Thanks Bob, you are absolutely right. I guess I should have stated that my
first step in chasing this problem was going to be a thorough mate/demate and
cleaning of all connectors.
Having been in the business of designing cable harnesses for rocket ships for
40 years I agree with everything you say. Every now and then I see the same
problems occur in connectors that cost upwards of $5000. I'm afraid that
connectors will remain a necessary evil until we at least learn how to
distribute power by RF instead of wires. So I think my choice of careers will
remain secure at least for one more generation!
Maybe it's time for someone to build a better mousetrap!
73, Art
> From: RMcGraw@Blomand.net
> To: n4py3@earthlink.net; tentec@contesting.com
> Date: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 19:08:32 -0500
> Subject: Re: [TenTec] Orion 565 Main Receiver Issue
>
> It's not only related to Tentec products or Orion radios. For years I've
> dealt with service and maintenance on products costing 5X to 10X or more of
> what the Orion's. cost. These products have been found to have the same
> issues. Some interconnection methods are better or worse than others. It
> is a matter of cost vs. space along with a few other factors.
>
> Just exercise the connectors, clean the pins and apply a very small amount
> of contact cleaner. It will serve you well until next time.
>
> 73
> Bob, K4TAX
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Carl Moreschi" <n4py3@earthlink.net>
> To: "Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment" <tentec@contesting.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 3:16 PM
> Subject: Re: [TenTec] Orion 565 Main Receiver Issue
>
>
> > The Orion and Orion II have shown a history of problems related to
> > corrosion building up on the cable connections in the radio. These
> > connections should have been gold plated but they are not. In particular,
> > the cable connections behind the front panel have over 100 connections.
> > Many times the solution is to remove the front panel, which is not at all
> > difficult, and unplug the cables, spray them with a contact cleaner, and
> > then while they are still wet, plug them in and out 10 times or more to
> > clean them. This fixed all the intermittent problems on my Orion. And
> > with so many connections, almost any symptom is possible.
> >
> > Carl Moreschi N4PY
> > 58 Hogwood Rd
> > Louisburg, NC 27549
> > www.n4py.com
> >
> > On 3/19/2014 3:38 PM, art N4UC wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Here's a brain teaser for all you Orion experts. My 565 running ver 3.032
> >> has developed a couple of problems that I was hoping would be a firmware
> >> issue but it's looking more and more like a hardware problem. I'm looking
> >> for some ideas about where to start troubleshooting.
> >>
> >> In a nutshell the two problems (which may just be different symptoms of
> >> one problem) are these:
> >>
> >> 1. All signals received by the main rcvr on 20M only are extremely
> >> garbled and distorted. This condition is not dependent on mode and all
> >> other receiver functions such as S-meter operation, AGC, BW and PBT
> >> functions seem to be unaffected. Operation of the sub-receiver is normal.
> >> One interesting note is that a signal disappears when I engage the
> >> hardware NB, which is probably just an indicator that the NB thinks it's
> >> seeing noise and just doing its job.
> >>
> >> 2. When both VFO's display the same frequency, there is a difference in
> >> received frequency between the two receivers. This is present regardless
> >> of band, but the difference is not the same from band to band. The worst
> >> I've noticed is 200 hz offset on 20M, but other bands exhibit 50-100 hz
> >> delta between the receivers in spite of displaying the same frequencies.
> >> It doesn't matter how the two receivers arrive at the same frequency,
> >> either by pressing the A>B button or configuring both Main and Sub recvrs
> >> to be controlled by VFO-A.
> >>
> >>
> >> This all came on as an intermittent condition. I would notice that during
> >> operation on 20M, received signals would suddenly jump by 100-200 hz and
> >> I would have to re-tune to get back on frequency. I was assuming that the
> >> transmitted frequency was jumping as well, but I haven't verified that as
> >> yet. Anyway, after the "jump" occurred, the signals would sound warbly
> >> and quivery (technical terms for "trashy"). No matter their signal
> >> strength they sounded watery like they were coming from over the North
> >> Pole. If I were to select a different band and then return , the receiver
> >> would "slide" a few hertz back onto frequency before settling.
> >>
> >> I have
> >> sometimes noticed that just before this would happen there would be a
> >> rise in noise
> >> level, like precipitation static. While the rcvr is off-frequency,
> >> there is a
> >> lot of noise/hash that is in sync with other signals some as far
> >> away as 50 khz. It resembles being at field day in close proximity to
> >> several
> >> transmitters. Even though they are way out of the bandpass of the
> >> filters and too far away to hear a cw tone, I
> >> can copy them by listening to the hash.
> >>
> >> I have re-flashed the firmware and performed a few master-resets, etc...
> >> with no change. The problem is no longer intermittent and I'm looking for
> >> ideas while I decide how much $$$ I want to put into repairing a really
> >> fine, but old, radio.
> >>
> >> 73, Art/N4UC
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
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> >> TenTec@contesting.com
> >> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec
> >>
> > _______________________________________________
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> > TenTec@contesting.com
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> >
>
>
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