[TenTec] Final Firmware O2 ?

[Mark S. Holden]

I haven't seen anything from Ten-tec to say they won't be producing 
future O2 firmware updates.

What I did see was a question of if the last beta is now "final".  I 
could be wrong but thought the person meant "full release, not beta".

I know Ten-tec lost their programmer, and I haven't heard of them hiring 
a new one yet, but I'd like to think it doesn't mean they won't in the 
future.

With the poor economy, it could be they're delaying hiring to hold the 
line on expenses.

I considered the K3 first, but after talking with a K3 owner decided the 
Omni VII or Orion II was more likely to be a radio I'd enjoy for 
phone.   He loved his K3 for cw contesting, but uses Yaesu MP 1000's for 
sideband because they have better audio.  I like the fact Ten-tec and 
Elecraft  are US based, and seem to give strong customer support. 

If anyone has impressions of the Orion II vs the Omni VII I'd be 
interested in hearing about them.  My impression is the Orion takes more 
tweaking of controls to get the best performance, but I'm not sure if 
using an orion in "lazy mode" would perform better or worse than the 
Omni VII.  My favorite HF receivers are an old Harris RF-550 and an Aor 
7030+ that I've installed crystal filters intended for a Racal 6790/gm 
in.  The fact I might be able to shoehorn in one of those filters into 
the omni is a plus. 

Hopefully nothing expensive will break at the house this month and I'll 
actually be able to buy a radio.