[Orion] Orion II

[William Hein]

I am very happy to see Ten-Tec announce the Orion II.  In retrospect TT cut
a few corners on IF filtering and LCD screens on the original Orion because
they underestimated the strength of the high-end transceiver market.  Top of
the line Yaesu and Icom rigs cost well north of $10k.  The Orions (I and II)
are terrific bargains.  Bravo for TT for continuing the development of
contest-class transceivers at world-beating prices.

It is my understanding that TT will continue to upgrade the O1 firmware.
That's certainly what they meant by upgradeable.  I never thought they said
they would never introduce another TT high-end hardware platform.

I have several Orions in my multi-op contest shack.  All 4 will be sold to
help finance upgrades to the O2 line.  The improved crowded band selectivity
and color display (not just pretty but helpful to sleep-deprived contesters)
are worth it to me.  I'm sure the people who purchase my old Orions will get
great enjoyment from them (as I did).

So where's the problem?  I would be disappointed if TT stopped developing
Orion firmware and refining the Orion hardware platform.  Would we be happy
if PC hardware development stopped at the 8088 CPU and Microsoft was still
tweaking MS-DOS?

73,
Bill

William Hein, NT1Y
10 Clark Road
Topsham VT 05076-3086
U.S.A.

Bill at NT1Y.com   www.NT1Y.com   FN34vd