[TenTec] Orion operating, manuals and free stuff

[Rob Atkinson, K5UJ]

<<<The Orion is super easy to use. Yes, the AGC settings etc are a learning
curve, but not difficult at all. We have had LOTS of great help here to 
address
optimizing use of the Orion (Since some of this is personal preference, no
manual can give all the ino)

I have had not one problem with Orion and it is ten times easier to operate
then the other radios...>>>

You gotta be kidding me.  I sat down in front of an Orion with no manual at 
the Ten Tec hamfest last year and this other guy and I tried to simply tune 
in a station on 40 m. phone and talk to him and we spent 45 minutes just 
trying to figure out how to key the rig and TRANSMIT.   Gave up finally 
after concluding we were never going to make it happen.  It was completely 
unintuitive.  Sorry, but no matter how geewhiz a rig is, it should be 
designed so you can ground it, hook up the p.s., ant., speaker and mic and 
talk to someone without having to read a manual.
Every rig I have ever had, both JA and American, I have been able to do 
that.

I have never seen the manual for the Orion, but all my other Ten Tec manuals 
are great.  I have always thought that was one of the things Ten Tec did 
well.  For one thing, they give you one manual, with all of the service 
information, circuit photos, pictorials and schematics.  They are in a comb 
binding so they lie flat.  The JA rigs have separate service and operating 
manuals.  Having to make an extra effort to get the service manual is 
annoying.

BTW, the reason you get a free mic is so that you have at least something, 
however crummy it is, to use to try the new rig out on the air, without 
having to rummage around and wire up a plug.  Who wants to do that with a 
new rig to try out?  Let's say you only have Yaesu rigs.  Okay now you get a 
ten tec.  all your mics are 8 pin plugs.  now you have to rig up a mic 
connection just to see how the new toy works on phone.  Same if all your 
rigs are ten tecs and you get a kenwood or whatever.  What really needs to 
be done is standardization of key, speaker, amp keying, cans, mics--all 
these connectors among manufacturers--then they'd never have to include 
_anything_ because everything you already have would work with whatever you 
just bought.  But boy, we'll probably have world peace before _that_ ever 
happens.  you don't get a free mic with the 7800 but you get a free jacket.  
how come you orion owners aren't asking ten tec where your free orion jacket 
is?    :  )

rob/k5uj

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