[TenTec] New Firmware

[Toby Pennington]

-----Maybe the only "fix" is to produce a v1
software/DSP load that works on the Orion II.  That would be, in most ways,
a REAL "fix" :-)------

I believe there is merit in this idea,  but it will never happen.  After playing with version 2056 for the Classic Orion I suggested going back to V1 to see if some kind of fix could be implemented to make the sweep work and also to provide more stabilty..... . even if it meant giving up some features which have overloaded the processors.  These would be features that are not used by the majority of Orion owners and were only added to placate a minority of users.   

This particular version could be offered as an option for those who would like an efficient machine that works 100% with all features.  What to give up would be the problem but the effort would be worth it I think. 

---- When the Orion first came out, I was a supporter to the point that I (along
with others) was labeled a member of the "Ten-Tec Cult".  But this whole
affair with the II (which is 90% terrific and 10% "what the cr*p were they
thinkin' ") is making me more gnarly by the day-----

Unfortuantely,  reality sets in at some point as it seems we are "spinning our wheels" with firmware updates with not much being accomplished and progress is painfully slow.  But I would be the first one to admit there is not another really good rig being manufactured which exhibits the operating specs that the Orion has (Except for the Flex radio, but the latency problem with that rig is a killer.)  In fact,  I sold a Pro 3 after selling my Orion,  and then bought another Orion because it is tremendous on cw and the Pro 3 just did not measure up.  

I have never agreed with the concept of releasing a production  radio which does not work properly out of the box with every feature working 100%,  and which needs to be BETA tested by the public.  All testing should be done in house before its release and some sort of guidelines or system set up for evaluating and fixing problems.  

Having said all this I am happy to run version 1.367 or 1.373b3 on my Classic Orion and feel it is the best out there at this time.  Enjoy your Orions!
Toby  W4CAK