Ten Tec: 2016 and Beyond

tentec-omni

Although there had been much speculation that Dishtronix was the mystery buyer of Ten Tec, we got confirmation in the last couple of days.

I wrote to Mike Dishop of Dishtronix, Ten Tec’s new owner, to ask him for more information about what we can expect from Ten Tec going forward. Here is his response:

Although Ten Tec has changed hands several times in the last couple of years, I would like to state that Ten Tec has changed hands for the last time in the foreseeable future. Dishtronix has been continuously operating for 17 years, is financially stable and will continue managing in a manner that promotes and maintains financial stability. My vision is strictly long term. I have no plans to leave this business and will continue to operate Ten Tec as long as I am physically able to do so. I believe the Ten Tec transceivers to be some of the best transceivers available at any price and personally have been operating an Orion II until the first change of ownership. Everyone who uses a piece of equipment long enough, develops a personal wish list of things they would change or improve. I feel extremely fortunate to now be in the position where I can use my skills and expertise from more than forty years of ham radio and SWLing to implement changes which I hope will make fantastic products even better.

Unfortunately I have had to make some tough decisions which were made for the long term health and viability of the company. The Ten Tec team is the nicest bunch of people you could hope to work with and have overall reacted positively to the changes. Some team members have chosen to pursue retirement or other opportunities but the core competency remains. We are extremely fortunate to have retained former engineering manager John Henry on a consulting basis and I must give him the greatest credit. I certainly would not take on this project without him and the other team members like Boyd Lichlyter and Patty Gann. Ten Tec is like a big family, and I do not view this as me acquiring Ten Tec but more like me joining an extended family of talented and skilled people. I hope anyone reading this who is in the market for a new radio will help me support this great group by at least trying one of their radios. Of the present production the Eagle is my favorite for having the best sound out of the box, and that is what my personal preference is always based on – good sound. My all-time favorite is of course the Orion II so an Orion III is on my personal wish list for the future. There are numerous Ten Tec user nets on the air and it is my intention so support them by posting the time and frequency schedules on the website. If I can accomplish one thing at Ten Tec it will be to be more customer-centric. I want to build the radios that you the customer wants! I am looking for ways to reliably engage with our customers so we can do that, and I think factory support of the nets is one way to start.

The Ten Tec team is working on production improvements to our facility and business. We are fully occupied with our commercial business at this time. When I have capacity the next step is to run the first batch of Omni 7+ which is the Omni 7 with some minor cosmetic changes and improvements such as a flat metal front for improved shielding. Following this we are releasing the Super Eagle which brings into the Eagle most of the DSP features found on the Orion II and is the first step on the path to the Orion III. This is different hardware from existing product so it is not a firmware upgrade. There are no firm dates or guarantees for when these things will occur.

The blow out sale prices are over and any outstanding orders at those prices are terminated The prices will be the regular list price. Those prices were previous owners intent to liquidate all inventory and will never be repeated.

I am pleased to state that we have completed some firmware updates which will be posted on the new Ten Tec website once it is up and running to entice people to visit the site.

Dishtronix has other new products under development as well. The DX2400MKII replaces the DX2400L1 legal limit + solid state amplifier and should be unveiled at Hamvention, to mention just one. We are close to beginning production of our Emtron DX2/3-SPd tetrode amplifiers which will also be shown at Hamvention. Further, there are some other exciting things happening which we may announce in the near future.

There has been some speculation if Ten Tec will move to Ohio. I do not plan to move anything at this time from the Sevierville – Knoxville area, but we may move within that area.

If I could ask the ham community to do one thing, it would be to please be patient with us. Things like this take time.

Matt Thomas, W1MST, is the managing editor of AmateurRadio.com. Contact him at [email protected].

13 Responses to “Ten Tec: 2016 and Beyond”

  • KB3IFH - Randy:

    Matt…Thanks for sharing that response from Mike. I’ve always enjoyed working with TenTec and my shack reflects that with an ORION I and II and a Centurion amplifier. Look forward to seeing what the NEW TenTec looks like. Can’t wait for Dayton!

  • Dave K4DFG:

    Thank you for the update on Ten Tec. I think they have a great rig and looking forward to things to come from the Made in the USA company. I have a Jupiter and love it. I have had it back a few times for upgrades.
    Dave

  • Ray K2RWO:

    My comment is directed to Mike Diship….Mike I want to wish you all the best of luck and success on your recent endeavor to resurrect the Ten Tec line. It has always held a prominent place in the amateur community and it’s my hope that you can bring it back to its place as a first class, ‘Made In America’ product line.

    I have a complete Ten Tec station which includes their power supply, an Omni VI Plus, the 238 tuner and a Centurion amplifier. I also use the Ten Tec 562 VHF rig. Most recently I purchased an Omni VII and hope to get it on the the air in the near future.

    I’ve been an exclusive Ten Tec user for 14 years and I certainly will be patient while you clean house and reestablish.

  • Marty W4MBW:

    Mike,

    I concur with everyone….best of luck as you take Ten Tec forward into the future.

    I’ve been a staunch Ten Tec customer since 1971….Triton IV, Corsair II, Jupiter, and now Eagle.

    You have my continued support as a happy customer.

    73, de Marty W4MBW

  • Brian W3ATT:

    It’s now Nov, 2016 and the Ten Tec website has remained unchanged for well over 6 months now. The new owner remains silent on any progress in the product line. Wow, such a shame – all the potential business that is being lost while the owner remains silent. But I’m sure he has found gold in the commercial/military line. In fact, he was quoted as saying that he was interested in the DSP technology that was developed by Ten Tec but I’m sure that the “cheap hams” out there offer little in the way of profits. I’ve been waiting to buy a brand new Ten Tec for too long now, and it looks as though I may have to settle for a K3s (ugh, so ugly.) If there was even a hint of activity, I would hold out for a Ten Tec. As a side note, I would like to give my thanks to all of the Big Three buyers out there. A great way to kill American companies is to send your money overseas.

  • Jeff K0ZR:

    If there is to be ANY hope whatsoever for a future Ten-Tec, people need to be hearing something. It is incongruous to believe that people are going to wait around indefinitely. Almost an entire year has gone by since the latest acquisition of the company. My shack seriously supports the Ten-Tec model, but I too will not wait much longer. The longer folks have to wait to hear anything, the greater the justification to believe that nothing is likely going to happen for a future Ten-Tec.

  • Paul AA3PS:

    ,’Hi Matt,
    Mar.3/3/13
    My new eagle was in for service,sent in,came back repaired. i got sick wound up in hospital
    and nursing home for therapy. Wheelchair kept me out of shack till i modified it. I left it on overnite ,turned it off. When
    I turned on later but it wouldnt start. im dead in the water,handicaped,no spare rig.
    Do you know if ten tec is doing service,no responce from them. I got screwed by kachina when they backed out of ham radio,GOVShouldnt buy military kachina!!! Nobody to do repairs.Buy American! seems tentec may be going the same way,
    hope not, really like the eagle.At m75 its very discouraging..

  • Geir Wessel Stadheim LA3CB:

    So far so Good

  • Don N0SUB:

    I am a 100% TenTec operator with several products by TenTec. Where can I send my Ham set in for repair should I need to?

  • N3BGI-Carl D. Hardy:

    Is Ten Tec still selling the accessory internal automatic antenna tuner for the Ten Tec 599 Eagle? I may be wanting to
    purchase one in the near future for my Ten Tec 599 Eagle. I can not remember the exact model number of the tuner.
    I have always enjoyed Ten Tec’s service and their products. I wish Ten Tec the best of luck in its future endeavors.
    I’m a big Ten Ten fan. My first solid state digital readout non-tune amateur radio transceiver was a Ten Tec 580 Delta
    Transceiver. 73! Carl

  • Charles Brazil KL7LS:

    I need a transformer for my ten-tec 411 and can not find one. I try to contact the company and no luck. So if any one has a Phone number I would like it. At this time I do no think I would buy any ten-tec product.

  • K3RZD , George Ingram:

    Thanks for the update. I had 2 Orion II’S, at the same time. Contact me when the OrionIII is for sale. I’m ready!

  • bob giraud:

    Worked 235 Countries on CW with the OMNI II. Please keep those good rigs coming. From a 74 year HAM. Got my novice ticket in 1959.

    73’s

    Bob

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