[TenTec] Orion II

Wed Jul 20 17:14:07 EDT 2005

Well, let me see.  Why might I be feeling somewhat disenfranchised just now?

Is it because an Orion II has been announced which will sport :-

**  a super bright TFT colour Display with CCFL backlighting  **
**  an 8-pin mic connector **
** a mixing architecture providing self-correction for frequency stability
**
**  a programmable line level output independent of front panel controls  **

Hell no!  Ten Tec responding to market demand is a great thing and I have
absolutely no problem with the concept of an Orion II.  For sure, I would
have preferred my Orions to have TFT colour displays but they weren't an
option.  I was happy to buy two of them despite that fact and I'm still
satisfied with the displays despite their lack of colour.  I can also live
happily without any of the other "must have" functionality, listed above.

So why am I unhappy?

I am unhappy because the promise of the multiple roofing filter capability
of Orion has never been fulfilled.  This functionality was a key factor in
my decision to purchase Orion but use of 250 Hz and 500 Hz roofing filters
causes such degradation of Orion's IP3 performance to make any use of them a
nonesense.  I have exchanged e-mails with Ten Tec over the last year
regarding this problem, which was acknowledged as a design issue by Jack
Birchfield himself, some ten months ago.  As recently as May this year, I
was told by Jack Birchfield that a new board had been designed to correct
this problem and would be in production as soon as the firmware issues had
been resolved.  All indications were that this fix for the original design
shortcoming would be available to existing Orion owners.  There was not even
a hint that purchase of an Orion II might be necessary to correct this
problem.  Of course, I may be jumping the gun here and there may be a plan
to offer this fix to the user base but there has been no hint of that in
today's announcements.

Now, why else might I be unhappy?

Over a year ago, I exchanged mails with Jack Birchfield and Gary Barbour
expressing concern over Orion's control response times and the sluggishness
of the computer interface.  I expressed concern that perhaps the particular
Dragonball processor chosen for use in Orion might lack the required
horsepower for the job.  As a consequence of those discussions, I felt
reassured that the Dragonball was up to the job and that these issues would
be addressed in firmware changes.  Based upon the comfort I was given, I
bought my second Orion.

So why does Orion II boast:-

"A new 32-bit control processor using the latest generation Freescale
DragonBall Super VZ chip. (Which) Provides faster front panel control
response and accelerated remote operation via RS-232."

In these two areas, Orion performs inadequately.  I have been led to believe
these issues will be fixed AND specifically, fixed for those of us who have
already invested in Orion.  Today's announcements suggest otherwise.  If my
reading of the situation is correct, then I have every right to be feeling
cheated.

Hopefully, I am over-reacting and positive announcements will be forthcoming
regarding these two important issues for Orion owners.

Bob Henderson, 5B4AGN

----- Original Message -----
From: "NJ0IP" <Rick at DJ0IP.de>
To: "'Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment'" <tentec at contesting.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2005 5:56 PM
Subject: Re: [TenTec] Orion II

> First of all, we're all in the same boat.  Me too.
>
> I guess what I am missing here amongst all the complaints is a suggestion
of
> what Ten-Tec could have or should have done better.
>
> OK, there was one valid suggestion:  "Ten-Tec should have shipped the
Ver.2
> firmware to its installed base before announcing Orion II.
>
> Well, the announcement is for a targeted October shipping date.  So I
> suppose if the Ver.2 firmware ships to us before the first O2 radio ships,
> Ten-Tec has taken proper care of us.
>
> As I see it, for serious DXers or Contesters, assuming you don't use your
> band scope (which I don't), the fundamental improvement is the new filter
> arrangement.  Well I guess most of us already have the INRAD 600 Hz
anyway,
> so it just isn't a big issue.  We're still gonna hear as well as an O2.
>
> I don't think the quality of service depends on the interval between
product
> announcements, so I don't see any damage to Ten-Tec's service reputation
> here.  As long as they continue to support my O1 as they've supported my
> other Ten-Tec rigs for the past 31 years I've been using them, that's fine
> with me.
>
> Think about this:
>
> 1. Ten-Tec designed a rig several years ago based on inputs we hams gave
> them from ham fest surveys, etc., and at that time we all said we wouldn't
> pay for color.  Then they brought the rig to market nearly 2 years before
> their main competitors brought their new flagships. After ICOM and Yasue
> announced rigs with color for 2x to 4x as much money, we start screaming
for
> color.
>
> 2. The new processor wasn't available at development time.  Should Ten-Tec
> have used what was available or waited 2 more years?
>
> 3. Changes to the filter scheme and mic connectors were the results of
> customer feedback.  Unlike some of its competitors, Ten-Tec actually
listens
> and reacts.
>
> Now answer this:
>
> 1. If you were Ten-Tec, what would you do?
>
>   A.  Do nothing so as not to anger the installed base
>   B.  Make the few necessary changes so as to take away the main arguments
> for those thinking about Icom or Yasue.
>
> I congratulate Ten-Tec for making the right business decision.
> In the meantime I will start saving my pennies for an O2.
>
> That was my 1 cent worth.
> Normally I throw in 2 cents, but this time the second penny went into the
O2
> jar. ;-)
>
> 73
> Rick
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: tentec-bounces at contesting.com [mailto:tentec-bounces at contesting.com]
> On Behalf Of Ron Spencer
> Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2005 10:30 AM
> To: TenTec at contesting.com
> Subject: [TenTec] Orion II
>
> I've told my friends that one of the beauties of the Orion is its not
> obsoleted as new technology or firmware comes out. Its not like the Pro,
> Pro2, Pro3 etc. Well now that's no longer true.
>
> However, as long as the new firmware is applicable to the original Orion
> (I've read here that it is) and its still supported then I don't feel too
> terribly bad. Another $1k or so for a nice color display and a couple
other
> tweaks is more than I would wish to pay.
>
> Its nice to see that TenTec recognized that many of us were buying the
600hz
> Inrad roofing filter because it could be used in the slot were the extra
> preamp didn't kick in and make the change for the O2.
>
> Will be interesting to see performance numbers.
>
> Ron
> N4XD
>
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