[TenTec] Orions & contesting

[Ten-Tec Inc. Amateur Radio Sales]

Whew!

We take four days off down here and the reflector just erupts....

As I know Doug KR2Q, perhaps some commentary might be in
order for the below.

At 09:13 AM 12/27/03 -0500, you wrote:
>Hi all:
>
>I really hate to be "un-positive" on my first post here, but I am rather
>surprised and saddened at what I have been reading.
>
>I am an HF DX contester...have been for nearly 35 years.  That means I
>primarily work DX contests.  When I saw the specs for the Orion, I was very
>intrigued, so I looked for sources to find more info and I deemed this
>reflector to be one such source.  I have also been in regular contact with
>other "well-known" and highly successful contesters who own an Orion.  Those
>who are my peers (or better) in contesting are those whom I respect and
>whose opinions I take seriously.

And peer opinion is the most important factor of all.  More important
than specs, facts, data or anything else about a given transceiver.

>I must say that I am very disheartened to read some of the comments here.
>Those interested in DX contesting have made some genuine criticisms - not to
>disparage the Orion but to announce what IN THEIR OPINION (based on their
>intended usage) are current issues.
>
>I find it incredulous that those who do not participate as serious
>contesters attempt to refute or deny what is being stated.  Pointing to
>Scott (4PA) as an example that "this is a great contest radio" simply is not
>a logical argument.

It's not logical unless you consider that the engineering staff at Ten-Tec
got to pick my brain for two years during the design phase of the radio.
This was extended out to me asking other contesters, in the year period
between the time the Orion was announced and delivered, what they
thought.  Because I'm a contester, too, I know contesters think and
what questions to ask.  The radio wasn't developed in a vacuum -
and continues not to be.

>First and foremost, the operator wins the contest.  A
>great op (such as Scott or any of dozens of others) can win a contest with a
>very mediocre radio.  A "non-contester" can never win a contest by using an
>Orion simply because they have chosen that rig.

Granted - but I have to interject here that I spent quite a few years beating
my head against the wall, so to speak, as a die-hard adherent of another
brand of HF radio prior to coming to work for Ten-Tec in 1995.   Using
better equipment has made all the difference - and my frustrations with
using non-Ten-Tec radios have been documented by those QTH's where I
have been a guest op and had to do fun things like constantly shifting an
Omni-VI to the run band while using the "other" radio for S&P all the time -
that gets very fatiguing, and frustrating, quickly.

>To me, as a serious contester of some repute, it is clear that Orions are
>not filling up the shacks of other serious contesters.  A major reason for
>this, is that the few (and there are indeed VERY few) serious contesters who
>do own them are not erupting with pure ecstasy; certainly NOT the opposite
>either.  Is it is a very good radio?  Definitely.  Is it a contesters dream?
>Based on the feeback I have been getting, no (or perhaps, not yet).  I will
>not rehash the many reasons why the Orion is currently falling short of the
>mark for serious contesters; most have been mentioned on this reflector.

We're going to have to agree to disagree on this one.  Ten-Tec just
processed a group order for 20 Orion's for Yankee Clipper Contest
Club - I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that they have confidence
in the radio's capability and are not basing their decision to order them
on anything Ten-Tec has said or done or the review data that has
appeared.  The most important factor is peer acceptance of the radio;
there has been plenty of that from contesters.

>But I will say that the PTT on cw is probably the first issue mentioned by
>many serious contesters I have been in contact with, including one who just
>took receipt a few days ago (meaning, while he is still learning the radio
>and can't possibly know all there is yet, this was ALREADY identified as a
>shortfall).

We don't agree that it's a shortfall - and it's not something that will be
changed with the Orion.  We've done this on purpose, just as we have with
each Ten-Tec transceiver that's come before it.  There is a built-in delay
between the time the EXT T/R closes and RF appears at the output of the
transceiver specifically to alleviate any concern over hot switching amplifiers
that are not equipped with QSK loops - like Alpha, Acom, et al.   Having
to PTT the radio prior to sending CW is counter-intuitive for CW operation.
You want to transmit, transmit.  Send the CW signal to the radio.  That's
what full break-in CW operation is all about - instantaneous switching
between transmit and receive.  If you're using a non-QSK amplifier, there
is nothing in the transceiver that is going to harm an externally switched
device; we thought of all of this during the design stage and this decision
was made by design - not accident.  We solicited a lot of outside feedback
from beta testers outside of Ten-Tec to make sure the switching times
were "just exactly perfect" (apologies to Bob Weir for stealing that line).

Plug in any Ten-Tec radio from the last 25 years and it is the same.
Just because the Japanese manufacturers have done it differently for their
radios is not indicative that it was the correct engineering decision to
make in the first place.


>Contesters want the absolute best all the time.  BEST means operationally,
>not just specs.  You cannot have a BEST radio with poor specs.  Equally, you
>cannot have a BEST radio that has multiple and serious (for the specified
>application) shortfalls.
>
>Please accept the criticisms posted here (and elsewhere) as genuine and
>serious concerns submitted by OWNERS who want things to improve so that
>their radio will indeed be the BEST for their application.  Also remember
>that one cannot be all things to all people.
>
>The world's "best" basketball sneakers may be a poor choice for
>rock-climbers, and vice-versa.
>
>de Doug KR2Q

We listen to everything that appears here regarding the Orion - the best
I can do is explain the philosophy behind the decisions we have made,
let the testers do their testing, and the operators operate.  The market
will decide what the 'best' radio out there is.

I take the criticism of the Orion in the spirit intended, but nothing is
going to dissuade me that this is the best radio ever created for serious
radio contesting.

Scott Robbins W4PA
Amateur Radio Product Manager


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