I just don't get it. The Orion II as far as I can
tell just addresses a couple of hardware design flaws,
and adds a color screen.
None of the serious test measurements done on the
Orion use the cascade filter board, one of the design
flaws addressed in the Orion II. It is basically a
feature that no one uses and no one is the worse for
wear becuase they don't use it. Probably the new
roofing filters could be added to the present Orion.
You would not have as many filter choices, but you may
be able to obtain nearly the same ultimate dynamic
range, which in the end game is what its all about
anyway. With a little add on engineering and a few
changes in the firmware you could probably make the
Orion have as many filter choices as the new radio.
The second issue is the "Mixing architecture". I
still don't know what this means, but my Orion seems
to mix fine. It mixed me a dry Martini just last
night, shaken not stirred with an onion, and a nice
frothy half caf latte earlier this morning.
Third is the issue of latency on the RS232 line, which
is something I wish could be improved on my Orion.
I'm not sure I'm willing to spend a kilobuck to have
my N4PY software behave a little less sluggishly when
I'm spinning the knob with gusto. It is very mildly
annoying and certainly no show stopper.
I ran a TS-530 at field day, and it remined me very
well of just how far we have come regarding things
like tuning rates and linearity and stability in
tuning. I remember the old Swan radio. Turn it on
3900 at noon and by 3pm you would be up around 7240
from the drift. Bump the knob and instead of moving
5hz like on my Orion, you moved 100khz.
The color screen in my estimation is purely cosmetic,
and is probably responsible for the lion's share of
the price increase. The other stuff like the high
speed sweep accessory is still vapor ware, and nothing
I'm going to base a purchase decision on anyway.
My Orion works day after day without a hiccup.
Firmware 2 will work on it as well presumably making
improvements to its operation.
So I just don't get it.
73 W9OY
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