[Orion] [TenTec] Orion Warmup for CQ WW CW

[Bill Tippett]

 > The moral to this story is don't be afraid to adjust Threshold
 > way UP to whatever works best.  The 0.5-1 uV settings recommended
 > in the Optimization article are way off most of the time IMHO.

KE5C wrote:
If you, or anyone else, comes up with some magic settings for
the ARRL 160 the first weekend in December, please let us know.

         John, I haven't used Orion in a 160 contest yet, but
have used mine mainly on Topband since I got it in August.
Here's what I would probably start with in a 160 contest:

Xtal filter - 500 (or 1000 if you don't have the 500)
DSP BW - 600 (adjust lower for QRM)
Threshold - ~21 uV (vary +/- depending on QRN)
Decay - 20 dB/S (vary +/- depending on QRN)
RF Gain - 100 (may need to vary down)

This will probably work OK as is for 99% of QSO's,
but for very weak signals in noise you may have to
twiddle RF Gain, Threshold and DSP BW for best
S/N.  I will likely leave RF Gain highlighted on the
front panel and Threshold highlighted on the Menu,
so that I can change either quickly.  To determine
Threshold for your specific noise situation, just
adjust it upwards until you hear a slight drop in
background noise at your widest DSP BW setting,
and then back off to the level just before the drop.

         The above may differ depending on your
actual noise conditions on 160, but are typical for
the noise we have here.  I plan to operate 160 some
this weekend and will know more after that.  There
is really no substitute for working in real contest
conditions to determine what works best.  You'll
definitely know more than I do about what works
best at your QTH after this weekend.

                                 73,  Bill  W4ZV

P.S.  If you set Threshold very high (64-192) with very
narrow DSP BW (100-120) you will need to lower it
later if you increase DSP BW since they interact.