[TenTec] Orion commentary

[Ron McKean]

Scott,

I too would like to thank you for responding to many of the misconceptions
generated the past few days concerning the Orion.  You will never be able to
please everyone in every design aspect, but if the radio performs as stated,
most of the cosmetic objections will become pretty unimportant.  Most of us
trust the judgement of Ten Tec.  You have provided us with rigs that are
fun, great performers and a true value.  I am not crazy about the chrome
trim, but I guess I can paint it grey.

73's
Ron
WD5FUN

-----Original Message-----
From: tentec-admin@contesting.com [mailto:tentec-admin@contesting.com]On
Behalf Of Ten-Tec Inc. Amateur Radio Sales
Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2002 5:22 PM
To: tentec@contesting.com
Subject: [TenTec] Orion commentary


Wow, what a weekend.  The Orion certainly got a terrific reception at
Charlotte.
After working the hamfest all day Sunday we drove back over to Tennessee and
I spent quite a while into the night reading the commentary on the Internet
at home
Sunday and all day Monday here at the factory.

I haven’t addressed any feature or spec questions that have been brought up
in
Internet commentary only because the only information we have out is
publicly
posted to our web site and anything else is just speculation.  There have
been
some comments along the lines of “why didn’t it do . . . . “ or “will
it….”  when
the radio possibly already does, or will.   More information and tech specs
will
be coming over the next couple of months.

I wanted to clear up a few things about Orion that I have read on the ‘net
already:

(paraphrasing):
 >Gold trim.  It has gold trim.  Gold trim, good.  Gold trim, bleech.

I read the comments on the Orion trim color with quite a bit of surprise,
and
kept waiting for the message that said “Huh?  I was at Charlotte.  There’s
no
gold trim on that radio!”

There is no gold trim on the Orion.  I don’t know how this got started, but
I
repeat:  there is NO gold trim.  If you saw a picture with gold trim, it
must have
just been weird lighting in the building.  The trim on the Orion is
chrome-nickel.
It is shiny.  It is also very SILVER in color.  Not
gold.  Silver.  “Mirror” finish.
No gold trim.  It is the same knob color that is in use on the RX-350
receiver.
The ORION nameplate on the front under the meter is also chrome-nickel
in color.  The reason we elected to use these knobs is the uniformly
positive
commentary we had about them vis a vis the RX-350 receiver.

(paraphrasing):
 >Display this, display that.  Color.  Monochrome.  Blue.  Grey.  Etc.

I posted a message to the reflector before we even left for Charlotte
stating
that the display for the Orion was not done.  Neither the physical screen in
use for the radio, nor anything that appears on it is final.  That goes for
the
spectrum scope, freq display, literally everything.  We have more screens to
test yet.  We’ll be putting in a lot of time on the layout/design aspect of
what’s
on the screen in the coming weeks.  I’d say, don’t read anything into any
of the
comments - positive or negative - about the Orion screen and what is shown
on it.  It’s going to change.

(paraphrasing):
 >The tuning knob feel was exactly like that on a boombox - no weight,
 >impossible to "spin"

Both of the tuning knobs are weighted and are identical (except for the
chrome-nickel trim ring) to those used on the Omni-VI Plus.  Just like the
Omni’s, you cannot grab our knobs and spin them down the band until they
come to a stop.  This is a combination of the adjustable drag feature on the
knob and mechanical resistance within the tuning encoders themselves.
Like the Omni’s, you will have to place your hand on the tuning knob and
turn
it to move up and down the band rather than just free spinning it.

K8VT wrote:
 >I'm probably wrong, but I think many of us believed (or hoped) that at
 >least part of the >reason for this "pre-introduction" release was done
exactly TO generate comments and >feedback before everything gets
 >chiseled in stone.

No, you’re absolutely right.   We wanted feedback on the direction of the
radio.
See my comments at the bottom.

(paraphrasing):
 >The AF knob is not on the bottom row of controls.

This is incorrect.  Both the MAIN AF and SUB AF knobs are on the bottom
row of knobs, directly above the large tuning knob closest to the screen.

(paraphrasing):
 >Ten-Tec didn’t put a PS/2 keyboard connector on the Orion like on the
Jupiter

True.  We never used the connector on the Jupiter.  We had anticipated
keyboard control of the Jupiter, but unfortunately another company has a
patent
on connecting a keyboard to a radio transceiver and we were never able to
come
to an agreement to license it.   This apparently won’t be resolved, and we
left the
PS/2 connector off of the Orion.  The PS/2 on the Jupiter has no function.

(paraphrasing):
 >Ten-Tec better get it in gear if they’re going to sell the Orion at
Dayton.

We’re not.  We’ve said all along there is no anticipated delivery date for
Orion
and that’s still the case.  It will be available later in 2002.   There is
a colossal
amount of programming to be done yet.

(paraphrasing):
 >Are the Jupiter and Pegasus discontinued?

Not a chance!

I find it very interesting that much of the discussion of the radio has
centered
solely on cosmetics, as the Japanese manufacturers have done an excellent
job
of selling various pieces equipment for many years that are cosmetically
sharp
but performance wise may not have met up to what Ten-Tec was currently
offering at the time.   We’ve taken the opposite route for a very long time
- performance and ergonomics first, ‘look’ second.  Maybe even third or
fourth.
Unfortunately, it has not served us well and we must change to respond to
the
demands of the marketplace.  Performance is extremely important, but there
is
also a very sizable proportion of the amateur population that is interested
in
whether the radio looks appealing to them and the performance can be
secondary
as long as it’s within the same realm of other comparable rigs.   Ten-Tec
MUST respond to that sentiment because we MUST have those hams as
customers if Orion is going to be a success for us.  Presently, we don’t!

Some of this sentiment has even been expressed by some of the Ten-Tec
‘faithful’ here on the reflector, in reverse.  Comments like “I’m not going
to
buy a Ten-Tec radio that looks like …..XYZ”  of course, I’m disappointed by
that.  And my reaction is to say, I’m sorry we can’t come up with anything
performance-wise that’s going to overcome the way you feel - but that just
proves my point above, that cosmetics are a serious issue and performance
often will take a back seat no matter how good the radio will operate!

We WILL have super high end performance and features that are superior to
the JA radios and cosmetics comparable to the fit and finish with the Orion.
Ten-Tec can’t be ‘as good’ we have to be BETTER.   There are some of you
reading this that are going to vehemently disagree with me on these points
(and already have) - and I understand.

The commentary from the Charlotte hamfest and the initial reaction over the
Internet this weekend has convinced me that for performance and cosmetics
that we are very much on the right track with the Orion to be a big winner
for the hobby.

Thanks again,

Scott Robbins, W4PA
Amateur Radio Product Manager



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