[Orion] Orion, One Uncomplicated Radio on SSB

[john rader]

I have owned an Orion for 3 weeks, and have found it to be quite straight forward to operate on SSB. I spent several months reading the manual and articles prior to recieving the Orion
 
Firmware updates are a breeze and the dual recievers are cool. 
 
It is a real pleasure to be able to work QRP stations on 17m, and 60m stations with moderate signals with S 7-9 noise. The 1.8kHz roofing filter helps keep the passband quiet and softens the DSP. Tx equalization and PBT help compensate for comprimised audio with the 1.8kHz roofing filter. But you don't have to listen to the noise.
 
On some of the lower bands, particularly listening to nets and ragchewers, I set the roofing filter to 2.4kHz or 6kHz, Hang on 3-6 seconds, turn up the NR, and enjoy near broadcast quality audio. For SSB I typically keep the Decay at 5dBs and vary the Threshold. (why continue to call AGC slow med and fast when Threshold is is the main thang? how about let the user name them, say Low, Med, High...#uV...etc...)
 
It's ease of use is equivelant to other high end base station rigs and much easier than the new "layered menu" mobiles and HTs. I performed the obligatory A/B tests and it clearly outperforms the competition. One suprising note is the compliments recieved on the Tx audio. Everyone wants to know what special mic I am using. Well it is the stock TT hand mic.
 
I like the extra flexibility the radio provides with the setup parameters, and have asked for more. The users manual plus Doug Smith's and Scott Robbins articles have been very helpful. Plus the posts @contesting.com are great. The expert contributers have helped tremendously. Don't stop.
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It will take some time to develop universal descriptions of how certain parameters are best utilized and interact, to understand how to get the most out of the Orion. For me, I am already ahead of where I was with my other rigs. 
 
I have been frustrated at times with apples and orange dicussions about the way things work or were designed to work. I believe TenTec is trying to desribe some new features with old labels and seem to be concerned about throwing too much at us too soon. This group of users and TenTec seem very dedicated to moving us through this new frontier. Keep the info coming.
 
I have posted a few files for discussion purposes on the Yahoo group. Please comment, as some of us visual learners like to use visual aids (particularly since I'm a Texan; hard headed and a slow learner) and checklists, particularly after a master reset and memory loss.

 
I am very excited about what is to come and enjoying the benifits of  the Orion's new tools and learning how to optimize it's use! It is a very exciting radio indeed!
John
KD5YTY



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