Competition coming for Elecraft?
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Did I read that right, its a kit?
-- ______ _______/ Chuck \_________ | | | www.aa8vs.org/aa8vs | ================================ The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails." -- William Arthur Ward > Looks pretty wild, but this is out of the price range of most of us > amateurs... > > Alan, N3BJ > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <[hidden email]> > To: <[hidden email]> > Sent: Tuesday, November 01, 2005 6:25 PM > Subject: [Elecraft] Competition coming for Elecraft? > > > > An ad for this was in the latest CQ. Not yet available. > > > > _http://www.getboost.com/dz/sienna.htm_ > > (http://www.getboost.com/dz/sienna.htm) > > > > Geoff, K6TFZ > > _______________________________________________ > > Elecraft mailing list > > Post to: [hidden email] > > You must be a subscriber to post to the list. > > Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): > > http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > > > > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm > > Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com > > > > > > -- > > No virus found in this incoming message. > > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > > Version: 7.1.362 / Virus Database: 267.12.6/152 - Release Date: 10/31/2005 > > > > > > > > -- > No virus found in this outgoing message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.1.362 / Virus Database: 267.12.6/152 - Release Date: 10/31/2005 > > _______________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Post to: [hidden email] > You must be a subscriber to post to the list. > Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): > http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm > Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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In a message dated 11/1/05 11:37:54 PM Eastern Standard Time,
[hidden email] writes: > The number of hams with $6000 who want to connect pre-made cables > to pre-assembled boards chock full of SMDs is likely a tad on the small > side. And both of those guys already bought an IC-7800. > Maybe, but consider this: Back in 1999, when the K2 hit the ham market, I recall a bit of negativity from hams I knew. Typical comment went like this: 'The number of hams with $600 who want to stuff circuit boards, wind toroids and do all the other assembly and alignment work, just to get a QRP CW-only rig, is likely a tad on the small side.' Or this: 'Why put a high-performance receiver on a QRP rig? You'll just hear a whole lot of stations you can't work' Or this: 'The QRP market is too small to support such a complex and expensive rig. And in a year or so Ikensu will come out with a competitor for less money' Etc. Gloom and doom, yada yada yada. 5000+ K2's later, however, none of the gloom and doom has happened. -- Is the Sienna "competition"? Not for Elecraft! Its competitors are rigs like the Orion, IC-7800, etc. To me the best features of the Sienna are: - It offers the builder at least some level of repairability. - It can be configured the way you want it, rather than paying for features you don't want. Plus features can be added or removed in the future. Gee, where have I seen those things before.... 73 de Jim, N2EY _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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-----Original Message----- From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of [hidden email] Sent: Wednesday, November 02, 2005 4:18 AM To: [hidden email] Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Competition coming for Elecraft? In a message dated 11/1/05 11:37:54 PM Eastern Standard Time, [hidden email] writes: > The number of hams with $6000 who want to connect pre-made cables > to pre-assembled boards chock full of SMDs is likely a tad on the small > side. And both of those guys already bought an IC-7800. > Maybe, but consider this: Back in 1999, when the K2 hit the ham market, I recall a bit of negativity from hams I knew. Typical comment went like this: 'The number of hams with $600 who want to stuff circuit boards, wind toroids and do all the other assembly and alignment work, just to get a QRP CW-only rig, is likely a tad on the small side.' KE6US: Actually, in 1999 Elecraft would have been riding the crest of a Golden Age for QRP, CW and a resurgence in homebrewing. It all came together including two guys with the right combination of engineering, marketing and management talent. Of course, it wouldn't appeal to everyone. That's the point of niche marketing. If you broaden the niche, you run head-on into Kenwood, Icom and Yaesu. If you narrow the niche, you can't sell the critical mass needed to survive. I'm suggesting that Sienna's niche is too small. Or this: 'Why put a high-performance receiver on a QRP rig? You'll just hear a whole lot of stations you can't work' KE6US: This would have been coming from those who were not already QRPers. As I said, Elecraft hit the market at a time when interest in QRP was growing. Or this: 'The QRP market is too small to support such a complex and expensive rig. And in a year or so Ikensu will come out with a competitor for less money' Etc. Gloom and doom, yada yada yada. 5000+ K2's later, however, none of the gloom and doom has happened. -- Is the Sienna "competition"? Not for Elecraft! Its competitors are rigs like the Orion, IC-7800, etc. KE6US: I agree. So that puts a small company in Colorado in direct competition with the industry leaders. It's not smart marketing. Instead of carving out a profitable niche that is of no interest to the market leaders, they assault them directly and join the fight for market share. That isn't niche marketing...it is often just suicide. To me the best features of the Sienna are: - It offers the builder at least some level of repairability. KE6US: Limited to the areas the builder potentially screwed up...cabling errors and solder joints. The customer service for these people is going to be unimaginable. Not only will they be taking on all the construction errors, they will be taking on every computer burp! Customer service will deal with every XP problem, computer application problem, etc. And having it all in one case is going to appeal more to those who know the least about computers. Again, Elecraft got it right. The design anticipates customer service issues from inexperienced builders. DV's biggest vulnerability is in customer service. - It can be configured the way you want it, rather than paying for features you don't want. KE6US: Not exactly an issue for someone who wants a $10K IC-7800 or FT-9000, is it? And these are Sienna's potential customers. Plus features can be added or removed in the future. KE6US: That seems to be the direction everything is headed and that's a good thing. Gee, where have I seen those things before... 73 de Jim, N2EY KE6US: It will be interesting to see if it plays out the same. Eric KE6US www.ke6us.com _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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One thought about rig prices (like $3000+ for an Orion, $6000 for a Sienna, etc.): Inflation.
Back in 1958, a bare-bones (no extra filters, no reduction tuning knob) Collins 75A-4 cost $695 IIRC. I dunno what that equates to in 2005 dollars, but I bet it's more than $3000. And the 75A-4 was just a ham-bands-only *receiver* that couldn't even transceive! A nice new car back then was what - $2000? A nice suburban house was maybe $30,000. Etc. And a family with an income of $10,000/yr was definitely upper middle class. Most people got by on much less. When Collins came out with the S-line, about 45 years ago, a KWM-2 was $1095 or thereabouts. A 75S-1/32S-1 combo was even more money - $1400? Yet there was a market for such rigs even though the number of hams then was a fraction of what it is today. To me it's simply amazing that the hams of yesteryear could afford some of the rigs they had. 73 de Jim, N2EY _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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