Ed,
Hard to say.... probably cause hams are so different from one another in
so many ways. :) In my case I've owned so many Ten-Tec rigs in 40 years,
and all had interesting personalities. However on the high end of
performance I owned a genuine Omn-VI + for a number of years and was
very happy.... and then I gave in to pressure (my own) to sell it, my
Paragon, and a few other TT rigs so I could by my Orion. That was in
2005. While I REALLY like my Orion... (doubt I would sell it but might
replace it with an Orion II if my hobby budget improves), especially for
DXing (love that second receiver... linked with LP-PAN to CW Skimmer....
hmmmmm). Anyway I found that as much as I really got to love this Orion
I just missed the simplicity and directness of the Omni-VI+. Since I
really understand "the grass being greener on the other side..." I took
my sweat time till I bought another IV+....about four years. I saw them
advertised for sale and considered and considered, then finally I found
a really nice Omni-VI, opt 3 on eBay. It is now on my left operating on
30-meters. Full of filters (looking for the 500Hz center frequency,
250Hz wide, 9 MHz Filter..... rare). So as far as I'm concerned owning
and using both these fine rigs was and is the right solution for me
(light contesting, dedicated DXer, and overall CW, SSB ragchewer). Best
of both worlds!
Scott Robins, formerly of Ten-Tec, made an interesting 10-minute Ten-Tec
TV video regarding the Omni-VI Plus. Came out about a year ago and can
be found on the Ten-Tec site as well as on YouTube. Very interesting
watch for those who never actually owned one. Lots of other videos
regarding TT gear there too.
Is the Omni-VI+ the best? I would state that for me its functionality
and performance have never let me down. There sure seems to be a wild
used market for this rig and it is maintaining its used price very well,
while the Orion's used price continues to drop (becoming a better value
with each new day)... soon they will be about the same price I suppose.
However I see the Omni-VI+ and Orion as really supporting two different
markets, with there being a significantly smaller market of hams who are
trying to squeeze out the very last drop of performance, ergo the Orion.
Sure glad Ten-Tec continues to survive as a viable alternative.
73,
Jerry, KG6TT
--
Ralph Jerald "Jerry" Volpe
Amateur Radio Operator KG6TT
ARRL Member& VE
FISTS 12304
788 Chestnut Drive
Fairfield, CA 94533
kg6tt@arrl.net
510 325-7724
707 399-8838 FAX
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