K4YZ wrote:
Mike Coslo wrote:

Hoping that they can sell enough to expand the concept, because it is a
good one....

I don't think that's going to happen, Mike.

First off, I don't think very many folks will drop $3K to $6K on a
radio that comes incomplete, computer or not. I can spend a heck of a
lot of LESS money and get more radio AND computer for my bucks!

Secondly, it's a "kit" only in the sense that it does come
"disassembled". The potential buyer is actually paying the
"manufacturer" for the privilege of him (the "manufacturer) not having
to pay an assembly line.

Lastly, he brags about the "kit" being "built in America" because
the owner "builds it right here in America". I wish I had the spare
change to drop to buy one for no other reason than to see where all of
the pre-assembled boards are actually assembled.

No doubt in some
PacRim nation where the guy who REALLY built it wouldn't be able to
afford it in a lifetime.

You just might be surprised to find out that the boards were stuffed in
the U.S. Not all board design and stuffing is done overseas by a long
shot. The Asians can't be touched when it comes to designing and
cranking out the boards which go into mid to high volume equipment.

Conversly the U.S. is the global top gun when it comes to very
competitvely producing boards which go into low volume equipment. Which
includes the likes of Ten-tec gear kits and otherwise. So I suspect
that the boards in all the few "Made in America" pieces of solid state
ham gear available today are designed, burned and stuffed right here.

The big tricks the U.S. has in the short-run board biz invlove our
extremely automated, flexible, quick turnaround design/burn/stuff
capabilities which are unique at the international level and it's a
*big* bucks biz.

If a Ten-tec decided the next-off-the-line series of OhRyans needs a
newly-designed boards any number of circuit board job shops in this
country can put a few protypes in Ten-tec's hands inside 72 hours for
test and evaluation and be set to make whatever revisions Ten-tech
wants and be set to roll into production within hours after it gets the
feedback from Ten-tec.

As if any ricbox radio builder can come even close.


73

Steve, K4YZ

w3rv