[TenTec] The future of The Orion I

[john, ke5c]

> As to radio upgrades in general, the Pro can not be upgraded to a
Pro II, or
a 706 upgraded to a 706 Mk IIG, or the Omni V upgraded to a Omni VI+.
In
the history of things in the ham radio equipment circles, the release
of the
Orion II is no different.

The release of the Orion II  -is-  very different.  We all knew the
Japanese companies replaced their radios fairly often, and we knew
they did not upgrade existing models.  We also knew that TenTec kept
radios (although not necessarily amplifiers) in production for much
longer without replacing them with newer models.  The exception would
be the Omni 6 taken to the 6 Plus, and in that case TenTec covered the
investment owners of the 6 had made by offering an upgrade.  While
TenTec made no promise to keep the Orion in production for any
particular period of time, I (and apparantly many others) took
TenTec's past performance into account (like buying a stock) when we
made the decision to buy the Orion.  This interpreration was
reinforced by the advertising that we wouldn't have to purchase a new
rig any time soon because all that was needed for a reasonable time
was to upgrade the firmware.  Did any of us expect that time to be a
mere two years (an average of one year assuming we have consumed
orions in a linear fashion)?

My disappointment in the sudden depreciation that has occurred in my
Orion's value could be hugely ameliorated by some decent firmware -
reliable, able to keep up with the user interface, etc.  I knew when I
bought my Orion that the firmware was shakey, and during the year I've
owned it, I kept hoping over and over that release 1.xyz would fix all
these woes.  Now I just hope I'm not waiting for 2.xyz in vain...