I was at Dayton and "sold" on the fact that Orion was "upgradeable". I
ordered one on the spot.
It has been pretty dissapointing. Yes, the roofing filters blow away
everything else, and I've got everything else except the 7800 and 9000 (so
far). After LOTS of comparisons, measurements, and experience with the
radio, I'd have to say I'd be seriously surprised if the radio meets any of
the original design/marketing/advertising goals, and apparently quite a few
very technical people have made siimilar statements in the past. This
doesn't make the radio unusable, and Tentec has continued to sell them and
generated a loyal following, even if a lot of that (apparently) was on the
hope that the bugs would be worked out and the radio upgraded through the
magic of software.
My personal observation is that the firmware in the Orion is very poor.
Many functions don't work, don't work right, or are very cumbersome compared
to 'state of the art', and this has been very well documented. I also
believe the Orion HAS the processing power to implement what the manual
claims they deliver, but the software is not properly structured to take
full advantage of the architecture. Using the Harvard architecture is an
ART, and there are very few practitioners, and certainly none at Tentec. (I
can tell, because some of the comments with the upgrade releases wreak of
the Princeton/CISC/Brute Force approach, but I didn't write this to attack
their engineering prowess so lets drop it here.)
Someone said in this thread that Tentec had no choice but to use modern
DSP's etc to upgrade the hardware and produce the ORION II.
Well, folks, that doesn't sit to well with me for any subject EXCEPT the
color display change!
For example:
The HF spectrum is still the HF spectrum. CW is still CW. SSB modulation
is still SSB Modulation. A "REAL TIME BANDSCOPE" is still a "REAL TIME
BANDSCOPE". "Noise Reduction" is still "Noise Reduction".
The implementation of these features isn't rocket science. It's been done
in software since the late 1980's or before. It's been inexpensive since
the 1990's, and consumer technology since then.
The point is, that the ORIGINAL AND CURRENTLY MARKETED "FEATURES" of the
ORION still have not been delivered to the market. If Tentec couldn't
deliver these features with the processor they chose and the architecture
they desiged 3 years ago then they had no right to make the claims they did
and lead the marketplace to believe that things would work as promised with
an eventual software upgrade.
If for some technical reason (like they underestimated the amount of
storage) or they really did need more CPU power, then a CPU relpacement
board would fix the problem. Things like "linear taper" vs "log taper" are
so trivial to fix for a software guru it would shock you. Fixing the
control slugishness, modifying objects, and updating the display driver are
all straightforward. There is no magic. If the memory is there, the CPU
power is sufficient, and the program is properly structured for a realtime
application, it's simple crank turning. It takes time, talent, and money to
pay it.
That said, and the real reason I posted this is that Tentec is in dangerous
waters at this point. The Orion can be easily demonstrated NOT to deliver
the features it's been advertised to contain, and many of us have emails
from Tentec staff admitting to exactly that. Hams a a very tolerant, very
forgiving group, and we all like the fact that Tentec remains one of a
handful of U.S. radio manufacturers, so we're perhaps a bit more tolerant.
But tolerance does have limits. If Tentec can't deliver software that
actually causes the hardware to function as claimed, and their only choice
is a new platform, and there is no path to it for current users, then they
will be put out of business. Recent laws governing corporate disclosures
and liability will put all of their officers and many key employees
personally at risk. That is the world we live in.
It won't happen because hams will stop buying ORION II's or give up on the
company. They will probably get more custoemrs for the ORION II than they
had for the ORION, if it does deliver. What will kill Tentec will be the
consumer lawsuits.
In over a dozen states Tentec's coporate integrity could be challenged under
consumer protection laws that have been on the books, are regularly
enforced, and have been upheld by the Courts. One major victory (or even
one major fight for that matter) and Tentec will be a footnote in the
history of radio manufacturers.
All its going to take is ONE person to push the issue.
My radio (like many others) was delivered in June with a manual, revision 3
dated February 2005, which clearly says, "The main receiver on the Orion is
equipped with a real-time band sweep display". Is there anyone out there
who would say this is a true statement? It is not, in fact it's not even
close to being true.
As I reviewed the manual over the past few weeks, there were many similar
claims. I chose this one as it's probably the one least likely to be
misunderstood or challenged. The concept of real-time can always be debated
of course, but most engineers or professional witnesses would likely agree
to permit "percieved realtime". Again, the Orion isn't even close. The 756
might be considered "preceieved realtime" for a human interface by example.
The Orion? Never, and it's demonstrable to even a non-techie.
Based on the enormous amount of material already floating around the
internet concerning the Orion's dirty little secrets, it's also possible
that someone is going to attempt to enforce the ARRL advertising policy
against Tentec. This is trivial though by comparison.
Tentec is at a crossroad. They've published, sold, and delivered products
in states and across state lines. The "issues" have been tolerated by a
supportive customer base of well-wishers who are thankful that Tentec
exists, and hope that it, like Amateur Radio, will be here 100 years from
now (I'm in that group). Failure to recognize the liability they've created
for themselves, however could be fatal.
I therefore strongly ENCOURAGE Tentec to make some clear statements about
the future for Orion customers, and then to quickly deliver on them. If the
ORION Platform can't deliver on the claims made in the past, then Tentec
needs to admit it, and offer some kind of compromise to the customer base
(ie an upgraded CPU board boasting MORE features than originally
contemplated at a discounted price) and move on.
If version 2 firmware does that then fine, however I'm betting it does not
or Tentec would be using the older procesors in the Orion II and putting the
price difference in the bank.
The approach I'm sggesting would be a tremendous public relations win for
Tentec.
This is going to be a very interesting year!
73,
Len
WT6G
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