[TenTec] Should I buy an Orion now or wait?

[Dean Showalter]

Hi Harry ;

I think the answer to all of your questions can be summed up with WHO KNOWS
? Besides TT, that is, and maybe not there either.

I waited two years for them to come out with ORION II, and it never
happened.

TT is not very forthcoming about the future (or present?) of ORION.   I dont
agree with their strategy but there it is?

I bought one and am growing fonder of it all the time. I bought it mostly
because I needed a new toy. Certainly I didnt need to add another good radio
to the three already on the operating table.

If you like playing with new radios with lots of variables, great absolute
performance, and a lousy manual , buy it!  If you are looking for a radio
thats simple to operate, always does what you expect and is simple to learn
, even if you dont read the manual? Walk away.

Good luck on  your decision

73 de Dean  W5PJR
Tijeras, NM
----- Original Message -----
From: "Harry Reed" <doon at infoscientific.com>
To: <tentec at contesting.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2005 10:55 AM
Subject: [TenTec] Should I buy an Orion now or wait?


> Hi, All.
>
>     As I am new to this reflector, if this has already been discussed
> please forgive me. If I step on some toes, please forgive me and please
> bear with me.
>
>     I am contemplating the purchase of an Orion in the near future. My
> question for all you TT and Orion fans is should I purchase one now or
> wait? I ask this because ...
>
>     1) the DragonBall processor used by the Orion has been EOL'd
> (discontinued) by Freescale/Motorola. Does this imply that TT will be
> upgrading the Orion to another processor when their supply of
> DragonBall's runs out? or does it mean that an Orion+ or Orion II is on
> the horizon?
>
>     2) From what I've read about Orion it has the potential of being a
> truly awesome rig, but given the somewhat unstable nature of it's
> firmware etc. can it truly live up to it's potential in it's present
> incarnation? or will a hardware upgrade(s) be necessary to fix all of
> the little nits?
>
>     Also, how has TT done things in the past with previous models? I
> gather that the Omni series went through several upgrades/incarnations.
> How did TT deal with their existing Omni customers? Given that TT's
> supply of DragonBalls has to be finite when they do refit the Orion with
> a new processor(s) is TT likely to retrofit existing Orions with the new
> chips(s) for a suitable fee or just tell existing customers, "Sorry,
> just buy our new 'Orion 2 double-plus good' rig and all of your problems
> will be solved?" While I've heard great things about TT support I
> contacted TT with similar concerns and got the standard marketing
> dribble about they are not at liberty to discuss this sort of thing.
> <Sigh> To be fair to TT, I suppose their response was reasonable from a
> sales/marketing standpoint as my questions were rather pointed.
> Unfortunately, TT did nothing to reassure me that the Orion is a worthy
> rig to spend ~$4000 on either!
>
> I really *want* to purchase an Orion, but the question is "when" - now
> or later?
>
> What say ye?
>
> Cheers & 73's
> Harry Reed, AB7YF
>
> --
>
> --
> Harry W. Reed                       | Never ascribe to malice that which
can
> doon at infoscientific.com             | adequately be explained by
stupidity.
>
+--------------------+--------------------+---------------------------------
-+
> "Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely  exercised for the good of its
victims
>  may be the most  oppressive.  It may be better to live under  robber
barons
>  than  under  omnipotent  moral busybodies,  The robber baron's  cruelty
may
>  sometimes sleep,  his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those
who
>  torment us for own good  will torment us  without end,  for they do so
with
>  the approval of their own conscience."    -   C.S. Lewis, _God in the
Dock_
>
+--------------------+--------------------+---------------------------------
-+
> "Truth often suffers more by the heat of its defenders than the arguments
> of its opponents." -- Sir William Penn
>
+--------------------+--------------------+---------------------------------
-+
> If the assumptions are wrong, the conclusions aren't likely to be very
good.
>
+--------------------+--------------------+---------------------------------
-+
> When people start to comment on the form of the message, it is a sign that
they
> have problems accepting the truth of the message -- ???
>
+--------------------+--------------------+---------------------------------
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>
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