[TenTec] Re: Orion Reviews

[Tommy]

My electronics/ham experience:

Ham for 53 years...primarily a CW operator, but enjoy 'playing' with all new modes.
A high speed CW buff...in excess of 70 wpm.
A competative contester.
An avid DX chaser.
Enjoy rag chewing..long ones!
11 years in military electronic countermeasures and counter-countermeasures.
18 years as a design engineer..primarily designing intelligence equipment.
Microwave circuit design engineer...satellite transceivers and intelligence equipment.
14 years as computer network specialist.

Have owned and used:
Omni C and D...Corsair II (six of them)
Omni 6 (many hours of 'hard' useage...purchased in '92 and still running like a good radio should run)
Icom IC-781 ( five of them..fantastic radios)
Yaesu FT-1000 MP (ughhhh!)

Presently...Da** mad Orion owner since July 03.

The above info is to insinuate that I am not a novice user of ham equipment AND I understand a little more than how to operate an ON/OFF switch.

Since I have owned my Orion, I have gotten one complete, trouble free weekend of use with it, and that was the weekend of the CQ WPX contest. To run CW speed over 58 wpm, I have had to buy a used Jupiter because as the firmware updates are released, the top CW speed of the Orion decreases. The Orion's receiver is good, but only under special circumstances is it better than my Omni 6. I love the selectable roofing filters, BUT IT IS TOO BAD the 500Hz and 250Hz has  a designed in problem.

My Omni 6 and every IC-781 I owned operated dam*** good EVERY time I  turned it on. I get very nervous EVERY time I turn on my Orion, wondering if it's going to work this time or am I going to lose RF output power, or rcvr audio, or NR! And this continues after a year of ownership....not a good scenerio.

I personally think it would be a better use of talent if the marketing department of Ten Tec would help present OWNERS of the Orion achieve the stability  of operation of the Orion and clean up the operational 'bug's' in the Orion, rather than chasing one suspect reviewer who posted on eHam. Who the hell really cares what a reviewer on eHam says about my radio? I want my  radio that I have had for a year, to just plain ole' operate reliably.

And the Orion does not do that.

Tom  - W4BQF