Received from the email list today (05FEB22):
F Y I —
In a phone conversation this date with the owner of Tentec, he stated all radios presently in the Sevierville facility for repair WILL BE returned to their owners. This is being done at Tentec expense.
Be advised most if not all radios are being returned as NOT REPAIRED. There are no parts orders, no technical assistance, no phone calls, and no e-mails available from the facility. Tentec ham radio service is therefore terminated. The Sevierville operation is suspended until further notice.
73
Bob, K4TAX [Moderator TenTec List]
Google lists TenTec as “Temporary Closed” at the Sevierville Facility also.
Service has been disrupted since 2020 with Chinese Virus rules in Tennessee and the knock on effects of being forced to close for the virus.
That customer radios in for service are being returned rather than moved to te parent company’s Ohio headquarters, suggest this is not a minor issue.
Without official service capabilities the TenTec models where schematics and service information is publicly available may be easier to keep running, and the undocumented new models may be now a challenge to keep on the air long term.
More information is likely to come out before Dayton, and hopefully the Chinese Virus hasn’t resulted in another long standing USA based Ham Radio manufacturer biting the dust.
The same company also owns Alpha Amplifiers who’s Alpha-4040 Tuner, a project that appears to have become a Chinese Virus disruption casualty as well.
73
Steve
K9ZW
With Varying Frequency - Amateur Radio Ponderings 