One other general observation I thought I'd mention...
There were big crowds on Friday at Kenwood, ICOM, Yaesu, and TenTec.
At Yaesu, the crowds were the four big lines of people waiting to get their
free hats (and if you knew to ask, maps and/or logbooks). There was also a
small group of people staring at the fish tank containing the underwater
HT's (how do you use an HT when it's underwater?)
At Kenwood, there was a line waiting for the Kenwood pins. Shaped like an
HT again, but this year colored like the US flag. There was also a smaller
line by the "live web" booth -- of people trading in Yaesu hats for Kenwood
ones (which is how I got a T-Shirt, but that's another story).
At ICOM, the crowds were waiting for the ops from K1B, XR0X, PW0T, and
several other major DXpeditions to talk DX or ask if their QSL cards were
available yet.
At TenTec, the crowds were elbowing each other to get closer looks at the
Orion, the Argonaut V, and the Jupiter. I didn't get to do more than say
"hi" to Scott this year, he was BUSY all day Friday. All of the TenTec
staff were.
Saturday it was a little easier to talk to the TenTec folks, as the crowd
was notably thinner indoors (I don't know what spin DARA will put on it, but
I believe the overall crowd was down AGAIN this year). But they were still
busy.
I've had a few people ask me about some of the technical details. I still
haven't looked at all of the literature I picked up, and I have to
disappoint many of you by saying I didn't ask many technical questions, as I
can't afford any new rig right now. (One of the reasons I enjoyed
convincing W3WH he really needed that 516 he ordered...). But trust me,
there were a lot of people taking a good, hard look at the rigs. And most
of them walked away impressed. (The worst complaint? The monochrome
display on the Orion. Not a deal breaker to most, just a small
disappointment. I guess they need something to put in the Orion II!)
The Orion appears to be due for a late summer or fall release. Keep your
fingers crossed... this could be fun!
73, ron wn3vaw
"You are a fluke of the Universe
You have no right to be here
And whether you can hear it or not,
The Universe is laughing behind your back"
-- National Lampoon's Deteriorata
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