[TenTec] Orion vs SDR-1000

[Lee Crocker]

<Here's the deal for a literate computer user like
yourself. Half the price of an Orion and just as
good.>

When I look at the keying waveform in the review
article the first dit shows up on the antenna AFTER
the second dit is produced at the key.  No VOX, No
QSK, gonna be fixed real soon tho, yep real soon. 
Lemme see the article says you need a souped up 3.2ghz
P4 with a high buck sound card and gigs of memory just
to get the dits to be 2 elements out of sequence, and
then you have to re-arrange your brain to be able to
copy.  But it isn't too bad, nope not too bad...you
get used to it... and its gonna be fixed any day
now... why with a little practice you can get up to
maybe 30wpm. 

I would not call this just as good, and given the
amount of computer needed I don't see it as half the
price.  1325 bux of radio and 1500 bux of computer/
sound card/monitor/shuttle knob etc does not equal
half the cost. 

The radio is interesting for sure.  I think it will be
interesting to see how the design flaws get worked
out, and whether or not the flaws turn out to be
lethal or not.  I also find it interesting that the
highest end P4 multi gig memory radio can't do what
the century 21 (another direct conversion radio) did
with ease, send good code.  I have been seriously
considering getting one of these because I find the
whole concept interesting, but I do not see this as
anything but vaporware in terms of its being a high
performance radio at this time.  Interesting that my
Orion uses a processor similar in power to my palm
pilot and can do more than what the SDR-1K does.

I was on the Elecraft IRC site a couple of months ago,
and the guy there was telling me how his K2 was better
than the Orion at "half the cost".  I subsequently
played with a K2 to see for myself.  It neither
compares to the Orion.  Its not a bad little radio but
when the going gets tough as my old buddy from Paducha
used to say "it ain't got no motor"

73  W9OY 

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