[TenTec] New Radio - Day One

Sat Nov 18 11:33:40 EST 2006

I had my main contesting radio go toes up a few days back...  Decided  to replace it as well as shipping it for repairs - again - so I can  operate in CQWW...  Counted up the cash in my pocket, busted the dog's piggy bank, dug out  the rainy day wad stashed behind the amp and totaled it all... I email  offered a few guys cash money for their advertised OI radios...  None  were interested in my offers...   Thought it over for a day and decided debt isn't THAT bad if it is for  a  n e w  radio - right Santa?  It's like that old line your buddies  give you, "Aahh, have another beer, she can only get SO mad."... Anyway, stashed the wad back behind the amp, broke out the plastic and  called my drug pusher, name of Stan, and had a new OII fitted out with  filters and shipped 2nd day air...  It arrived at noon yesterday and  was installed and working by two...  

So here we are the morning after the binge at two... Woke up at ten,  rolled over and carefully looked - still looks like a 10 to me -  whew!  Anyway, all jests aside, my first impressions: And let me say I had been put off on the Orion by all the weeping,  whining, wailing, and teeth gnashing on this list, so I was skeptical to  say the least when I decided to place the order...  I did not want a  radio that merely learning to operate is an entire vocation in itself - I  just want to contest and dx, not sit around stroking my cpu...  And this is not new buyer enthusiasm, puppy love, or the first real  radio I have ever owned - it took a lot of hard thinking before I made the  decision... After 46 years of hamming I have been through everything  from junk to Collins... I have a steel cabinet that holds multiple radios  from homebrew, HeathKit, Drake, Icom, Yaesu, Ten Tec - and a couple I  can't even remember... This ain't my first rodeo...  

So, the big moment - power on:  It goes through the self checking for a  few  seconds then lights up like a pinball machine in a smoky  bar...  I reflexively reach for a beer and a cigar while my elbow thumps  my side to see if I remembered to tuck the heat under my belt before I  left the house - oops, then remember I had to give all that up to buy  this radio - durn! The speaker is hissing, lots of hissing... Hmmm, I punch the RF gain  button and after a moment of figuring out which knob does the job turn  the gain down to ~72 so the hiss sounds about right, punch the AGC button  and choose 'off' ... I see the MODE  button and push it, golly there is a couple CW selections even, push the  button next to one and we are in CW mode...  Hmmm, look the panel over  carefully for filter buttons, finding none I finally see the BW knob, give  it an experimental turn and the sound from the speaker starts  changing... Golly gee, look I can even see the bandwidth selected on the 
 display... Crank in down below 1 kc and I hear the sound change as the rig  auto selects the crystal filters as I dial down, just like Stan  promised... Down to 590 cycles, the 600 cycle crystal filter auto selects and it  sounds just right to my battered old ears... 
Okey doakee smokee, I plug the paddles in and hit it -> nada, nuttin,  no dits, no dahs, no nuttin, ahh jeezzzz...   

I stare at the panel for a long minute, I even look at the back side of  the radio and along the sides hoping for a button or knob, no joy, then  with bowed shoulders I shuffle over to the shipping box and fish out the  manual.. 
I hate it when I have to do that...  
90 seconds later I am a  new man - That cryptic SP button controls the keyer - oohhh ya, and I  even see how to get to the tuner when I want it, hey reading the manual  aint half bad... Seconds later we have dits, yesssss, set the numbers to  a solid 23 wpm, spin the dial, there's an IK3 calling, go right back at  him and we have the first Q in the log... Life is GOOD...  Spent the  rest of the afternoon and evening going back to the radio and making a  couple of Q's, then go work outside for a while - and gloat...  

So after day ONE -   Radio is a 10 
Operator is still a -1 but learning fast...  

The intent was that the Orion would go into the #2 radio slot on the  bench during CQWW  while one of the 'reliable' #2 radios would go back to  being #1 for the contest...  But one day of operating the Orion and that  plan is dust... The Orion will be in the #1 radio slot and either a Yaesu  or an Omni will be in the #2 slot...  I took the time to plug the  computer into the Orion and fire up N1MM Logger and reconfigure for the  Orion - it plays like gangbusters...  The MK-V was more work to get  configured the first time around... "lots tougher", I spent days reading that  manual...  

Color me happy so far...    

denny / k8do

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