[Orion] Re: [TenTec] Re: What really COUNTS?

[Kc9cdt at aol.com]

OK, I have a bunch of Collins, Drakes, and a very nice Icom 746-PRO. I have 
had the ORION for about 6 weeks. I love the features and the way it is so easy 
to get right at the parm you want to tweak!!. By the way, for some of you that 
may have not tried an ORION yet, IT IS VERY EASY TO LEARN TO USE. I have not 
used the manual on the ORION since day one. I still have to get the manual out 
on the 746-PRO if I want to change much of anything. Not a big deal, I guess, 
just pointing out that I think  ORION is very friendly.

 Yes the audio is smoother and somewhat nicer to listen to on my Collins and 
Drakes, AND even to a certain extent on the 746-PRO than the ORION. AND YES I 
KNOW HOW TO ADJUST THE AUDIO Tone control on ORION.
  But, The ORION has very nice audio in RCV and TX. I enjoy it too!. And with 
my Heil Goldline mike ( Studio and HC-5 Elements) I have had some very good 
audio reports!!! I DO WISH WE ORION OWNERS COULD TALK TT INTO A TRUE 2 or 3 
BAND EQ, instead of an old fashioned tone control. 

MY POINT IS: All these radios are different.....And all have pro's and con's 
depending on each persons needs and likes.

What I do when evaluating whether a radio is a keeper or not is: 
1) Does it meet my needs? ( I do lots of DX, very little contesting)
2) Do I enjoy using it,,,,, this is PARAMONT as this is supposed to be fun!!
3) Am I happy with it's dependability and QUALITY?
4) Am I happy with it's ability to DO WHAT I WANT WITH IT,, like dig out weak 
DX, AND minimise a interfering signal only a small distance away ( 'PBT', 
'CUT' Etc.)

I beleive ORION meets all my criteria. No it's not perfect. But I beleive it 
is going to get even better as time goes on.

It's expensive, and quite honestly I have to sell some of my Collins stuff ( 
Oh, I'll keep a couple!!) to justify the ORION. And that's what I am doing.

I do hope we can keep TT coming with enhancements and fixes to some remaning 
issues, and I have sent a very detailed e-mail to them on 6 issues that are 
important to me. 

I spent all day yesterday with ORION and I had a great time with it. It just 
feels comfortable to use and it works very well. By the way I had no failures 
of any kind in 12 hours of operation!

So, my humble suggestion, if I may is: JUST ENJOY THIS BEAUTUFULL RADIO ,,,,, 
AND EVERYONE KEEP TELLING TT ABOUT ANYTHING WRONG OR SOMETHING YOU WANT 
CHANGED!!

This is the first TT I have owned, from what I have learned here on the 
reflector, if they didn't have an ORION or if I chose not to spend the $$$ I would 
be looking for a mint VI+. 

Now if Santa would just get me a Centurion?

Merry Christmas to all, good health, good contesting and dxing!

Lee, KC9CDT