[TenTec] Orion's Woes

[Tommy]

"So I just don't get it. "

Well, I certainly agree with your statement Lee.

Tommy - W4BQF


At Thursday 01:56 PM 7/28/2005, you wrote:
>I just don't get it.  The Orion II as far as I can
>tell just addresses a couple of hardware design flaws,
>and adds a color screen.
>
>None of the serious test measurements done on the
>Orion use the cascade filter board, one of the design
>flaws addressed in the Orion II.  It is basically a
>feature that no one uses and no one is the worse for
>wear becuase they don't use it.  Probably the new
>roofing filters could be added to the present Orion.
>You would not have as many filter choices, but you may
>be able to obtain nearly the same ultimate dynamic
>range, which in the end game is what its all about
>anyway.  With a little add on engineering and a few
>changes in the firmware you could probably make the
>Orion have as many filter choices as the new radio.
>
>The second issue is the "Mixing architecture".  I
>still don't know what this means, but my Orion seems
>to mix fine.  It mixed me a dry Martini just last
>night, shaken not stirred with an onion, and a nice
>frothy half caf latte earlier this morning.
>
>Third is the issue of latency on the RS232 line, which
>is something I wish could be improved on my Orion.
>I'm not sure I'm willing to spend a kilobuck to have
>my N4PY software behave a little less sluggishly when
>I'm spinning the knob with gusto.  It is very mildly
>annoying and certainly no show stopper.
>
>I ran a TS-530 at field day, and it remined me very
>well of just how far we have come regarding things
>like tuning rates and linearity and stability in
>tuning.  I remember the old Swan radio.  Turn it on
>3900 at noon and by 3pm you would be up around 7240
>from the drift.  Bump the knob and instead of moving
>5hz like on my Orion, you moved 100khz.
>
>The color screen in my estimation is purely cosmetic,
>and is probably responsible for the lion's share of
>the price increase.  The other stuff like the high
>speed sweep accessory is still vapor ware, and nothing
>I'm going to base a purchase decision on anyway.
>
>My Orion works day after day without a hiccup.
>Firmware 2 will work on it as well presumably making
>improvements to its operation.
>
>So I just don't get it.
>
>73  W9OY
>
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