Did anybody get the dimensions of the Orion ????
H x W x D ?????
Or could/ would Scott part with this info ???
Thanks
bill ny9h
At 04:21 PM 3/12/02, Ten-Tec Inc. Amateur Radio Sales wrote:
>Wow, what a weekend. The Orion certainly got a terrific reception at
>Charlotte.
>After working the hamfest all day Sunday we drove back over to Tennessee and
>I spent quite a while into the night reading the commentary on the
>Internet at home
>Sunday and all day Monday here at the factory.
>
>I haven?t addressed any feature or spec questions that have been brought up in
>Internet commentary only because the only information we have out is publicly
>posted to our web site and anything else is just speculation. There have been
>some comments along the lines of ?why didn?t it do . . . . ? or ?will
>it?.? when
>the radio possibly already does, or will. More information and tech
>specs will
>be coming over the next couple of months.
>
>I wanted to clear up a few things about Orion that I have read on the ?net
>already:
>
>(paraphrasing):
> >Gold trim. It has gold trim. Gold trim, good. Gold trim, bleech.
>
>I read the comments on the Orion trim color with quite a bit of surprise, and
>kept waiting for the message that said ?Huh? I was at Charlotte. There?s no
>gold trim on that radio!?
>
>There is no gold trim on the Orion. I don?t know how this got started, but I
>repeat: there is NO gold trim. If you saw a picture with gold trim, it
>must have
>just been weird lighting in the building. The trim on the Orion is
>chrome-nickel.
>It is shiny. It is also very SILVER in color. Not
>gold. Silver. ?Mirror? finish.
>No gold trim. It is the same knob color that is in use on the RX-350
>receiver.
>The ORION nameplate on the front under the meter is also chrome-nickel
>in color. The reason we elected to use these knobs is the uniformly positive
>commentary we had about them vis a vis the RX-350 receiver.
>
>(paraphrasing):
> >Display this, display that. Color. Monochrome. Blue. Grey. Etc.
>
>I posted a message to the reflector before we even left for Charlotte stating
>that the display for the Orion was not done. Neither the physical screen in
>use for the radio, nor anything that appears on it is final. That goes
>for the
>spectrum scope, freq display, literally everything. We have more screens to
>test yet. We?ll be putting in a lot of time on the layout/design aspect
>of what?s
>on the screen in the coming weeks. I?d say, don?t read anything into any
>of the
>comments - positive or negative - about the Orion screen and what is shown
>on it. It?s going to change.
>
>(paraphrasing):
> >The tuning knob feel was exactly like that on a boombox - no weight,
> >impossible to "spin"
>
>Both of the tuning knobs are weighted and are identical (except for the
>chrome-nickel trim ring) to those used on the Omni-VI Plus. Just like the
>Omni?s, you cannot grab our knobs and spin them down the band until they
>come to a stop. This is a combination of the adjustable drag feature on the
>knob and mechanical resistance within the tuning encoders themselves.
>Like the Omni?s, you will have to place your hand on the tuning knob and turn
>it to move up and down the band rather than just free spinning it.
>
>K8VT wrote:
> >I'm probably wrong, but I think many of us believed (or hoped) that at
> >least part of the >reason for this "pre-introduction" release was done
>exactly TO generate comments and >feedback before everything gets
> >chiseled in stone.
>
>No, you?re absolutely right. We wanted feedback on the direction of the
>radio.
>See my comments at the bottom.
>
>(paraphrasing):
> >The AF knob is not on the bottom row of controls.
>
>This is incorrect. Both the MAIN AF and SUB AF knobs are on the bottom
>row of knobs, directly above the large tuning knob closest to the screen.
>
>(paraphrasing):
> >Ten-Tec didn?t put a PS/2 keyboard connector on the Orion like on the
> Jupiter
>
>True. We never used the connector on the Jupiter. We had anticipated
>keyboard control of the Jupiter, but unfortunately another company has a
>patent
>on connecting a keyboard to a radio transceiver and we were never able to come
>to an agreement to license it. This apparently won?t be resolved, and we
>left the
>PS/2 connector off of the Orion. The PS/2 on the Jupiter has no function.
>
>(paraphrasing):
> >Ten-Tec better get it in gear if they?re going to sell the Orion at Dayton.
>
>We?re not. We?ve said all along there is no anticipated delivery date for
>Orion
>and that?s still the case. It will be available later in 2002. There is
>a colossal
>amount of programming to be done yet.
>
>(paraphrasing):
> >Are the Jupiter and Pegasus discontinued?
>
>Not a chance!
>
>I find it very interesting that much of the discussion of the radio has
>centered
>solely on cosmetics, as the Japanese manufacturers have done an excellent job
>of selling various pieces equipment for many years that are cosmetically sharp
>but performance wise may not have met up to what Ten-Tec was currently
>offering at the time. We?ve taken the opposite route for a very long time
>- performance and ergonomics first, ?look? second. Maybe even third or
>fourth.
>Unfortunately, it has not served us well and we must change to respond to the
>demands of the marketplace. Performance is extremely important, but there is
>also a very sizable proportion of the amateur population that is interested in
>whether the radio looks appealing to them and the performance can be secondary
>as long as it?s within the same realm of other comparable rigs. Ten-Tec
>MUST respond to that sentiment because we MUST have those hams as
>customers if Orion is going to be a success for us. Presently, we don?t!
>
>Some of this sentiment has even been expressed by some of the Ten-Tec
>?faithful? here on the reflector, in reverse. Comments like ?I?m not going to
>buy a Ten-Tec radio that looks like ?..XYZ? of course, I?m disappointed by
>that. And my reaction is to say, I?m sorry we can?t come up with anything
>performance-wise that?s going to overcome the way you feel - but that just
>proves my point above, that cosmetics are a serious issue and performance
>often will take a back seat no matter how good the radio will operate!
>
>We WILL have super high end performance and features that are superior to
>the JA radios and cosmetics comparable to the fit and finish with the Orion.
>Ten-Tec can?t be ?as good? we have to be BETTER. There are some of you
>reading this that are going to vehemently disagree with me on these points
>(and already have) - and I understand.
>
>The commentary from the Charlotte hamfest and the initial reaction over the
>Internet this weekend has convinced me that for performance and cosmetics
>that we are very much on the right track with the Orion to be a big winner
>for the hobby.
>
>Thanks again,
>
>Scott Robbins, W4PA
>Amateur Radio Product Manager
>
>
>
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
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>
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>
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