[TenTec] Orion II

[Bob Henderson]

I have already made clear my concerns raised by the Orion II product
announcement.  Subsequently, I have communicated with Jack Burchfield
directly about the outstanding issues of front panel control/RS-232 command
speed & narrow roofing filter performance. I would not normally make
reference to a private communication between myself and Ten Tec management
but as the Orion II product announcement urged me to be directly critical of
them, I will make an exception here.

I have been reassured by Jack that the new control firmware will provide
"more speed and faster access".  Of course, only time will tell whether the
quantum of improvement will meet the expectations of Orion users.  Jack also
confirmed, Ten Tec will provide the means for existing Orion owners to make
use of narrow roofing filters.  Needless to say, I find comfort in these
reassurances being provided.

What a pity the Orion II announcement wasn't written with outstanding
concerns of existing Orion owners more in mind.  Had the announcement
included something like:-

"The sheer extent of physical rework required, renders a full hardware
upgrade from Orion I to Orion II both impractical and uneconomic. So with
regret, Ten Tec will be unable to offer such a path.  However, established
Orion owners can take heart, for they are far from forgotten.   Our Version
2 firmware will yield substantial performance benefits for Orion I owners,
as indeed it will for new owners of Orion II.  In addition, though details
are yet to be finalised, we will soon announce an option under which Orion I
owners can take advantage of the benefits of narrow bandwidth roofing
filters."

Certainly, the inclusion of something like that above would have made my
reaction to events a whole lot more positive.

Take good care in treatment of your customers, for without them your future
is bleak.

Bob Henderson 5B4AGN


----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob Henderson" <bob at cytanet.com.cy>
To: "Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment" <tentec at contesting.com>
Sent: Thursday, July 21, 2005 8:57 AM
Subject: Re: [TenTec] Orion II


> There are certainly many fascinating views expressed here and apparently
> some confusion over what is going on.
>
> It is quite reasonable that product enhancements be confined to an Orion
II.
> Colour display, 8 pin mic connector and independent control of levels for
> digital mode operation are examples of such enhancements.  If it makes
> business sense to only offer these in the next generation of Orion, then
so
> be it.
>
> It is wholly unreasonable that product fixes be confined to a replacement
> product and not made available to users of the faulty product.  Roofing
> filter operation and adequacy of processor speed are examples of fixes
> required which have been acknowledged by Ten Tec management for around a
> year.
>
> Assessment of whether fixes are minor or not is subjective.  Rather like
> beauty, which someone once said "exists in the mind of the beholder".  Put
> simply, if you find the operation of the Orion I roofing filter schema
meets
> your needs, ( and if you are a phone op, it will meet them extremely
well )
> then you will consider this change to be minor.  OTOH if you find that
Orion
> failed to live up to its promise in this area and have had discussions
with
> the Chief Exec of the company about providing a fix, then it is likely you
> consider this problem something more than minor.
>
> If the processor speed fix can be achieved in firmware I will be delighted
> but whatever is required, Orion I users should have reasonable performance
> here.
>
> The roofing filter fix can only be achieved by a change in the hardware
> used.  There is no "new technology" or ethereal magic at work here.  To
> suggest such, is unmitigated BS. The plan to re-use Omni 9MHz filters at
250
> & 500 Hz was flawed.  The hardware did not perform as it was supposed to
do.
> A new roofing filter scheme has been introduced to correct this design
flaw.
> This fix should be made available to current users who need it.
>
> Bob Henderson, 5B4AGN
>
>
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