After reading the flood of email crossing my screen, it occurred to me
that many, if not most writers did not take the time to read and
understand the original posting from Ten Tec.
I spoke with Scott Robbins this afternoon for clarification, and
learned the following, some of which has been mentioned in postings
here on the reflector.
---------------
- The processor used in the Orion has been discontinued and is no
longer available. Ten Tec was therefore forced to discontinue the
production of the Orion in its present form. They had no say in the
matter and had to make a choice to a) drop out of the high-end
transceiver market, b) design an completely new radio, or c) modify the
design of the Orion with a new processor.
This is an unfortunate, and sadly, not an uncommon occurance in the
commercial world. [I have personally had this happen while in the
midst of a large government contract. To say we scrambled for a
solution is a gross understatement. Our decision on moving forward was
almost exactly the same as Ten Tec's in this instance.]
- The decision to continue the production of the Orion would be
contingent upon the availability of a compatible, available
processor.
- The decision to discontinue building the Orion in its original
configuration does not in any way imply or infer that Ten Tec has
orphaned or abandoned this radio. Ten Tec will continue to support the
hardware and software for the original Orion.
- In its continued support of the original Orion, the firmware for the
Orion will track that of the Orion II. Note that they will both have
version 2.0. [It is my understanding that this will continue into the
future].
- Continuing the Orion with a new/different processor allowed Ten Tec
to add functions that were either not possible or considered to be less
important with the original processor [this characterization is my
editorial interpretation]. Note the term FUNCTION and not
PERFORMANCE.
- An upgrade for Orion owners was considered, and a cost/benefit
analysis was produced. The cost to facilitate the new processor and
the variable line-output enhancement [I specifically asked about this
item] required extensive hardware retrofitting, driving the cost to
over $1000.
- When one lines up the features of the Orion and Orion II, you will
note that the hardware changes in the Orion II are functional. The
radio will look the same. An 8-pin mike connector, a color display and
how it works, the variable line level output and the filter switching
do not change or upgrade the RF characteristics (receiver and
transmitter) of the radio.
- The change in the physical filters is a result of newer technology.
The performance of these new filters will be at the same level as the
presently available INRAD after-market filters.
Likewise, it is my understanding from both reading the email and
speaking with Scott that the DSP code changes have not changed the
receiver specifications.
- This new version of the Orion presents an incremental upgrade to the
original Orion. The market is not those of us who already own an
Orion. It's targeted to the ham who's looking to buy a new high-end
radio. The potential Icom Pro III buyer, who's willing and able to pay
$4000 for a new radio.
- The email announcing this radio was sent to the Ten Tec email
reflector before being released to the general public in a conscious
attempt by Ten Tec to inform its current customers of what was going to
happen before hearing about it from a secondary source.
---------------
My personal feeling is that Ten Tec made the correct business decision
based on the situation it faced.
I do not believe Ten Tec has violated its corporate policy to support
all existing products.
I believe this is an incremental product entry, not a new radio as was
the Orion when compared to the then top-of-the-line Omni VI Plus.
When the dust settles, I am certain that Ten Tec will have more
information for all of us.
In the meantime and to reiterate the words of N1EU, sit down, take a
DEEP breath and chill!
73,
Eric W3DQ
Washington, DC
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