[TenTec] E-Ham Bad Orion Review

Sun Jun 20 23:49:42 EDT 2004

Here we go again.

I think I am happy to sit this one (Orion) out.

Ed

-----Original Message-----
From: tentec-bounces at contesting.com [mailto:tentec-bounces at contesting.com]
On Behalf Of Steve N4LQ
Sent: Sunday, June 20, 2004 11:20 PM
To: tentec at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TenTec] E-Ham Bad Orion Review

"the Orion is the first of a new breed of radios wherein software is an
intergal part of its operation ability."

What about the old Pegasus? Software played a big role in it's operation
ability. Then the Jupiter. Same thing. Not to mention Argo V plus all their
receivers for the past several years. I've just come to the conclusion that
the Orion's CPU just can't keep up which results in glitches, bugs and the
appearance that no 2 Orion's work the same. I certainly see no reason to
berate someone simply because they expect a $3,600 rig to work right out of
the box. I, as much as anyone want the Orion to succeed. I waited a full
year before buying one only to be plagued with multiple firmware problems
right from the beginning. When posting anything about the bugs, some folks
would take it as a personal attack instead of trying to help. As for the
Eham review, I really can't blame the poor guy because I've been through the
same thing he has. The difference was , he held out longer than I did. After
2 weeks of fighting the bugs, I sent mine back. We should all understand
this and not try to belittle someone who's frustration finally got the best
of them. BTW, I am very acquainted with computer glitches. I've worked in an
IT department for the past 27 years! I've supported every version of dos,
OS2 and Windows. The Orion made me feel like I was still at work. I am
certainly thankful for TenTec's 30 day trial policy although it did take 2
emails, phone call and 3 weeks before they finally credited my VISA. No
explanation was given for that bit of poor service. I say this just to warn
folks that a refund may not always be timely. As for reviews on Eham. Yes,
they are not always very technical but at least they are not influenced by
advertising like some of the magazines. I've found the reviews to be more
help than harm. Now as for my "opinion" of the Orion:  I had AM/BC radio
stations breaking through all over 160 and 80 meters. I had to install an
external BC filter from ICE to reduce these. None of my other receivers
exhibit this problem except for my Triton IV. The DSP filters were quiet
broad compared to my Pro2. I read every article, link and comment about how
great the adjustable AGC was and how to adjust it but in every instance, the
Pro2 was much better when it came to pulling weak signals out of the noise.
2 weeks of A/B testing proved this to me. I flipped that A/B switch so many
times that the knob actually fell off (seriously). The band scope is
worthless, if not counterproductive since it's a known cpu hog. QSK was dog
slow and tended to produce audio clicks. As for BDR, I had a very hard time
trying to find enough QRM to test this. I did not have any optional roofing
filters in my Orion. The QST review states that the 500hz roofing filter
actually caused poorer performance so why bother with it? The LCD display
took about 2 hours to really get warmed up. In the meantime, the characters
would blur when tuning the vfo. There seems to be some heat issues with that
display. So what did I like? Not a lot. I did like the large size of the
radio and wish they were all this big. I did like the loud KURRRRCLUNK when
you turn it off. It gave me same feeling I get when pulling the handle on a
200 amp breaker. So that's my opinion. Now some of you guys won't agree and
I'm sure you'll be very vocal about it. Fine. Make my day. Just don't accuse
me of being anti TenTec. I'm setting here with a Centurion, Hercules II,
Triton 544 and am very happy with them. They work as expected. No surprises.

Steve N4LQ
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tommy" <aldermant at alltel.net>
To: <tentec at contesting.com>
Sent: Sunday, June 20, 2004 9:21 PM
Subject: Re: [TenTec] E-Ham Bad Orion Review

> "The performance I hear about sounds very desirable, and the crashes 
> and glitches sound very frustrating."
>
> Absolutely!! I am  three weeks short of having had my Orion for a 
> year. It has been both a pleasurable and very frustrating experience. 
> Fortunately
Ten
> Tec can easily be blamed for this!! If we are long-time Ten Tec users, 
> we are spoiled because in a heck of a lot of cases, when you open the 
> factory shipping box, basically all you have to do is put the radio on 
> your desk
and
> in a huge majority of cases, it just sits there and works for 
> you....FOR YEARS!!
>
> However the Orion is the first of a new breed of radios wherein 
> software
is
> an intergal part of its operation ability. They do not have it 
> completely right yet, but similar to the Gates organization, they sure 
> as heck do not give up on getting it right either. I hate to use this 
> comparison, but the Orion is similar to Windows operating system, but 
> in this case I am hoping/betting the Orion came out similar to Win NT. 
> And with each
firmware
> update, I am hoping this will be the Win XP version. And the Orion is 
> getting 'close'.
>
> Am I upset because the Orion 'doesn't work the way I expected'? You 
> bet I am. But the reason I keep it is because of the excellent 
> reputation established by the company who built it.
>
> Tom - W4BQF
>
>
> Subject: Re: [TenTec] E-Ham Bad Orion Review
>
>
> > >
> > >
> > > I know some of the older
> > >generation are vehemently against putting up with any little 
> > >glitches
> etc. that are
> > >common in most computer defined electronics of ALL kinds today.
> > >
> > Well, maybe I am one "of the older generation". As long as I have 
> > been using computers running Windows I have been annoyed by 
> > occasional crashes. I have never accepted this as okay, although I 
> > have put up with it in order to take advantage of the capabilities 
> > of the computer. I do not think that consistant and identical output  
> > and functionality for consistant and identical input is too much to 
> > ask from a machine. I would say that is about where I draw the line 
> > between a good tool or machine and a toy. When I get in the car to 
> > drive on the highway, I want the car to steer to the right when I 
> > turn the wheel to the right EVERY TIME, not just most of the time. 
> > And I don't want to have to pull over (assuming I have not crashed 
> > and died) to shut the engine off, and restart it in order to get the 
> > steering to work right again. Now that I am running a computer with 
> > Windows XP it is much closer to a tool than any windows operating 
> > system computer I have used before, they have been closer to toys. I 
> > grew up with radios that pretty much did the same thing every time I 
> > did the same thing to the controls. That is what I expect out of a 
> > radio. I don't think it is too much to expect. Some people may put 
> > up with erratic behavior in order to get excellent performance (most 
> > of the time) and some people would rather have consistancy with 
> > almost as good performance. I have never tried an Orion. The 
> > performance I hear about sounds very desirable, and the crashes and 
> > glitches sound very frustrating.
> >
> > If your computer or radio was an airplane, would you go up in it? 
> > With or without a parachute? I would like both my computer and my 
> > radio to work so reliably that my answer to those questions is: yes, 
> > without a parachute. Maybe that is an "older generation" attitude.
> >
> > DE N6KB
> >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > TenTec mailing list
> > TenTec at contesting.com 
> > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec
>
> _______________________________________________
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