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write your own review of the Ten-Tec Orion II.
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SV8ING
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 4, 2009 00:42
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Best ESSB radio
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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The Orion II has anything that an ESSB enthousiast could ask for.Very good,smooth audio which can be tailored as you want,and it can handle external audio gear like compressors, EQ's ,bass processors etc.
The receiver is excellent and you can hear any station ,just ''work '' with the AGC settings and you will see stations jumping over the noise.
Now I am running the 2.041XT beta FW which has added new features ,like a very good sweep scope and the AF AGC.A little work needs to be done by TT to correct some bugs and the ORION II would be one of the best rigs out there.
73
Fotis SV8ING
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W3VR
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Rating: 5/5
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May 24, 2009 21:25
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REV-1. Continues to impress.
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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This is a revision to my previous review of the Orion II.
Reading many good things, and hearing them on the air made me want to try the Orion II. I traded a K3/100 for the 566AT with full compliment of filters, and finding its still the best trade I've made in a while. I believe the Orion II is the better compromise in C/W & SSB performance overall as opposed to the K3. I couldn't get past the K3 voice "tin can" audio, and watery sounding effects the DSP NR had on the receiver voice modes. This was after spending much time with it, and as a last resort, sending it back to Elecraft for an evaluation. If voice performance is not important to you, and only CW is, then the K3 is the radio for you. I see more of the K3's up for sale lately, so perhaps I'm not the only one not fully satisfied with the K3's performance.
Although the bandscope display is nice, that's not the most important thing for me (I have the Icom IC7600, ProIII, IC7700, nice too but if I had to, I could deal without the bandscope display on these radios too).
I've found the Orion II to be about as simple, and straight forward a HF transceiver as you can have. There is more than enough receiver sensitivity. I love the multi knob functions. There are many parameters you can adjust on the fly. I believe the functionality and control of the radios many functions were very well thought & laid out.
I really like the down to earth attitude, and helpfulness of the Ten Tec people in Tennessee. I've found them friendly, pleasant, and good people to deal with. They are very generous with their knowledge, and will bend over backwards to help you fix the product yourself if that's what you want to do.
The more time I spend with the Orion II the more I like it.
I just might have to get a Omni VII for the collection.
W3VR
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W7WZ
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Rating: 5/5
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May 4, 2009 07:35
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Living Color
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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The clear, crisp, bright color display is absolutely beautiful! Pictures do not do it justice. It can easily be seen from any angle and even across the room.
The audio on receive and transmitt is simple to tailor to your liking. TenTec CW performance is legendary and the O2 is no exception. Software control keeps this radio current while the large knobs and traditionl analog S-meter offer a traditional radio look and feel. QRM rejection, noise reduction and weak signal performance are all superior. I find this transceiver to be feature rich; while easy to tailor and operate.
The Orion II does so many things well that it stands out as the best overall value and competes very well with equipment offered at twice the price. It will be my primary tranceiver for many years to come. I especially love the color display. Seeing is believing. Thank you TenTec.
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KT0DD
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 5, 2009 09:06
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Still Going Strong...
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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It's been over a year since my last posting, so thought I'd let everyone know that as far as I'm concerned, my O2 is still keeping me happy. Yes, radios have evolved since the O2 came out. However, in it's price class,I have yet to find a rig with the bang for the buck that the O2 has. I would have to spend over twice the money for the performance and features I have now. Yes, the K3 caught my interest, but as primarily a SSB operator, I have heard the K3 SSB audio fidelity is not quite as good.
Dual receivers, computer upgradeable, and a 96db dynamic range at 2 khz spacing is amazing. The only additions to my wish list are a higher speed sweep function without sacrificing the sweep screen format in software version 2.039. Version 2.041 changes the screen format too radically for my tastes. Also, I would like to see the ability to run an outboard Yaesu-type DMU unit tailored for the O2. One nice thing about being computer upgradeable is there is always room for these improvments. Now, If only I were CEO of Ten Tec...HI HI, maybe they would listen to me...LOL. 73. Todd - KT0DD
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KM4BS
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 25, 2009 18:06
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The Best
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have just acquired my 3rd Orion II and am glad to be back with Ten Tec. I keep thinking I want to try something else and always regret it. I have had them side by side with the rest and the Orions come out on top hands down. had one side by side with a Pro III during the Peter One expedition and when they faded out comepletely on the Pro III they were still workable with the Orion. This one will not leave the bench. If you want to ragchew any radio will work, but if you want to pull out the weak ones buy the Orion. You will not regret it.
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W3QJ
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 9, 2009 18:58
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Something different.
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Orion2, 566 AT, serial number 09C10986, Firmware V2.039d, DSP 2.06b14.
I'm second owner. Traded a K3/100 for it. The Elecraft is a very good radio as well. Ever so slightly better receiver. No reason to repeat all the accolades that confirm their positions (K3 & Orion II) in performance, and customer service.
I could just not warm up to the K3 RCVR audio & DSP no matter how much I tried. Otherwise, I would have kept the K3. Although I'm not a contester, I still want the ability to pick out weak signals in a crowded band, and have good receiver tools to control noise, and block out strong, adjacent signals. The OII exceeds my needs for voice and digital modes.
I love the interaction of the RF Gain, appropriate roofing filter, and NR. Pick out a moderate strength signal, lower the RF gain for a 2-3db level above the noise, engage the NR at level 1, and turn up AF gain. All that can easily be heard is the signal. It is almost spooky. A really neat effect. I have not gotten used to that yet.
I could ramble on about the many other positive aspects of the OII, but what for? It's all been said before.
I will not tribulate, and bemoan all the silly little nit picky things like, the lack of recent firmware, the appearance, the feel of the knobs, switches, controls, et al, adnauseum. For what I like in raw performance, and the fact that the company that makes the Orion II still supports it, and many other of their legacy products to this day is worth a lot to me.
I believe Ten Tec will make good on further firmware developments for the Orion II. I'm not worried about it.
The controls and menus are all very straight forward to me. I found the Orion II very easy to use.
No, the spectrum scope is not as nice and pretty as my Icom IC7700's or PROIII's but that's not why I bought the Orion II. The Ten Tec is a new, slightly different tool for my hobby. None of my radios are perfect, and none perfect are made.
I'm very fortunate to finally get an Orion II, and I'm looking forward to some good times with it.
Terry
W3QJ
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HB9CVQ
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Rating: 4/5
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Jan 14, 2009 08:01
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nice, but
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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The following operating- and small test-lab report is based on my Orion2, 566 AT, S.No.09C10586, Firmware V2.039d, DSP 2.06b14. Before the end of my first year I had to convince TT (over a 9 month period) to send a replacement board (trace crack) A7 DSP/CPU rather than doing component repair.
The unit with the new A7 Board is now working again as intended. This happened only after implementing at delivery strong EMI protection measures (filtering all lines –LC and/or ferrites-, grounding, bonding and stripping off the paint from metal (unbonded, no contact) chassis parts. The power supply (SMPS TT 963) is noisy both EMI and acoustically. The 13.8V PS connector and the PS cable are underrated. I changed to an analog PS. Even in Rx stand-by mode (3A) the noisy fan of the SMPS switched on.
A7 Board trouble e.g. S-Meter, Pwr-Meter startup trouble, occasional raspy voice SSB modulation, speed changing (thermal) CW keyer, QSK problems (ACOM2000A 2 tubes and vacuum relay killed by hot switching) and small erratic DSP changes are over now, but still unpleasant history.
I changed to O2 from an IC 761 (over 10Y) in Feb.07. The QSO focus is 160 to 10m CW QRQ, contesting, rag chew CW, SSB and DXing.
Major test equipment used: spectrum analyzer HP 8591E (TG), EMI current probes, field sniffing probes, directional coupler (MC), signal generator HP 8647A, scope Tek 2465A, DL 1kW 50Ohm –60dB, power meter LP100A, Counter Racal DANA 1999 TXO. The purpose of this report is to add user info, which is not so easily found elsewhere. Trying also to be more quantitative, simple test lab data is added.
Pros:
· Good performance under CW and SSB conditions; very good QSK even above 45 Wpm; remarkably good RX also in contesting with strong signals; nice clear display
· I will keep the O2, but my new Flex 5000C is now more often used in my shack.
· No detectable RX spurs in HAM bands
· TX (40W) spurs/harmonics worse case > 43dB sub C on 20m
· RX Attenuator with 6 (1S-Unit)/12/18dB very useful for signal testing; the same applies to the 12 dB (2 S-units) preamp.
· S-meter indications are relatively independent of the chosen band
· DSP, Filter, NB are certainly better than in the IC 761, but not nearly as good as in Flex 5KC or K3 (Check out DSP in QRN situations)
· Main RX does not suffer from phantom signals in EU, caused by strong 41, 49m BC Stns.
· (S9+60 test signal in BC Bands causes only a noise increase like activating the preamp)
· Desensitizing/Dynamic range: single QRM signal 7.1MHz @ S9+60, und RX 10KHz away CW, 870Hz, no Preamp, 100% AGC fast, results in only S2 (>80dB dynamics). Same test on 160m gives 90dB, which is impressive.
· Ant port oscillator leakage, Rx conducted emissions better –60dBm (measurement cable shielding limited) for all combinations Main RX , Sub, preamp on /off
· Very clean CW signal (tr =3ms, 40Wpm (PARIS), QSK Delay 10 to 12%, keyer mode A) with ACOM 2000A and Key line at 1kW out via –70dB 50 Ohm power attenuator on the scope or spectrum analyzer.
· I can run my Heilset pro plus, after a small mod. (bias/matching), with electret mike
Cons:
· Design mechanically sufficient, but reminds me of old DRAKE quality
· Rudimentary documentation, completely insufficient for servicing. Circuit diagrams are sloppily done in legends. TT claim is: "This is all there is and even used by our service technicians".
· Finding optimal settings of rig needs a lot of experience and practice; guidance is mediocre
· Big audio bang when turning on and off O2
· Thermal concept not optimal, I added PA and front slot (behind display) cooling (over 60C down to +40C at room temp in contesting).
· Major EMC design flaws by uncontrolled penetration of untreated wires through front and back panel. Back panel shielding therefore almost useless and other nice shielding compartments can not do a good EMI protection job as well. Vagabonding RF is already on the internal coaxes.
· Did anyone ever see a copy of the official CE Test report?
· No RX loop for additional preselector available
· S-Meter linearity: Only S9 (-73dBm = 50uV @50 Ohm)point is about right on all bands, below S9 more like 3 dB steps and above more like 6dB steps; S9 +60 (normally -13dBm is reached too early at –37dBm @-S9+36dB), therefore off scale at S9+60 (Fix: do a calibration chart)
· Absolute frequency accuracy: 160m: –5Hz, 14MHz: –65Hz, 10m: –133Hz (Flex 5KC 6Hz)
· Pan-adapter of very limited use, slow, small dynamic range of about 35 to 40dB, truncation/compression of big signals
· The Main (Ant1) and 2. RX (Ant1) input VSWR (scalar match to 50 Ohm) is not instrument grade as for the purists in Flex5KC, regardless of using the preamp (worse case 24MHz 8dB RL = VSWR 2.3). Putting RX2 on Ant1 will cause a noticeable degradation in small signal reception and reduce the S-Meter reading/sensitivity (calibration typ. down by to -6dB).
· Antenna tuner has no memory
· The Ant 1 to Ant 2 port isolation is only 47 dB on 160m.
· Ant1 to RX AUX port (rear) is 67dB on 160 and 62dB on 10m, a reasonable Ant switch value
As a summary I can state, keeping the Orion 2 is a nice backup for the new Flex 5000C, now mostly used (PAN Adapter, Filters, DSP!) here. With the O2 I have been successfully running many QSOs, CW contests and done a lot of Dxing, both in CW/SSB. QRQ QSK (fast vox)CW is really fun and now (after board A7 change) smooth as silk!
Would I buy it again? Probably not, because now the small K3 is more attractive, also as a potentially portable, contest and DXpedition rig. I am glad the O2 works fine back home on my desk. In the shack with typ. <7V/m RF field strength from the 2x25m doublet 12m and the 3 el trap Yagi 30 to 10m ,5m above the roof. Working with O2 portable, no way, because of all the extra EMC protection needed, as experienced in my initial H26 portable HB9-contest type of operation,in April 2007.
Andy HB9CVQ
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KD9Y
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 2, 2009 17:53
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Super
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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This Orion II has been greatly improved over the earlier production models. I especially like the flexibility of using the two receivers on different antennas for either transmit or receive. I find using a vertical on one receiver and a dipole on the other can enhance your chances of working that rare DX. Selectivity is excellent with all the roofing filters installed. The AGC can be custimized to minimize clipping and pull those weak signals out of the noise. For improvements, longer CW and Voice recorders would be a plus; also the power-supply fan is a little noisy so put it under your desk. Thanks for a super rig Ten-Tec.
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N9LBW
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 1, 2009 03:11
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Excellent Transceiver
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I just purchased an almost new ORION II and I must say I do like it. It is the only modern radio that can compete with my Kenwood TS-950SDX. THe SDX has better receive audio fidelity, but other wise the ORION II works as good as if not better, especially the selectivity and sensitivity are a little better on the ORION II, plus it has all the advantages of a modern rig.
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SV9GPV
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 14, 2008 09:33
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BEST RADIO
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Hello
after 40.000 qso with Tentec Orion 2 and 14 months i think is one off the best radio.
Orion 2 is fantastic in contests has great tools for dx and contests .The receiver is simply the best !!!!The ability to hear weak signals very close to very strong signals is better on this receiver than any other ham radio receiver .Very good hardware NB !!!.The transmitter works extremely well audio is like broadcasting i have a Heil PR-40 mic and the Behringer dsp 1124 and the Behringer mic 2200 . If you are looking for the best, this is it!!!!!
BEST 73
SV9GPV
GEORGE
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