I've had mine since just before Christmas, graduating from a TS-930S,
owned since new in 1986, that was aligned to within a gnat's derriere
and had most of the contest mods applied (PIEXX board,
hardened/safetied PS, etc.)
I'm no longer a very active contester, though I used to be (kids, new
QTH, work, building a house, etc). And, when I was, the '930S was the
cat's meow -- preferred even to the '940 except for the lack of a
computer interface.
I've not operated or owned a lot of different rigs: the obligatory
FT-101E, an FT-301, and 430S, and I've used my Dad's FT-102 with the
full set of NC4L mods. I've operated various other rigs, though not
extensively or in a side-by-side comparison.
Yes, I know that the '930S is long in the tooth and doesn't have a
stellar front end when considering 3rd order intercepts numbers, but
I know and love it. The Orion II beats it hands down in every
respect. It's another world altogether. It's not the terror some make
it out to be while learning to use it. Mine has been rock-solid
stable with the latest software release. I now have the opportunity
to play with things only dreamed of previously. It has a different
"feel" than the Japanese radios. Neither better nor worse, simply different.
I once had the pleasure of operating at W1AW many years ago, and
chose the TenTec station. It had whatever their tip-of-the line radio
was at the time -- a Paragon, I think.
To be honest, until that time, I'd always been put off by the "look
and feel" of TT radios. They always felt cheap, plastic, and
lightly-made to me. My '930S, OTOH, feels very solid: a heavy
internal PS adds to this feel, but it also has a die-cast front
panel. That doesn't make it a better radio, but it feels substantial.
But the Paragon surprised me: it didn't have as nice a feel to the
tuning knob, but I liked it. Orion II does NOT feel like the previous
TenTec radios I've experienced: it's superb, solid, and smooth.
Simply put, the Orion II is an amazing piece of equipment.
Perfect? No. Neither is any other radio. Major bugs? None that I've
uncovered. Worth the money? Without a doubt.
Kim Elmore, N5OP
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