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Author Topic: Some advice please on transceiver selection  (Read 650 times)

KJ4OTL

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Some advice please on transceiver selection
« on: August 25, 2020, 02:41:27 PM »

I have a choice between buying a used ten tec orion 2 with power supply, mic, and speaker for $1,000 or picking up a new icom 7300.
What do I do?
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K1VSK

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Re: Some advice please on transceiver selection
« Reply #1 on: August 25, 2020, 03:10:08 PM »

Apples to oranges. If you don’t want the Orion, please let me know where I can buy it for that price. It may not be new but it’s far better. The 7300 isn’t worthy of comparison by any measure.
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W0CKI

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Re: Some advice please on transceiver selection
« Reply #2 on: August 25, 2020, 03:15:27 PM »

I was a Ten Tec fan for a long time but their kaput now. I'd buy the 7300. It's a no brainer to me.
Gary W0CKI
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W6UXB

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Re: Some advice please on transceiver selection
« Reply #3 on: August 25, 2020, 03:48:59 PM »

Go get an RG ONE from Boris in Bulgaria, you will not regret it amazing radio with incredible performance it is a modern day Ten Tec.
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K7JQ

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Re: Some advice please on transceiver selection
« Reply #4 on: August 25, 2020, 04:41:27 PM »

I'd buy the Orion II with those accessories, and use it. But if it's too much radio for your needs, and it's in great shape, sell it and the accessories for $1,500 to $1,600 (a nice profit) and buy the 7300. There are dedicated Ten-Tec fan boys that would snatch that up in a heartbeat.
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KB7TT

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Re: Some advice please on transceiver selection
« Reply #5 on: August 25, 2020, 05:16:34 PM »

I would buy the Orion and use it to see if you like it.  The Orion is definitely in a class above a 7300 for sure.  If it isn't your cup of tea, sell it and look at something else as they say TenTec boys will pay you more than your investment...   If you live in a metro area with broadcast AM you will find that the ICOM has very poor front-end filtering and is more subject to overload.  Its an SDR with no bandpass filters due to its price point.
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W4AEG

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Re: Some advice please on transceiver selection
« Reply #6 on: August 25, 2020, 05:17:27 PM »

I love my IC 7300.  Best bang for the buck. I have worked many countries in South America, the Caribbean, Canada, Europe, Slovenia and even New Zealand and get rave reviews on the audio. All on 100 wats into an efhw dipole at 40 feet here from south Alabama in the last month.  I’m very pleased. I love the waterfall display and the intuitive nature of the controls.
,
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W6UXB

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Re: Some advice please on transceiver selection
« Reply #7 on: August 25, 2020, 07:04:15 PM »

I would buy the Orion and use it to see if you like it.  The Orion is definitely in a class above a 7300 for sure.  If it isn't your cup of tea, sell it and look at something else as they say TenTec boys will pay you more than your investment...   If you live in a metro area with broadcast AM you will find that the ICOM has very poor front-end filtering and is more subject to overload.  Its an SDR with no bandpass filters due to its price point.
Yet another reason to get an RG ONE incredible great BDR 7300 81 to 84 db max RG ONE 96 to 99 db, 73 Geoff
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AC2EU

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Re: Some advice please on transceiver selection
« Reply #8 on: August 25, 2020, 07:23:58 PM »

The Tentec may have been a fine radio, but the company is almost non-existent.
The problem is the availability of "proprietary parts" if you need to fix it. 
All modern radios suffer from this problem, but you have half a chance if the company is still afloat.

The irony is that the vintage radios used mostly standard off the shelf parts to build the radio, which are still available.. Now everything is custom integrated circuits and displays which are for a specific brand and model. This narrows the prospects for future repair considerably.

K6AER

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Re: Some advice please on transceiver selection
« Reply #9 on: August 25, 2020, 08:27:35 PM »

The 7300 Icom is about 5 dB better, narrow spaced @2 KHz. better than the Orion II and I might add a better resale value. What a radio cost is what is sells for on the used market minus deprecation.
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VK5ISO

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Re: Some advice please on transceiver selection
« Reply #10 on: August 25, 2020, 11:47:28 PM »

As a former Orion II owner, I would regretfully suggest that you buy the 7300.

The Orion II is in another league altogether than the 7300, but it is 15 year old technology and sourcing  the parts has become an issue. I had surprising difficulty getting new knob covers from Ten-tec for my Orion II    4 years ago and got the sense the company, back then, was running on fumes. 

I regretfully sold my Orion last year  because   Ten-tec really only exists on paper anymore. It is a matter of time before Orions become impossible to repair.

Icom is a big company and you will be able to have a 7300 maintained for years to come, should the need ever arise.

If you do decide to get the Orion, you should check the production date and might want to think about changing the caps. Also keep in mind, the value of the Orion II lies in the roofing filters: $1000 is rather expensive for an Orion II with just the basic set of roofing filters and a very good deal if it has a complete set.

Just for the record, no one in Australia wanted to buy mine and an acquaintance put me in touch with a European buyer: I had to ship it to Central Europe!
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K8AC

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Re: Some advice please on transceiver selection
« Reply #11 on: August 26, 2020, 03:22:16 AM »

I own an Orion II, but know little of the 7300.  Which is better for you depends on what your requirements are.  The Orion does not cover 6 meters - do you want that?  The spectrum scope in the Orion is about the worst ever in an HF rig.  You can make it one of the best in that regard by adding the 9 MHz IF tap and an LP-Pan and sound card and NaP3.  Can you do that?  Another typical failure area in the Orion is the encoders used for AF level, RIT, XIT, passband tuning, bandwidth, etc.  You can buy replacements at very low cost from Mouser, but the installation is a bit of a project - are you able to do that?  The Orion II is a great rig for CW, SSB and the digital modes, but there is virtually no technical support available in case of failures. Tentec is closed down because of the virus and who knows if they'll ever open again.

73, K8AC
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KJ4OTL

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Re: Some advice please on transceiver selection
« Reply #12 on: August 26, 2020, 02:24:53 PM »

Thank you everyone. Very helpful
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KILGORE34

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Re: Some advice please on transceiver selection
« Reply #13 on: August 30, 2020, 02:03:19 PM »

wow these radios are pretty expensive.  maybe i didn't know what i was getting into here. 
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KILGORE34

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Re: Some advice please on transceiver selection
« Reply #14 on: September 01, 2020, 03:47:52 PM »

Does anyone have input on a radio for just morse code on 40 meters for example?  Just a good solid radio that works and isn't expensive. under 300.00. 
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