From: rhealy@arrl.org (Rus Healy, NJ2L)
Newsgroups: rec.radio.amateur.misc
Subject: Re: How good is TEN-TEC DELTA II ?
Date: 7 Oct 92 07:36:28 est
Organization: American Radio Relay League

In rec.radio.amateur.misc, MOSIER@iris.uncg.EDU (Steve Mosier) writes:
>> >Can someone give me info or opinions regarding the TEN-TEC DELTA II HF
>> >transceiver?
>> 
>> This appeared in a QST Product Review in the January 1992 issue of QST.
>
>Yes, it did, but it also appeared in a CQ review a few months ago, and the CQ
>reviewer took some pains to say that "another major magazine" had reviewed the
>same rig recently and kinda-sorta intimated that they had unfairly trashed it. 
>QST did indeed trash the DELTA II, but the CQ reviewer liked it.  I'm trying to
>remember who the CQ reviewer was, and I want to say Lew McCoy.  If so, I have a
>lot of respect for his opinions.  If not, then I don't know.  I have a friend
>with a DELTA II and he likes it, but I've never used one.

Keep in mind that QST reviews differ markedly from those of other
magazines. "Trash?" First, that's a matter of opinion. Second, we 
don't negatively review *any product* that doesn't have significant 
shortcomings. What good would it do to misrepresent a product? After 
all, we're doing this *to help you make buying decisions.*

But *don't* take my word for it. Here's my advice to every person 
who calls and asks, in some way or another, "What radio should I 
buy?": (1) Read everything you can get your hands on--every review, 
every piece of literature the company puts out, etc. (2) Order a 
copy of the manual from the manufacturer. They may charge you $10 
or $15 for it, but that's nothing compared to the cost of, say, 
a $1500 radio. (3) Make every effort to get your hands on each rig 
you're considering buying. Visit dealers, hamfests, friends, etc. 
Push the buttons, turn the knobs and listen to signals. With Ten-
Tec, if you still have questions, (1) call them--they're great people
who are very pleasant and helpful and won't steer you wrong; and (2)  
take advantage of their 30-day, money-back guarantee. You can't lose.

For any radio you're considering buying, if you follow the first 
three steps, you'll learn a lot more about the radios you're 
thinking of than any review can tell you, you'll learn which reviews 
are worth reading and which ones you can use to line the birdcage, 
and you'll vastly increase your chances of being happy with whatever
you ultimately purchase. 

If you want to know more about the technical aspects of QST 
product reviews or the process we use to generate them, you 
can find the latter in a book called *The ARRL Radio Buyer's 
Sourcebook,* which contains a synopsis of the process each 
reviewed radio goes through, some important information on 
what the results mean, and reprinted QST reviews of major 
equipment originally published over the last decade or so; 
and the former in our 77-page *MF/HF Transceiver Test Procedures 
Manual*. The Test Procedures Manual tells and shows you 
everything you need to know to duplicate our testing process, 
assuming you have the requisite low-noise signal generators, 
spectrum analyzer, distortion analyzer, calibrated attenuators, 
etc. (It's interesting even if you don't plan to duplicate our 
tests :') Your copy is available for $10 postpaid from the ARRL 
Technical Department Secretary (bdicosim@arrl.org).

--73, Rus

Rus Healy, NJ2L
Senior Assistant Technical Editor, QST
rhealy@arrl.org
Newsgroups: rec.radio.amateur.misc