[TenTec] Orion II tuning questions

[Ron Castro]

I recently ordered an Orion II after carefully researching all of the comments and information I could find on the Internet, both good and bad.  After reading some posts that were critical of  "jumpy" tuning response due to processor overhead problems, I am interested in hearing comments about the 'feel' of the main tuning encoder, especially to see if it works better/faster in the O2.  I understand that the encoder has 256 steps per rotation and that step rates from 1 Hz to 100 kHz can be selected.   That would give a tuning rate of 2.56 kHz per turn with 10 Hz steps, which is the largest I like to use for most operating.  How fast can the radio be QSY'ed without the processor running into problems or slowing you down?

Also, how is the mechanical feel of the tuning?  Is there sufficient weight to the knob for a nice 'flywheel' feel?  How does it compare to other rigs such as the TS-870 or the old KWM-380?  Any and all comments would be welcomed!

Thanks,
Ron
N6AHA