[Orion] Re: ORION RF FAULT ISSUES? TT PLEASE READ!

[john, ke5c]

> I have had my Orion since the middle of last May.  Used
> with a linear DAILY,  including the 10 meter CW contest

my old hygrain tribander is at 45 feet, about 25 feet above and 15 feet
laterally displaced from my second floor shack.  with the beam pointed
towards me, the led's do flicker depending on where my hands are when
running my centurion - :)  the orion *generally* still seems to work, but
...

> No RF problems,  time outs,  drop outs,  etc., etc. ever
> in all this time!!  Not sure what others seem to be experiencing,
> but there are NO such problems here.  Linear by the way

during the arrl 10m, which i did very casually - 13:19 total time, my orion
faulted three times.  first the subreceiver quit.  no matter of button
pushing restored it.  second, which has been reported by others (see early
postings here) - the transmitter quit.  the qsk loop and ptt still worked,
just no rf output.  third, and minor - the sweep quit.  in all cases power
cycling cleared the faults.  on the other hand, in a low rf environment at
n5tw's shack last weekend, it ran 36 hours without a hiccup.  thus, i think
it's safe to consider that the orion is a bit rf sensitive.

> BTW,  I do not use the SWEEP display of the Orion;  it does
> not seem to be useful to me so do not bother to burden the

well, it does to others, and if they put it in the rig, it ought to work
reliably.  i am also within the 30 days, and there are other little nuances
which could be improved, but it's still looking like a keeper to me.

73, john