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Reviews For: The Radiosmith

Category: Amateur Radio Equipment Repair

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Review Summary For : The Radiosmith
Reviews: 86MSRP:
Description:
Expert repairs and restoration for all brands (Collins, Drake, Icom, Kenwood, Ten-Tec, Yaesu, and Others) of vintage and modern ham radio equipment including linear amplifiers, station accessories, OEM power supplies and Astron power supplies by a degreed Electrical Engineer who has been a licensed ham (20 WPM Extra Class) for over 38 years. For more information, contact The Radiosmith via email at: radiosmith@tampabay.rr.com
Product is in production
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# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
55865
NZ2V Rating: 2020-08-13
Superlative Performance Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I just got my Ten-Tec Century 21 model 574 back from Radiosmith. It has been a good rig, but it's 1974 birthday was showing everywhere in the performance envelope. In short, she was a bit tired. Steve told me that he could return the rig to factory specs and that is exactly what he did. I am stunned at the increase in performance of the little rig, and pleased with the quality of work. It is essentially a brand new radio. Steve did the work in a timely fashion and his rates were reasonable. What more can you ask for?
WS4K Rating: 2020-07-12
Ten Tec repair? Steve is THE GO TO PERSON! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have owned a Ten Tec Corsair original model since I bought it new in 1982. Because I lived in an antenna free neighborhood, it saw little use over the last 20 years. I have retired and moved to a neighborhood zoned agricultural so I could once again install a tower. I thought I should get the Corsair checked and aligned before I plugged it back in. I have read many good things about Steve, The Radiosmith.

Steve has excellent communication back and forth. He is an encyclopedia of knowledge on Ten Tec! I would venture he knows more than the current factory technicians. He owns several Ten Tec's himself. He still believes in them for CW. That is the same reason I have not purchased a newer SDR. Steve burned in my radio and discovered numerous issues, including problems with the display and the fact it was only putting out 50 watts. He made recommendations for the repairs. Once finished he offered one more repair, at my option. That was a repair of the PTO and he gave an updated estimate for that. All his fees were EXCEPTIONALLY reasonable.

In less than 2 weeks, I received back a Corsair that works better than it did in 1982. It is perfect. I just can't complement Steve enough. Do not have any doubts about his service. Just make an appointment with him and make your radio better than new too. Feel free to contact me if you have questions.
Eric WS4K
K4ZNC Rating: 2020-07-07
Excellent service Time Owned: more than 12 months.
7/7/2020
I sent Steve my FT101E to install a CW filter and VFO stabilizer. Filter went in easy, VFO stabilizer not so much! A nightmare install, yet Steve persisted to determine that the bosrd was defective. He fixed the board using an additional 2 hours to fix someone elses mistake. Steve keeps in touch with regular updates on progress and any problems. Highly recommend Steve and he gets all my other equipment for repair. Rates are very fair.
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I sent Steve my TenTec Scout which was not transmitting, but received OK. He determined that the unit did transmit and that there might be something wrong with my installation. Yet he went ahead and did a full service of this little jewel that I use exclusively on 40 meter CW. I later determined that I had an intermittent cable problem. Great customer service; Steve kept me informed of his work progress.

I have been hoping to find an alternative to TenTec service center, and Steve is it! I am recalling my Omni VII from TenTec repair (busted display) so I can send it to The Radiosmith.
KO1C Rating: 2020-07-06
Corsair II Back On The Air Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Steve did a wonderful job repairing my Ten Tec Corsair II.

He realigned it and repaired/rebuilt the PTO. Other's had attempted to rebuild the PTO but they did it incorrectly and some components were broken.

After the warmup period, the radio is VERY stable. I get great reports with the stock Ten Tec hand mic.

Steve communicated often during the repair process, I appreciate that because I could make approvals when he was about to repair something.

David, KO1C
KU4RP Rating: 2020-07-06
Tentec Corsair II Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Had a problem and emailed Steve. I emailed me right back with a "fix". He was right on the spot. The man knows his stuff and is great to deal with.
W4PM Rating: 2020-05-23
OMNI VI like new again Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Told Steve of the problem and he diagnosed it from my description before even seeing the rig. I sent it to him and within 2 weeks it was back working like new again and for a very reasonable repair cost. Steve keeps you informed every step of the way. Reminds me of the OLD Ten Tec service like it used to be - but even better. I highly recommend Steve for repair of your amateur radio gear.
BELMONT Rating: 2020-04-05
Excellent job on R8 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I sent Steve my Drake R8, which hadn't been used for some years. He did an alignment for a very reasonable price. It is now working like new!
KB7AA Rating: 2020-03-03
Well done! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Well, I have a KnwdTS50 used only mobile from day one...and it outlived 3 cars over 16 yrs! Running with just a 20m hamstick, I had lots of ppl calling over the yrs claiming I was not really mobile! Well, couple months ago I could tell the battery died, meaning it always started up on 14.000mhz...which got old, having to always turn it right away to a new freq.
I checked here on Eham to find a tech to just replace the battery. Steve,aka The Radiosmith, got back to me quickly, stressing how he suggested packing it. I sent it off ASAP from AZ to him in FL, and Steve replaced the battery and did a full check on xmit and rcv sections. I figured as long as it was there anyway, would be good time to get checked out, which showed all good. Steve boxed it up, shipped back quickly with tracking number...all in all...a good job. I would have no hesitation on using The Radiosmith again. If I did have a negative it would be that having a $2.50 batttery put in but my shipping alone was $94 bucks! I should move to FL before nexttime????????. This rig was the second one I owned over the decades, the first being a TS140, sold to a pilot for aeronautical mobile 20 yrsago. If I would buy a new mobile, it would be the knwd 480sat????
NQ5X Rating: 2020-03-02
Corsair II back on line! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Sometimes when you get real five star service you just have to tell folks about the experience.
My Ten Tec Corsair II was a little sickly and needed some real TLC (a lot), well after reviewing the
comments on Eham it didn't take me long to realize that The Radiosmith was the guy. These
reviews were right on! What a great service experience, not to mention the Steve's insights on rig
comparisons. In my shack, the little Corsair II sits on a desk by itself surrounded by Icom, Yaesu,
and Kenwood. When I want to enjoy the Art of Radio, you'll find me in front of that Corsair II
every time. Thanks Steve! 5 Stars all the way.
73, Glenn - NQ5X
Ruidoso, NM
K9DRP Rating: 2020-02-15
My Argo V is resurrected! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I sent Steve my Argo V with the finals out (and come to find out a hack repair job via the previous owner). Although the parts are nearly unobtainable, Steve went out of his way to get my rig back to working order. A couple months later and the Argo is still performing flawlessly. And his communication throughout the process was great. He's my go-to repairman from now on.