I have "set my Orion down by another rig," or actually had rigs brought to my
shack for a comparison. The results were quite interesting, to say the least
- and the results were very definite when comparing the same signal on the
same antenna as closely in time as we could flip a switch.
Even with my approx. 4 microvolt noise floor the Orion pulls out signals the
others could not, especially those weaker signals only a few hundred cycles,
excuse me Hertz, from a strong station. They were under the other signal on
the other rigs, in the clear on the Orion.
On SSB voice articulation is very good, so the IF's evidently add very little
intermod, somthing that has cursed many otherwise fine rigs in the past. The
Orion is the first rig I have had around here whose majin reciever actually
outperforms my Omni VI+ and the two Option 3's. And the second reciever is
no slouch either, holding it's own with a popular and highly advertised
"semi-TOL" rig.
One thing that interested all of us was the Orion's performance with a 500
watt mobile rig parked directly under the antenna. The "other rig"
essentially blanked out when the mobile was within 20 kHz of our recieve
frequency. Even the Omni VI+ "crunched" when the mobile rig fired up, but the
Orion did not.
And for those who are interested, if you have two antenna systems, the Orion
is essentially two rigs in one box. If you only have one antenna system and
must change bands by hand, it's still more than "1.5" rigs.
In due time we will get all the autologging programs, rig control programs,
and such that anyone could possibly desire. Until then, it's still has the
best performance of any reciever that's ever been hooked to my antennas.
73 Pete Allen AC5E
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