Scott et al,
Coments in-line below:
--- "Ten-Tec Inc. Amateur Radio Sales"
<sales@tentec.com> wrote:
> Subjectivity is a major part of what determines what
> is a 'good'
> or 'not good' piece of equipment. Let's face it,
> there's at least one rig
> out and available today that's got nice cosmetics,
> feel, and look and is
> seriously sub-par for receiver performance vs. the
> price tag it commands.
> How's that for a subjective, biased opinion based on
> a Product Review?
I agree to a point, and you illuminate quite clearly
what sells equipment today in the ham radio market,
and that is primarily "cosmetics". The seemingly
continual debate about color choice for the Orion here
on this reflector further underscores that. However
I'm sure that I'm not alone in wanting top notch
signal performance above all else, cosmetics are
actually really low on my priority list. The second
most critical item for me is true innovation,
especially in areas that are outside of the small
"box" that radios have traditionally been.
Specifically robust integration with external
computers using inexpensive off the shelf technology,
I'm sure you've seen my earlier post regarding that
:).
> And all indications are that it is selling quite
> nicely! If you were to read
> the reviews on this rig, via email and some of the
> eham.net stuff, they
> rave about how great the rig is but don't offer any
> qualitative information
> on what the receiver is "like".
This only reflects the attitudes of the radio buying
public in general, which closely mirrors the consumer
electronics market place, no surprise there. It
further reflects the prevailing attitude that image is
everything, marketing rules, and what?s underneath
isn't important and can be ignored/hidden.
Unfortunately too much of what is now left to
subjective interpretation can actually be measured, if
the reviewers would actually do so. Nevertheless
things like color choices, general looks are truly
subjective and will always be.
>
> Writing about radio receivers is a little like
> writing about music - what
> you like or don't like is going to come across and
> may not be reflective
> of what's actually happening on the stage. Two
> people in the same
> spot can have vastly different reactions to the same
> event.
Again I agree partially, however I think that one of
the failings of the radio equipment reviews in general
are that they fixate on just a few of the parameters
that can be measured. Yes the ones they do look at
with test gear are important, but there are many more
equally important measurements that continue to be
ignored by the reviewers. Specifically actual
measurements of overall audio distortion, filter pass
band group delay, internally produced RX noise, etc. I
think with a broader range of laboratory tests there
would indeed be numbers to support the generally
perceived RX "quietness" of the Ten Tec radios in
general.
>
> As an active contester, I've been able to use just
> about everything that
> could be termed a 'serious' radio built by our
> competitors over the
> past 10 years or so. When I travel somewhere to
> operate, I usually
> bring my Omni-VI Plus and then use one of the hosts
> rig's for radio
> #2, with varying success. It has been enlightening
> to run a competitors'
> radio for 45 to 48 hours side by side with one of
> ours in a major
> contest a number of different times - and what I
> learned will be part
> of what goes into the Orion, eventually.
> Subjective? Sure - but
> subjectivity can be put to good use....
My own experiences are driving me towards using
transverters for all of my weak signal VHF/UHF work,
the multimode radios out there are rather fatiguing to
listen to. And when you are listening to 4 of them at
the exact same time it is a lot of noise! I've been
using a dual Pegasus combination with DEM transverters
for 6M with pretty good results for awhile now, I am
however bumping into its phase noise limits on the
really weak signals. However the rest of the RX/audio
signal chain has proven to be very quiet indeed, and I
can listen to it all day long comfortably without
listener fatigue. Needless to say though I'm watching
the Orion closely for potential use as an IF radio.
But I'm also watching and waiting for some indication
that the Orion will be more than just a knobs only
radio. If it does not include a new higher level of
computer integration capabilities it will diminish its
value to me greatly, and will also represent a rather
large missed opportunity. I?ll acknowledge that the
kinds of computer integration I seek and its value is
largely subjective, but the computer savvy (generally
younger) hams will likely recognize its real value.
And they will be the ones still buying new equipment
ten years from now. I?ve ranted about that here on the
reflector before too :).
So no, I don't mind the black color panel, nor does it
matter if the dot is red or not ;).
Duane
N9DG
>
> Scott Robbins, W4PA
>
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