[TenTec] Orion in contests

Mon Nov 17 18:04:24 EST 2003

Rob, I and many others like me have been reading the reflector and observing
the ORION scene for well over a year now. We have yet to find the type and
level of information that  you and your friend seek.

Overall, there is a lack of enthusiasm for the admirable traits of the ORION
and until lately a reluctance to mention anything negative for fear of being
taken apart for not supporting Ten Tec.

I cannot explain this collective behavior other than to say that ORION
owners have been assured that they own the best amateur radio that has ever
been produced. Thus, almost by definition there can be no issues concerning
its operation or performance.

The usual response to a complaint or problem is that the user doesn't
understand how to operate the radio. The upgrade issue is another mystery.
Some owners never have a problem with either the radio or any new upgrades
while others mention all sorts of problems, especially those which come
after a new upgrade has been installed. As you wisely point out, new
firmware requires extensive testing and use before being released in order
to avoid creating new problems.

It is almost as if there were two kinds of ORIONs: those which never have
problems and work perfectly in every respect, and those which have assorted
ills and which seem to have inordinate difficulties with each new upgrade.

As a long-time Icom user who is unfamiliar with Ten Tec equipment, any
effort on my part to obtain a straightforward technically oriented response
to the basic questions of *why* and *how* is the ORION superior to my
IC-756PRO2 is met with derision for owning a "ricebox" (apologies in advance
to those offended) and the reminder that instead of free upgrades, I had to
buy a new radio to get around the "problems" of the original PRO. Of course,
the PRO2 is now selling fully equipped with power supply, internal tuner,
etc. for just over half the price of a fully equipped ORION.

I am also reminded that it took Icom two models to "get it right." Yet, the
ORION is the *third* effort by Ten Tec, not counting the RX-340 and 320 DSP
IF receivers, to bring out an IF DSP transceiver. Each effort resulted in a
new radio to be purchased, just like the Icom situation.

Another thing that I have never understood is that as an experienced amateur
and retired engineer with decades of experience in both areas, and as an
active operator who can  afford top-line radios,  no one has ever honestly
tried to *sell* me an ORION on its technical merits. And I expect that I
represent a major market segment for TT to be attracting. Rather, I am
ignored by the TT Sales folk and derided by many on the reflector for even
being here as an Icom user seeking to learn more about the ORION.

I hope that you and your friend can obtain the information and assurance
that you seek, Rob. I frankly think that despite the problems the ORION has
had in reaching maturity, it represents a unique design offering performance
advantages in some areas. I wish Ten Tec only the best in completing this
product and bringing it into the amateur marketplace.

73/72, George
Amateur Radio W5YR -  the Yellow Rose of Texas
Fairview, TX 30 mi NE of Dallas in Collin county EM13QE
"Starting the 58th year and it just keeps getting better!"
w5yr at att.net

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Rob Atkinson, K5UJ" <k5uj at hotmail.com>
To: <tentec at contesting.com>
Cc: <k5uj at hotmail.com>
Sent: Monday, November 17, 2003 5:26 PM
Subject: [TenTec] Orion in contests

> We have a potential TT customer who posed a reasonable question:  why are
> there few eham reviews of the Orion?  He received some responses but no
> answers.
>
> One was something like this:  "If you have to ask you won't understand."
> (very helpful)
> Also:
>
> >>I still want to know why there are so few Orion reviews on eHam.
>
> >the best thing about eham reviews is that they are free, so truly worth
> >what
> >you paid for them.
>
> Thanks for the eham commentary but not an answer.
>
> >>Each new release brings about another round of bugs.  I am intrigued
> >>by the Orion but don't want to be part of a $4,000 experiment.  Who
> >>needs the frustration? Is this radio "ready for prime time" or not?
>
> >or you could do as my friend did, buy a high end ic756pro for over $3k.
> >then a few months later they fixed the bugs and deficiencies and brought
> >out
> >the ic756pro2.  for their help my friend and the other field debuggers
got:
> >a) a free upgrade by flash memory;
> >b) a free upgrade by sending the rig in and covering shipping only;
> >c) a very reasonably priced upgrade (as converting an omni 6 to one of
the
> >omni 6 plus steps);
> >d) nothing, diddly-squat nothing, absolutely nothing.
> >(correct: d)
>
> Deriding Icom and/or the Pro II isn't an answer to his question either.
>
> Folks understandably assume that on the Ten Tec Reflector, there will be
> hams capable of giving informed, specific, objective and knowledgeable
> answers to people considering purchases of Ten Tec products.  What these
> people don't need are flip remarks.  If all you Orion owners want to have
> more Orion owners I suggest you take these questions seriously.
>
>
> I have a question:  How come all you guys rush to load new software
releases
> as soon as they come out?  I work in the world of software, where everyone
> knows that Rule 1 about vendor new versions, is to wait at least a couple
of
> weeks so the post-shipment bugs can come out and the patches/corrections
> identified.  If I owned an Orion, I'd never load an update immediately
after
> release.
> Rob Atkinson
> K5UJ
>
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