> My notion is that the ORION should not be promoted as a
> software-defined radio with all that implies without providing some
> indication of its software-defined capabilities as opposed to those
> which are embedded in the hardware.
I generally agree that no product should be misrepresented in the way
you suggest. But I still see the gap with reality not as expectation based
on promotion hype, but expectation based on wishful thinking.
To take it to the extreme, all of the controls on the front of the Orion and
all of the connectors on the back could I suppose have label strips for
changing their function and assignments. And while certainly the code
could be written to do that for some things, it doesn't make much sense,
and would do little of value but add to the cost of firmware development,
related control mux/demux/routing logic, and even more confusion for
the user. It does seem to me that by printing a pinout for something with
labels on each pin, it should be reasonably apparent that it isn't a "make it
what you want it" connection.
So I don't buy into the notion at all that T-T is selling snake oil about
"software defined".
An informed buyer has access to the complete manual prior to purchase.
And the new one is pretty good. (I also think T-T should require a signed
affadavit from each owner that they have READ the darn thing too --
<grin>).
An uninformed buyer who isn't happy that he can't set a menu item and
plug DC power into the CW jack or route audio out the antenna
connector, is .. well .. a little uninformed. Ok ... so that's a bit extreme
:-)
but those things really bear little on being SD. All of the information,
menu options, etc. are clearly set out in the manual.
> The Icom PRO2 contains more control computers (at least six, each
with
> it own dedicated function set and firmware) and software than the
> ORION yet Icom never presents it as a software-defined radio.
I'm going to leave that alone :-) Counting processors doesn't make the
difference.
> silicon as it were. But, over-promotion does raise expectations and
> that in turn causes confusion and disappointment when things are not
> as one would reasonably expect them to be.
I just reread very carefully both the ads that are running in QST and the
material on the website. Nowhere do I see over promotion. If
expectation exceeds what the manual says the radio does, then that's not
a vendor generated expectation.
> As to "appliance" - yes, the majority of users today could be termed
> "appliance operators."
I'm not knocking appliance operators either. More often than I'd like to
admit, I'm one myself. It makes life simple. And I enjoy it :-)
> When, instead, the "appliance" is marketed with the implied promise
> that virtually any feature or capability can be provided by a firmware
> upgrade, then the confusion mounts and disappointment results.
This is a general misunderstanding among many consumer segments
about "firmware controlled things. It has nothing whatsover to do with
overpromotion. You should read some of the digital camera forums
about what folks think a "firmware upgrade" will do for lens performance,
and other very hardware defined parameters, etc. It's hysterical. And
they get genuinely upset that a little (free) firmware can't turn their 10X
zoom 3 Mp Wizzerroo 7xl into a 10 Mp camera with 400x zoom or take
over lighting and composition for them.
Nowhere do camera manufacturers state that "everything" can be
software upgraded (they rarely state that anything at all can be
upgraded). And radio vendors don't do that either, that I can see.
If/when the new "I" radio is released with upgradable firmware, that
vendor will very likely have the same issues to deal with. And the very
same misunderstandings will result. It's the nature of the guy buying the
radio to read what he wants to read between the lines. You do have to
admit (or not) that T-T has been much more forthcoming about the Orion
in terms of technical detail than anything we've seem from our Asian
friends so far.
>
> I have been exploring the nearest thing to a true software-defined
> radio with the SDR-1000 developed by FlexRadio.
Yep, it's an interesting little radio. But if you read their own description
of
what being SD means, except for being a simple direct conversion
receiver, it differs not a whit in overall design from what's being done in
the Orion, and probably the PRO-II (except it won't perform near as well
as either of them). And it doesn seem to have specific I/O assignments
for things like Mic, Speaker, key, etc :-)
Grant/NQ5T
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