Ten-Tec is coming out with a new QRP radio

[WB4AUW]

Will "probably"  sell for less than $1000. 

[W3WN]

no 160 meter band = no sale to me

The rig is still in development, and if you read the interview that K4SWL did, you'll see that 160 hasn't been ruled out yet. 

Let's wait and see what the final production run looks like before writing the radio off, shall we?

[N5RWJ]

no 160 meter band = no sale to me

Just let them know , what you want in this QRP RIG ?

[N5RWJ]

Will "probably"  sell for less than $1000. 

I think it depends on the radio and its price point, we know the front end is coming from the Ten-Tec Eagle and the price needs to be lower than the Elcraft orp rig.

[N5RWJ]

Will "probably"  sell for less than $1000. 

I think it depends on the radio and its price point, we know the front end is coming from the Ten-Tec Eagle and the price needs to be lower than the Elcraft orp rig.

[N5RWJ]

Well I will be glad when it's out.

[N5RWJ]

[quote ]
Was told by an employee at TenTec that the price will be just under $1000.
[/quote] Did you ask them , what you get for $K ?

[N9AOP]

It used to be that somewhere around $500-600 was the sweet spot.  Now it is a grand.  Remember when you could buy a new car for $2000?  At Dayton, Elecraft showed off the kx3 and said the price would be around $800.  I guess they found enough buyers at $1000 to sell it at that price point.  If the new qrp offering from TenTec is up to their usual quality and performance they will sell many regardless of whether the price is $800 or $1000.  Those that whine about the price will need to wait until a Chinese knockoff comes out (which won't be long) at half the price.
Art

[W4KYR]

  Those that whine about the price will need to wait until a Chinese knockoff comes out (which won't be long) at half the price.
Art

Its here already...kind of...the Youkits TJ4A 4 band Backpack 20 watt SSB CW AM HF transceiver assembled is selling for $499 on Ebay . TX Frequency Coverage BAND 1: 3.5 – 4.0 MHz, BAND 2: 7 – 7.5 MHz, BAND 3: 14 – 14.5 MHz, BAND 4: 21 – 21.5 MHz.  If they really wanted to compete it should cover all the HF frequencies.

The $1000 price tag for the Ten Tec 539 is too much (IMO), and at some point one must ask what are they really getting for that price?  $1000  for a HF only rig that only puts out 10 watts?  On comparison, clearly for the $1000 the KX3 would be a better deal than the Ten Tec 539 although with the options for the KX3 puts it well above the $1000 spot.

There are many fine used full coverage HF rigs for $500 on Ebay, some of them could be dialed down to 5 watts for QRP, others down to 10 watts. The SGC 2020 sells for $400 to $500 , the TS50 I seen sell for $450 or less and the IC 718 sells for $450 used, Ten Tech Scout $300 and up...

[N5RWJ]

Well, I hope Ten-tec 539, surprises us all ?

[K5TED]

No 160, no 60, no 6...

WTH?

[KATEKEBO]

The $1000 price tag for the Ten Tec 539 is too much (IMO), and at some point one must ask what are they really getting for that price?  $1000  for a HF only rig that only puts out 10 watts?  On comparison, clearly for the $1000 the KX3 would be a better deal than the Ten Tec 539 although with the options for the KX3 puts it well above the $1000 spot.

Agree 110%.  There are many excellent rigs in the under-$1000 price range, that do the same or more than the proposed new TenTec.  Yaesu's FT-450D has IF DSP and covers 160-6m, the FT-857 and FT-897 are "old school", but include VHF and UHF, plus 20W output for portable operation, FT-817 cover all HF, plus 2m and 70 cm for substantially lower price.  They are all proven, reliable radios.  Given, they have their quirks and limitations, but they are all excellent value-for-money.  Even if the new TenTec has substantially better receiver, I don't see how can they justify a higher price for essentially a "lesser" radio.  Just because it says "Made in USA"?  The demand isn't big enough for another radio in the same price-range.

What we really need is a basic, robust HF XCVR in the under-$500 price-range.  Something that can be used as entry-level radio for new hams (especially young one, who have limited budget), a portable radio that won't break your budget if you accidentally damage it during a hiking trip, or a back-up radio to keep in your shack or car that can be efficiently used with battery power "when everything else fails ...".

[N5RWJ]

For the Ten-Tec 539 to make a profit , it must offer more than it's competition, ether in Tec or Fun!
The KX3 is BASIC box ,with costly option that puts it price way above $1000.00 and into the K+range.

[W0RSP]

Hi gang:
I see a lot posted about this mystery new QRP radio from Ten-Tec.  Of course, everyone is entitled to an opinion of what it should include or what it should exclude. Matters like keep
the sale price right, the IMD better than any other ham transceiver ever created etc. etc.
What you all miss is that Jack Burchfield and Al Kahn broke the commerical QRP ice back in
1968 with their set of modules which led to the PM-1, PM-2, and PM-3 transceivers, and
finally, The Argonaut 505 in 1971. (If this is a mystery to you, you can read all about the
developments in my new book THE FIVE-WATT QRP MOVEMENT IN THE US, 1968-1981, in PDF
format, from www.qrpdxpropagationantennas.com, free download.) Heathkit got into the party with the miserable HW-7 -- Doug DeMaw's response (among a long list of QRP projects and
articles he authored for QST) was to publish a whole new receiver section for the HW-7.
At any rate, by the time the 515 appeared with its improvements, QRP had taken off and was
worldwide and all the major contests had included QRP sections -- yep, DX contests especially!
The 515 could be improved to an 8-pole xtal filter by an external mod or by a few simple mods
to the current QRO transciever's IF board. Its audio is legendary. I still use my 505 and 515
and no 160 meters, but 30m can be added by a very simple 4-part mod to the 515. I never got any of the later Argo models -- didn't need anyting better.

OK, wandered off topic. What I wanted to say is that all of the speculation about marketing
strategies and cutting corners etc. is bunk. Burchfield could have retired years ago, but
he's hung on for a couple more and wanted to have one last crack at improving the Argo series. It is a labor of love -- he always was very much into QRP from the start -- and I can understand him not wanting to say "it is all over".  QRP can't end.

So, you IMD and tech guys -- get a new unit and run your tests with the latest solid state spec analyzers and scopes and tell us what you find about the merits or shortcomings of the design. Then we can judge for ourselves about the merits of it before buying one. Incidentally, excluding 160 meters violates no natural law about what ranges a transceiver should have -- I've known a ton of QRP'rs who could care less about 160 meters. When assessing the performance of a design, personal preferences might be interesting, but what it does is the important thing.

72, Ade W0RSP

[N5RWJ]

The 539 has 160m.