Duane,
Yes, I may indeed be spending too much time listening to the
pundits. I am convinced through all of the testimonials I've heard that
when the Orion does work, it works very well with performance bar none.
However, before I plunk down my 4Gs I'm interested in knowing how it
*doesn't work*. That tells me a lot about TTs Q/A. I'm dying to get my
hands on one. In a few months Lord willing......
Harry, AB7YF
Duane A Calvin wrote:
Harry,
You're spending way too much time reading the "pundits" on the TT
reflector. Spend some time with the Orion and you'll find an entirely
different story. Wonderful radio. Fun to use. Very few glitches (one
master reset required on mine in the entire 16 months I've owned mine.)
Works great, sounds super in any mode. and gets the job done even better
than my Omni VI+ did. (and I loved that radio too!)
73, Duane
On Tue, 21 Jun 2005 11:27:38 -0700 Harry Reed <doon@infoscientific.com>
writes:
Methinks that people are forgetting the big picture.
Most, if not all, here want dependability, reliability, and
repeatability in their rigs -
especially ones that costs ~$4000. Is that *really* too much to ask?
TTs competition doesn't
seem to think so. If I wanted an experimental rig I'd go out and buy
a SDR-1000.
While the Orion's hardware seems to be up to the task (albeit
getting a little
long in the tooth) TT firmware seems to have lingering problems. I
gather TT software
engineering has been more than a little taxed trying to implement a
bug free SDR HF XCVR.
Real-time software is a bear unless done exactly right - the last 2+
years of upgrades
has shown that they haven't. Indeed, going from a 1.x release to a
2.x release indicates
that they probably programmed themselves into a corner, so to speak.
"When all else
fails do a rewrite!" Let's see if they can get it right with the v2
firmware. If not, maybe
they should open up the firmware development to the FS/OS software
community (ala GNURadio)
and get it done right HIHI :)
Please, don't misunderstand me, I'm not bashing TT or the Orion. TT
seems to be a fine
company and the Orion has the potential of being a fine rig worth
its asking price. I
just don't think people are happy in spending ~$4000 on a SDR whose
firmware is still
very much beta quality and a work in progress. I'm curious what's
happening to TTs reputation
in all of this? Surely it can't be good. Indeed, one has to wonder
how many people bear with
TT and their Orion in the hopes that TT will fix the problems and
that the Orion will get
better because they don't want to admit that they spent their hard
earned $$$ on a subpar,
even flaky radio?
For these reasons I'm holding off my Orion purchase until v2 of the
firmware comes out and
the Orion owners/users/abusers have their say. I don't demand a
*perfect* radio.
Just one that doesn't hang or require a HW reset because I twiddled
a knob the wrong way -
one that works reliably and predictably when I want it and when I
need it.
Harry Reed, AB7YF
<<<I just can't see any viable reason to not try/own an Orion.
Especially
any technical reasons.>>>
>
>I'd go through the reflector archive for the past 2-3 years and
look
at what earlier >purchasers went through.
>
>If you have a lot of free time to tinker, maybe it's okay. For
example
if you are >retired and have a lot of patience maybe it's okay.
>
>I'm pretty low on time and patience. I want dependability. I want
to
be able to unbox >the rig, power it up, hook an antenna to it,
ground,
mic, key, cans...whatever i >need, adjust collector PA current and
mic
gain, adjust AF/RF gain, tune around, hit >the PTT button and start
making contacts.
>
>If it's much more involved than that, or its behavior mysteriously
changes from one >day to the next on a regular basis, then I start
loosing interest.
>
>So the likes and dislikes probably have as much to do with
operator
personality as >anything else.
>
>rob/k5uj
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--------------------------------------
Duane Calvin, AC5AA
Austin, Texas
http://home.austin.rr.com/ac5aa
--
--
Harry W. Reed | Never ascribe to malice that which can
doon@infoscientific.com | adequately be explained by stupidity.
+--------------------+--------------------+----------------------------------+
"Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims
may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons
than under omnipotent moral busybodies, The robber baron's cruelty may
sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who
torment us for own good will torment us without end, for they do so with
the approval of their own conscience." - C.S. Lewis, _God in the Dock_
+--------------------+--------------------+----------------------------------+
"Truth often suffers more by the heat of its defenders than the arguments
of its opponents." -- Sir William Penn
+--------------------+--------------------+----------------------------------+
If the assumptions are wrong, the conclusions aren't likely to be very good.
+--------------------+--------------------+----------------------------------+
When people start to comment on the form of the message, it is a sign that they
have problems accepting the truth of the message -- ???
+--------------------+--------------------+----------------------------------+
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