[TenTec] to CI WU7R

[bob finger]

I have owned an Omni VI+, still own a Corsair, a Corsair II and an Orion 
among  others. I am a cw dx chaser and sometimes contester who has been 
doing it for 40 years now.

If you like to ragchew and work non contest periods on the cw bands the 
Corsair II is hard to beat.  The Omni VI+ is a dream.  If you work weak 
signal work, 160 cw, dabble or are serious about contesting then the 
Orion is without question the best receiver on the market.  You could 
not pry my Orion off my operating table for anything.  The receiver is 
indeed THAT good. I have also gotten so used to two receivers it would 
be hard to fall back.   For a "casual" op however Orion might  be 
overkill.  There is a learning curve to the Orion and you do have to 
think about it when operating so that you set the parameters the way you 
want them or to optimize performance. 

On the other hand the best of all worlds is to have both if you can 
swing it.  An Orion for serious work and a Corsair II with remote VFO 
(or an Omni VI) for casual operating.  As you know the weakness of the 
Corsair/II is lack of computer control/interface.  If you do not need 
that it is the  "almost perfect" casual cw radio.  In my eyes there was 
no prettier radio ever produced than the CII/VFO/425 amp combination 
sitting side to side on a white desk.  Sounds and works almost as good 
as it looks to the user. 

Don't let the "its gotta be perfect" crowd here scare you off.  The 
Orion is a very solid performer with some few quirks that TT is working 
on.  Having lived through the evolution of the Orion firmware for almost 
four years now it amazes me how far we have come.  If you need the 
receiver and are willing to "learn the radio" don't hesitate to obtain 
an Orion.  One mans opinion, there will be others and many who will 
disagree with me.  That is why we have choices.  Good luck with your 
decision.  73 bob de w9ge

>  
>