[TenTec] TT Cult civility

[Ve3bmv at aol.com]

Hi Yuri,

Sorry to see you go, but I do not blame you (again). TenTec reflector is a 
bit strange as you might have noticed. 

There are people who are genuinely involved and interested in the technical 
aspects of TT products, their operation, improvements. They would like to see 
the best value for their money, see the American manufacturer succeed and be 
comfortable that TT will be around for a long time and support their equipment. 
They join reflector for that purpose.

But unfortunately there are few behaving like a members of religious cult who 
would blindly defend "holy" TT regardless of the reality and truth. They 
would launch personal attacks on anyone who dares to point out deficiencies or 
areas for improvement. They for some reason are trying to pretend that "emperor 
has new clothes" to their own and other's detriment. They might be happy with 
the status quo, love their radios with deficiencies and police the reflector f
or any dissidents and hunt them down if they dare to say anything against their 
"momma." 

Now when TT is portraying Orion as THE contester's rig, and contesters dare 
to point out shortcomings, it is time for cult to attack. But the reality is 
that (most) contesters are not dummies. Couple contests operation with Orion 
will demonstrate the suitability of the rig for that task and operator will 
decide if the rig is a keeper or just another TT curiosity. There are some good 
points and some bad ones, it will come down to this: "is it worth the money and 
will it do the job for me." If the radio keeps quitting, is awkward to operate, 
takes weeks to figure out AGC/DSP/NR, then you might think twice about 
plunging your buck for the design in progress. Hallelujahs from the cultists will 
not help. Internet propagates the news quickly and one can fool people only for 
so long.

You will not "win" with the cult crowd here, they seem to be vocal and in 
attack mode. The rest of the TTecian will not oppose them publicly, but will 
express their opinions and support "secretly" by private emails. So the result is, 
"the emperor still has new clothes" and everything is fine and chorus sings 
hallelujahs. There should be warning for the newcomers: "if you dare to say 
anything not praising TT radios, this is not the place for you!"

I hope you will continue with the rest of the review and present the true 
picture about Orion. Contest community will be especially grateful for honest 
review. TT reflector can either let the bullies maintain dominance, or they can 
counter cultist's barking with arguments and support for those who try to be 
real and honest. I see that some object to your "style," but knowing you, I can 
see that you are trying to drive the point by using bit of exaggeration.

We will miss you, but I don't blame you. You will spend your time more wisely 
by doing reviews of new radios, rather than argue and deflect personal 
attacks on the reflector.
Good luck and looking forward to more stuff on your web site.

Yuri, VE3BMV

ooops, this supposed to be a personal mail and not to go through reflector
(if you know what I mean :-)