Dear RLC Customers:
Link Communications, Inc. dropped the RLC controller line and Audio Test Solutions, Inc. picked up the line. Why?? This product line was competing with Link’s main product line which was creating friction for both product lines, keeping both of them from being as successful as they could be. In order to stop the friction, I made the decision to remove the RLC products from Link Communications by giving them to a different company that could be totally focused on the RLC products. I own both companies. Link still manufactures and services the controllers under contract from ATSI. This change was strongly recommended by some of Link’s larger customers, because they were concerned that the “Amateur Radio” products were hurting Link’s reputation in the commercial and military markets we serve.
The bottom line is that Steve still does software, Allan still does the hardware and for the moment, Link still builds the product. The change only affects the following areas:
Longevity of the products:
Spinning off this line to ATSI ensures life to the products. Link will be acquired sometime in the future. I don’t know how far into the future, but it will happen. When it is acquired, the Amateur Radio products will be dropped like a hot potato by the new owners and there would be nothing I could do to stop it. Making this change now before a buy-out happens keeps the RLC products safe.
Sales:
To keep the prices of the controllers from climbing due to our costs continuing to rise, all sales are now handled on the automated sales site.
Technical Support:
Because of the high cost of labor, and the fact that Amateurs are not under a paid support contract yearly, all technical support is handled on the List Servers and from the WiKi. If information is not found, please email us. We have been overrun by persons that are not the original purchaser, bought them used (ebay, etc…), and want full technical support anyway. Our business model does not support different owners of a single controller, so I moved it to a mainly virtual support model.
New Products:
New products will be released more frequently from ATSI than Link, because the cost of labor at Link kept the low mark-up Amateur products from being developed. We have recently announced the new DSP402 controller which is the first ATSI product. Without the change, this product would not have been developed.
Conclusion:
This change saved the RLC products, infused new life and provides a future for them. Yes, there will be a few changes. I know change is no fun, but it is necessary.
I hope this answers your questions. Thank you for asking.
Sincerely,
Allan Overcast
President and CEO
Audio Test Solutions, Inc.
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