I imagine this will be a topic of fairly general interest. In some ways the
rigs are like apples and oranges (in their designs) so distinctions drawn
from a performance standpoint won't be fair. That's okay because in this
case you just want help deciding which to buy for casual operating, i.e.
this isn't a laboratory rig shootout to find which is the sensitivity king
etc. I've never owned a Jupiter, but some differences are obvious: Omni:
No multi knob--front panel controls are each dedicated to one thing; analog
s meter; LEDs for display but not software defined with the LCD type
information like a band scope and other benefits. With the Jupiter you get
a lot of varied filter widths on tx and rx. you can run it with a pc if you
want as if it's a Pegasus. You can get one of those remote tuning boxes and
sit back in a LaZboy with that thing in your hand and tune around with it.
I might be mistaken and am open to correction but I sense the Omni is more
of a competitive contest/dx radio and the Jup is more of an all around less
intense operating type radio. Before you all send me email about all the dx
you've worked and contests you've won with Jupiters please remember these
are merely opinions; not facts. Another thing: The tx audio I've heard from
Jupiters and Pegs has always been outstanding.
One important thing to consider is how into computers you are. I would
think twice about the Jup if you don't have a pc in the shack with an
internet connection and are not willing to get that set up because it seems
that a big part of the fun of the Jupiter is in the software improvements
and it seems updating the flash rom is a hassle if you aren't set up to plug
it right in to a pc. hope this helps.
Now, if you can wait another 2 or 3 years, and the Omni does not interest
you, here's what I'd do: You already have a pretty good rig, the Corsair
II. I'd keep running it and hang onto my cash because TT might turn their
attention to improving the Jupiter once the Orion is out, by bringing to
market a mid-priced rig with a single 32 bit processor. It seems like a
reasonable next HF project to me, now that the QRP rig is out, and the
super-rig is about to come out. My gut feeling is that in the pipeline
after the Titan III will be a sort of Jup+ for the $1.2K price range.
73,
Rob Atkinson
K5UJ
k5uj@hotmail.com
Omni VI/3; Corsair II
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