[TenTec] Re: Continuing Orion evaluation

[Jim Reid]

John,  KH7T,  wrote,  in part:

>  My only concern is that  perhaps the Dragonball interface 
> control is saturated.  I hope that it  is just that the software 
> for the Dragonball is just poorly structured  (I think that was 
> the original problem) and that it will eventually get  cleaned up.

Hmmm,  what is the chance that the Dragonball processor
will itself have to be replaced;  if it is "saturated",  unable
to perform all that it is designed/hoped for?  If "ditsnbits"
is unable to accomplish the ultimate desired goal,
would replacing the Dragonball simply be a single PCB
replacement within the ORION?  Hope so.  I presume the
Dragonball is off on a board by itself.  Of course,  using
a totally different control processor would require ALL new
software code!!  But,  maybe it will come to that.  Am sure
all of this is well within the engineering capability of the
Ten Tec gang,  and readily doable within the design concept
of the ORION,  without the need,  as in the Icom design
case,  to be forced into an ORION 2 machine.

I've been inside my ORION three times;  once to bring the
subrcvr antenna connection out to the SPARE jack, and
twice to tweak up the 10 MHz TCXO.  Easy to work inside;
"in-the-shack" PCB board exchange could probably be
easily done by many of us;  a return trip to Sevierville
for others maybe.

Very pleased with my ORION,  and it is a keeper!

73,   Jim  KH7M