The only real issue I have seen with V1.373b5 stability is the occasional loss
of the subreceiver audio. Because of the otherwise exceptional performance of
this firmware, I started trying to find a "workaround" for the loss of
subreceiver audio. I usually only listen to the main receiver audio but switch
to Main in the left ear and "both" in the right ear when I am looking for where
a DX station is working in a pileup. So I normally kept the subreceiver audio
"off" and only turned it on when I needed it. I tried looking for "keystrokes"
that might "revive" the subreceiver audio, but I couldn't find a reliable set
of keystrokes - ones that always worked to revive the subreceiver audio. The
next thing I tried was to use an outboard "audio manager" to allow me to switch
the Orion audio channels outside the Orion. I am using the NCS - 3203 Multi-RX
II (New Communications Systems). I am sure there are other ways to achieve the
same thing at lower cost. The NCS-3203 allows me to l
eave both the main and the subreceiver audio on all the time. I use the
NCS-3203 to switch the audio between mono (Main RX) or stereo (Main left ear -
Sub right ear). I have been operating for several weeks in this mode - usually
many hours a day - and I have yet to lose the subreceiver audio! Whenever I
switch the NCS-3203 to stereo I get the audio from both receivers. While having
one more box is not optimal, I operate a complex station with auto switched
antennas, RX only antennas and preamps etc, noise cancellers and antenna tuners
etc. So one more box is not a big issue. Not losing the subreceiver audio - "
priceless!"
Because V1.373b5 has notch filters that remove the carrier from the bandpass
(notched signals don't pump the AGC and make copy of weak signals very
difficult); has an excellent range of Noise Reduction options - particularly
for SSB; has excellent quality audio (No overdriven audio distortion); a $250
box to workaround the loss of subreceiver audio is a bargain. I would gladly
pay $250 to get the bugs (Even without the notch filter fix) fixed in V2.062a.
A couple of people on the list mentioned they thought they had an AGC
workaround for the audio distortion in the latest release of the V2 code. As
someone else mentioned, I would be very interested in hearing what those AGC
settings are - settings where the normal harsh audio is heard and settings
where the audio harshness is gone. Still hoping for a new V2.0 release - with
bug fixes - in early 2008!
73, Merle - W0EWM
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