[TenTec] Orion2 Firmware Update

[Kim Elmore]

This same fundamental limitation is shared by the K3 as well. Thanks 
to the modular nature of the Orion and Orion II, why can't the 
processor boards be upgraded? If we need a few GB of memory to 
satisfy a need, or a faster processor, or an upgraded, dedicated 
signal processing unit, wouldn't TT be able to market such a thing?

As you point out, FLEX has already done exactly what your describe, 
without all the hassle and expense of having knobs, switches, 
encoders and displays.  What incentive  would induce TT to abandon a 
lot of their radio to make it a FLEX-system compatible box?

One of the attractive things about radios with self-contained 
displays and signal processing is that I don't need to carry around a 
PC for them to work, yet still I enjoy many of he advantages of DSP. 
Is it as good as, say, a massively parallel, real-time dedicated DSP 
system? No, of course not! But the up side is that I don't have to 
carry such a thing with me wherever and whenever I want to operate.

Kim Elmore, N5OP