[TenTec] Final Firmware O2

[David & Chris Drake]

Well Said

David, Wd9cmd

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dennis OConnor" <ad4hk2004 at yahoo.com>
To: <tentec at contesting.com>
Sent: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 8:37 AM
Subject: [TenTec] Final Firmware O2


Hmmm, some of you need to cut back on the coffee...

The O2 is a fine radio, well positioned in the upper reaches of ham radio 
transceivers...
The biggest whine I see is that they are not producing enough firmware 
changes to make you happy..
It appears that some believe the K3 radio with its rapid parade of firmware 
revisions is somehow superior because it needs frequent revising - this does 
not bespeak superior, to me; adaptable maybe, a secondary hobby in it's own 
right, but not necessarily superior......

Then I read the moaning about the O2 sweep; and they didn't do this, they 
didn't do that, etc...
Last time I checked the ads the K3 does not have a sweep screen... But 
somehow, not having a sweep screen makes it the superior radio, because 
Orion is not upgrading its sweep screen fast enough - the logic of that 
escapes me...
If you want a radio with a fancy sweep screen get a Pro III...
If you want an even fancier sweep screen get an LP PAN for your Orion / 
K3...

If you want an even fancier radio get one of the $11K to $13K models from 
the land of the rising sun - but don't expect the factory to answer the 
phone and put the technician that built and aligned your radio on the phone 
to talk you through a problem - which both Orion and Elecraft do 
routinely...

I happen to have the O2... I have looked hard at the K3 with the more 
capable sub receiver - as recently as 2 weeks ago... But, the less desirable 
ergonomics of the radio outweigh the receiver advantage and I opted to stay 
with the Orion for the third year... The O2 has the best combination of 
receiver and ergonomics I have found in 45 years of ham radio...

Lastly, I am thrilled to have Ten Tec and Elecraft slugging it out in the 
ham radio arena... A vast improvement over the import radios that have 
dominated the ham business for some time..
And while I am mentioning US companies, let me point out that PALSTAR 
acquired the Commander amplifiers and has put considerable time, innovation, 
and money, into improving those amps until they appear to me, to be the best 
amps in the business... They now have a complete line of tuners, meters and 
high quality amps... You could do a lot worse than spend your ham dollars 
with them - and drive that amp with a new O2 or K3...

denny / k8do



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