Well, since George has brought it up, both beauty and performance are matters
of personal taste. If your rig suits you, I'm glad for you. But!
I have one of the first run Orion's. Which was big enough to call for a
complete shack remodeling. I had no more than got enough stuff moved around
enough to get back to two operating positions when a couple of local hams
brought their "world beater" rigs over to "prove" the superiority of their
favorites. And, by prearrangement, they met a friend with a KW (input) mobile
rig to provide a really strong signal to disprove claims about a "crunch proof
front end."
After a really LOOONG afternoon of swapping the PROII for the MARK V, and back
and forth and around and around - the bottom line is this. The Orion has by far
the best reciever of the three. We could copy and work (aided by an Alpha 87A
and a 4L quad) stations the other two could not make copyable. And when the
mobile fired up 10 kHz below our listening frequency and within 30 feet of the
base of the tower, the other rigs were wiped out - but the Orion didn't miss a
beat. The only way we could tell he was there was some phase noise from his
transmitter. Even on an S0 DX station.
Yes, the original Orion manual was obviously a hasty job of work, and the
firmware initially had some rough edges. Many of the firmware issues were not
performance problems, but were the "I don't do it that way and I don't know why
anyone would want to do it that way" type. And Ten Tec promptly started
addressing the complaints. As witness a complete rewrite of the manual and
numerous firmware upgrades.
If there are any bugs or teething problems left I don't know about them. Right
now, with the latest version of the firmware the Orion is as civilized a
tranciever as I have ever had the pleasure of operating. Everything on it does
what I expect it to do, and it does it extremely well. Whether that's pulling a
new one out from under a pileup or saying howdy to the local ragchewers - both
CW and SSB have gotten nothing but compliments from everyone I have let operate
my rig. And that includes a "great sounding rig" comment from a local who has
never heard a rig other than his favorite brand with acceptable audio.
Frankly, I would be perfectly happy with my Orion if they never issued another
firmware upgrade. So satisfied that as soon as the shack rebuilding is complete
I'm going to replace an Omni VI+ with a second Orion. And probably a third for
the farm sometime in the near future.
73 Pete Allen AC5E
> Rob, I and many others like me have been reading the reflector and observing
> the ORION scene for well over a year now. We have yet to find the type and
> level of information that you and your friend seek.
>
> Overall, there is a lack of enthusiasm for the admirable traits of the ORION
> and until lately a reluctance to mention anything negative for fear of being
> taken apart for not supporting Ten Tec.
>
> I cannot explain this collective behavior other than to say that ORION
> owners have been assured that they own the best amateur radio that has ever
> been produced. Thus, almost by definition there can be no issues concerning
> its operation or performance.
>
> The usual response to a complaint or problem is that the user doesn't
> understand how to operate the radio. The upgrade issue is another mystery.
> Some owners never have a problem with either the radio or any new upgrades
> while others mention all sorts of problems, especially those which come
> after a new upgrade has been installed. As you wisely point out, new
> firmware requires extensive testing and use before being released in order
> to avoid creating new problems.
>
> It is almost as if there were two kinds of ORIONs: those which never have
> problems and work perfectly in every respect, and those which have assorted
> ills and which seem to have inordinate difficulties with each new upgrade.
>
> As a long-time Icom user who is unfamiliar with Ten Tec equipment, any
> effort on my part to obtain a straightforward technically oriented response
> to the basic questions of *why* and *how* is the ORION superior to my
> IC-756PRO2 is met with derision for owning a "ricebox" (apologies in advance
> to those offended) and the reminder that instead of free upgrades, I had to
> buy a new radio to get around the "problems" of the original PRO. Of course,
> the PRO2 is now selling fully equipped with power supply, internal tuner,
> etc. for just over half the price of a fully equipped ORION.
>
> I am also reminded that it took Icom two models to "get it right." Yet, the
> ORION is the *third* effort by Ten Tec, not counting the RX-340 and 320 DSP
> IF receivers, to bring out an IF DSP transceiver. Each effort resulted in a
> new radio to be purchased, just like the Icom situation.
>
> Another thing that I have never understood is that as an experienced amateur
> and retired engineer with decades of experience in both areas, and as an
> active operator who can afford top-line radios, no one has ever honestly
> tried to *sell* me an ORION on its technical merits. And I expect that I
> represent a major market segment for TT to be attracting. Rather, I am
> ignored by the TT Sales folk and derided by many on the reflector for even
> being here as an Icom user seeking to learn more about the ORION.
>
> I hope that you and your friend can obtain the information and assurance
> that you seek, Rob. I frankly think that despite the problems the ORION has
> had in reaching maturity, it represents a unique design offering performance
> advantages in some areas. I wish Ten Tec only the best in completing this
> product and bringing it into the amateur marketplace.
>
> 73/72, George
> Amateur Radio W5YR - the Yellow Rose of Texas
> Fairview, TX 30 mi NE of Dallas in Collin county EM13QE
> "Starting the 58th year and it just keeps getting better!"
> w5yr@att.net
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> Wrom: OHMKHJYFMYXOEAIJJPHSCRTNHGSWZIDREXCAXZO
> To: <tentec@contesting.com>
> Cc: <k5uj@hotmail.com>
> Sent: Monday, November 17, 2003 5:26 PM
> Subject: [TenTec] Orion in contests
>
>
> > We have a potential TT customer who posed a reasonable question: why are
> > there few eham reviews of the Orion? He received some responses but no
> > answers.
> >
> > One was something like this: "If you have to ask you won't understand."
> > (very helpful)
> > Also:
> >
> > >>I still want to know why there are so few Orion reviews on eHam.
> >
> > >the best thing about eham reviews is that they are free, so truly worth
> > >what
> > >you paid for them.
> >
> > Thanks for the eham commentary but not an answer.
> >
> > >>Each new release brings about another round of bugs. I am intrigued
> > >>by the Orion but don't want to be part of a $4,000 experiment. Who
> > >>needs the frustration? Is this radio "ready for prime time" or not?
> >
> > >or you could do as my friend did, buy a high end ic756pro for over $3k.
> > >then a few months later they fixed the bugs and deficiencies and brought
> > >out
> > >the ic756pro2. for their help my friend and the other field debuggers
> got:
> > >a) a free upgrade by flash memory;
> > >b) a free upgrade by sending the rig in and covering shipping only;
> > >c) a very reasonably priced upgrade (as converting an omni 6 to one of
> the
> > >omni 6 plus steps);
> > >d) nothing, diddly-squat nothing, absolutely nothing.
> > >(correct: d)
> >
> > Deriding Icom and/or the Pro II isn't an answer to his question either.
> >
> > Folks understandably assume that on the Ten Tec Reflector, there will be
> > hams capable of giving informed, specific, objective and knowledgeable
> > answers to people considering purchases of Ten Tec products. What these
> > people don't need are flip remarks. If all you Orion owners want to have
> > more Orion owners I suggest you take these questions seriously.
> >
> >
> > I have a question: How come all you guys rush to load new software
> releases
> > as soon as they come out? I work in the world of software, where everyone
> > knows that Rule 1 about vendor new versions, is to wait at least a couple
> of
> > weeks so the post-shipment bugs can come out and the patches/corrections
> > identified. If I owned an Orion, I'd never load an update immediately
> after
> > release.
> > Rob Atkinson
> > K5UJ
> >
> > _________________________________________________________________
> > Crave some Miles Davis or Grateful Dead? Your old favorites are always
> > playing on MSN Radio Plus. Trial month free!
> > http://join.msn.com/?page=offers/premiumradio
> >
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>
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