I'm new to the Orion II, having owned it for just a month now. Over the
years, I've owned most of the better transceivers and have been using a
panadaptor of one sort or another since the Icom 781. I currently run
the Orion II with N4PY software and PowerSDR/IF for the panadaptor
function. For a long time, I read Orion owners complain about needing a
"high-speed panadaptor" and recall various promises from Ten Tec that
there would be one some day. After using the Orion II along with
PowerSDR for the past month, I think the requirement for a real-time or
high speed display is missing the point entirely. The name of the game
in panadaptors is RESOLUTION and the ability to twiddle sweep speed and
AVERAGING parameters in such a way that best allows you to visually
identify the weak signals you're looking for.
The marketplace if full of ill-conceived "spectrum scopes" that aren't
in the same league with what's provided by PowerSDR. Take for example
the SM-5000 scope for the FTDX-5000. This is a dreadful implementation
that guys are buying right and left, and then complaining that they
don't really see any value to a spectrum scope.
In regard to the Orion II, speeding up the sweep and making it "real
time" is senseless unless vast improvements are made in resolution and
the ability to fine-tune averaging. The current concept of a display
consisting of vertical bars makes no sense at all with today's
technology. Set your Orion sweep range to 4.5 or 9 KHz and think about
just how useful the display is. All you can tell is: yes - there are
signals of some type there (or maybe it was a static crash). For those
who have never used a scope like the one provided by PowerSDR, download
PowerSDR (free) and their demos and play around with the scope
parameters. You'll easily be able to identify discrete signals that are
barely audible and you'll be able to see that some CW signals are wider
than they should be, etc. No comparison in value to the user. The only
scope implementation that gets everything right today is the Elecraft
P3, but the K3 is not in the same league with the Orion II when it comes
to usability.
I've also seen folks complain about the fact that the Orion II scope
freezes when the tuning knob is turned. Sounds silly? Has anyone seen
what some of the other implementations like PowerSDR do? Depending on
how you have the averaging parameters set, what you see as you tune is
nothing of value at all. Signals that were clearly visible are now gone
or are just a low broad hump moving across the screen. At least on the
Orion you can see what was really there a few seconds ago. What's
really needed is a "fixed" mode as implemented in the P3 recently. In
that case, the trace remains in place with all signals visible while an
indicator follows the tuning knob. I understand that in some previous
release of the firmware, the Orion had that feature but it's since been
removed.
A separate scope accessory like the P3 for the Orion follow-on should be
considered. I place far more value on the scope than I do on having a
second receiver that's the equal of the first. For those who haven't
implemented the PC approach to a scope using something like PowerSDR/IF,
I can tell you that it's an extremely high-maintenance approach that
won't withstand the test of time. While the resulting display is
exceptional, getting to that point and keeping everything running
properly is a nightmare. The number of software and hardware components
is high and the dependence on certain operating system versions adds to
the difficulty. Adding to the confusion is the fact that the components
all come from different authors/manufacturers and it would be
impractical for any one of them to test the combination that you might
have.
Serious spectrum scope users will pay the price for a good
implementation, so why not make a good scope in a separate box as an
option?
73, Floyd - K8AC
Former owner of K3/P3, FTDX-5000 and now a happy Orion II owner
On 5/12/2011 10:37 AM, Rsoifer@aol.com wrote:
I've had my O2 (fully loaded except for the antenna tuner) for 5+ years.
With that experience in mind, I would like to see its successor have a sub
receiver identical to the main rx, data outputs to support
externally-running software (e.g., Skimmer, etc.), and a selectable waterfall
display. I
can do without 6-meter coverage if it would detract from performance on the
other bands -- I've already got a 1208 transverter. I want the radio to be
fully stand-alone like the current O2, i.e., connecting to a PC should be
optional, not required. As for a fast spectrum display, it would be nice
to have, but I wouldn't pay much to get it. A PC does a better job of that,
anyway. I'm not interested in open-source firmware; if I were, I'd have
bought a Flex. IMHO, that's a different market segment. As for Elecraft,
the K3 (K4?) is more of a direct competitor, but I wouldn't try to have the
O3 match its small size. I'd leave that to the Eagle 2, or Omni 8. The O3
should be the best-performing HF/MF base station radio on the market, full
stop.
My $0.02 worth, anyway.
73 Ray W2RS
|