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The image on the LHS (above) resides on the www.eham.net site and will be removed if linking to it is an issue.
To identify the older Argonaut models, Ten Tec have a "knowledge base" page to help. See http://www.tentec.com/pages/Identifying-the-Argonaut-transceivers.html . Although the latest version is said to be very good, I am afraid I'll not be buying one. Price needs to be £799 or less in the UK and it needs the missing bands before I'd even look.
There are 22 reviews of the Argonaut VI on eHam.net. See http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/10849 . At an average of 4.5 out of 5, the score is not that good. The FT817 scores much better. People seem to love it or hate it. It apparently has a very quiet receiver and a very simple user interface.
I see that Ten Tec have dropped the USA price of the Argonaut VI to $849 for a package that now bundles the mic and 700Hz CW filter too. I suspect this is a desperate measure to shore up sales. It would not surprise me if they went bust. Personally, I think the latest Argonaut VI was a mistake that Ten Tec now regret. These are personal views. I hope they survive and thrive, but please reduce the Argonaut VI price outside the USA too and, for goodness sake, add those missing bands!
Their Rebel open source CW rig sounds far more likely to succeed in my personal view.
Ten Tec is reputable make, not Japanese or Chinese, and I wish them well for the future. The commercial world is a tough place, so take nothing for granted.
I've had other Argonauts, the 509, 515, and the 20 watter. Don't remember the model number. I preferred the 515. Great QSK, a fine receiver (though unfiltered which I rectified with a TT outboard cw filter), and, importantly for me, a large size. When the new Argonaut was first hinted at, I hoped it would be, essentially, the same size and design as the previous models. Updated, naturally. It wasn't and I immediately lost interest. I am resigned to small QRP rigs such as my K1 and FT-817ND. While I use the K1 on the desk, I always travel with the 817. Much sturdier. I regret selling the 515 and regret, even more, the lack of a good desktop-size QRP-only transceiver in taday's market.
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