Jon said:
Ok. How bout this. I'm sure the logic will escape you but here goes. Why are
they quoting 1/2 the price of the unit when they have no idea what is wrong
with it? Do they know something that everyone else doesn't? Are they going
to charge the same price even if it only takes 5 mins to fix? Aren't these
the guys that created the unit? If there really are so great then won't it
only take them a few mins to diagnose the problem? If they work on by using
spare parts for it then wouldn't they be happy to support the customer and
to get rid of there junk? After all a happy customer is a happy customer.
Hell, they built the fucker so they would be able to diagnost the thing
pretty well even if it is difficult you would thing they would respect there
customer base(someone brought the thing and it doesn't matter who if the
wear on it was normative).
They know the average cost to repair, and have established a minimum
price. That means that you are willing to spend the money, or look for
new equipment. If you are a defense contractor, some products have a
list of approved test equipment that MUST be used, or the equipment will
not be accepted by the customer. Sometimes it is cheaper to have
obsolete equipment repaired, than got through the process of having
changes approved in NATO designs. We had to put up with some really old
crap on the PRC77 manpack radio at Cincinnati Electronics, till they got
the list updated. Tests that took hours, could be done in minutes. We
spent $35,000 for a new piece of equipment, but it was paid for in less
than six months because we could ship more radios per month.
Either you can afford real test equipment, or you can't. Just like a
body shop has a thick manual that tells the estimated time it takes for
each damaged part to be replaced and painted. then they multiply the
number by their rate, and add the retail prices of the parts.
The fact of the matter is that all Tek is doing is gouging because they do
not want to repair these products. They overprice it for those idiots(like
you) that believe they really care about your wallet.
More of your idiocy. I have never had to ship anything to Tektronix.
We had our own in house Metrology lab at Microdyne. The equipment in my
home shop was repaired on my bench. Then i would have its calibration
tested, if needed.
They could charge 10k$
a minute and get some fish. By overcharging they keep the approximately the
same profit without doing nearly as much work. They do this on purpose
becuase they have better things to do than repair a bunch of there POS
equipment.
Repair is a separate division in most large companies, so if they
don't have something to work on, they can't justify their operation, and
they are shut down.
I guess you think they rather be repairing old used equipment
where they probably make 300$/h instead of reparing the more advanced
equipment where they can charge 1000$/h? Even though its probably 5x harder
to harder repair the more advanced equipment. The prices are not
proportional. They overcharge on the stuff they do not want to do but will
do it if the price is right(and they get to set that price).
you have absolutely no idea what the hell you are blathering about.
Look at the prices of new test equipment, and what it will cost a
company when they can't use it. I had over $1,000,000 worth of test
equipment on my benches at MicroDyne. I turned down another 250,000
worth, because I didn't need it very often, and simple gave that 1% of
the work to to another bench that was set up for the job.
Anyways, I'm sure these basic laws of economics escapes your large brain.
Basic laws? You do know not one damn thing about the laws of economy
for a real electronics business. You probably think that the $500
worth of soldering irons and the $6,000 stereo microscope (That I needed
because of my failing eyesight) were overpriced, as well.
Actually, my only guess is that you own stock in Tek. What was there profit
last quarter?
How the hell would I know, and why would I care? I don't hold any
stock in any company and unfortunately, I now live on a VA disability
pension after 40+ years of electronics work in every area except medical
equipment.
I did my first repairs on Tektronix RM529s while in the US Army in
the early '70s while working for AFRTS/AFRN/AFN. I was awarded the
broadcast engineer MOS by the US ARMY as a civilian acquired skill while
in basic training. By achieving this, I tested out of a three year
electronics course.
Keep showing us your vast ignorance, some people here enjoy laughing
at your stupid comments.
--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.
Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida