Fw: [Orion] Orion control with RigBlaster Pro?

[Martin Ewing]

Tom,

I think my setup is OK now, at least for the time being.  The RigBlaster Pro has 
two audio output options that seem to make sense.  Without a schematic (or 
enough patience to trace the circuit), I can't tell if one is more isolated than 
the other.  The "Speaker output" is high level and the "Microphone" is naturally 
low level.  I can't see a major difference between them in terms of grounding 
problems in my setup.

I ended up using the Microphone output.  Had to sacrifice a perfectly good CAT5 
cable to get the right connector!  The output level is rather low to drive the 
Orion AUX input, but it is OK if I have my sound card set to max output (almost 
4 volts p-p) and the AUX gain at 100.  Running at max probably gives best SNR.

I did some hum/noise checks using Orion's monitor output (nice!) and with the 
Transmitter disabled (nice again!).  With my limited measurement ability, noise 
and hum are down by > 25 db from the normal audio level.

The Orion seems to give good results on my PSKmeter, even up to full power, much 
better than my old TS-520S.  I am not sure why this should be, but I won't 
argue.  (I will have to buy that fan!)  So, level setting is non-critical, at 
least until the sound card starts clipping.

One area where I wish the Orion had more capability is in measuring/visualizing 
the audio output (waveform, level measurement, spectrum, zero beat detection, 
etc.)  Also, the audio input - what is the actual input voltage/waveform?  The 
real estate and horsepower are there in the spectrum display area.  Some day, maybe.

Cheers,  Martin