external influence. Getting RF back into these rigs can cause glitches.

[N4MPM]

I had a problem with the relay for one of the bands on my Jupiter.  This after 13 years of excellent service with no problems to the time the relay stuck.  It was due to NOT using the band in question.  I was informed that the bands need to be switched to periodically to keep them (relays) from sticking.  I pulled the board and sent it to Ten Tec, they replaced ALL the relays at my request, and returned it to me.  I put it in the rig, and am a happy camper once more.

Put me down as a satisfied Ten Tec owner from many years and several different radios.

[AD4U]

Many years ago I had a Ten Tec KR-40 keyer with built-in paddles.  I knocked it off the desk.  When it hit the floor one of the plastic paddles broke off.  I sent it back to Ten Tec and they replaced the broken paddle and the one that was not broken (just in case).  They did not charge me for the parts of labor.  They even shipped the keyer back to me at their expense.

I don't know if Ten Tec still has such a policy, but I have to give them a "5" in my review.

Dick  AD4U

[N9KX]

I was QRT from 1978 till 2008 and when i got back in the hobby, I was able to own several used Ten-Tec rigs -- some which I used to dream of owning as a kid looking at QST ads in the late 1970's...
It started with a Scout bought off Craig's list, then a Omni D (C series), then an Argonaut V, and then a Jupiter (my current rig).  Each rig has been a pleasure to own and operate.

Each time I was able to sell the rig for what I bought it for and use the money to help offset the purchase of the next one.
Once I had to send a rig to Ten-Tec service and was very pleased with their work.  They also have been very helpful when I have contacted them for help with a particular issue -- regardless of the age of the product.

I get a kick out of all the 'proud' Americans who are all too happy to own Japanese rigs.  Nothing wrong with them, but there are fine domestic options out there.  One of the great things about owning a Ten-Tec -- other than the rigs themselves -- is the proximity and user-friendly service available.  

I have read a lot of reviews of Ten-Tec rigs and am subscribed to several Ten-Tec owner email lists. The person's experience mentioned at the top of this thread is not the norm -- and it does lead one to wonder if there isn't more to the story...

73,

K9AIM