[Orion] [TenTec] Orion "anomalies"

[Ron]

Bill,
I have had the ORION since June 23 and would like to make a comment or two.
The anomalies I have had seem to center around two operating conditions.
The first is using the NB on the SUB Receiver and the Sweep turned on during
transmit. The NB and SUB Receiver combination sometimes causes the Main
Receiver not to detect signals, and when shut down in this mode and then
restarted the Sweep display may be "frozen" or non functional.  The Sweep
turned on during transmit, sometimes leads to the inability to transmit.
Both of these anomalies are easily avoided by not setting up that way.
(Many thanks to the help I received in this area from W7TEA.)

I'm using software version 1.372 and as you did not specify your version, we
may not be on the same system.   I find the RF gain control to function
pretty much as expected up to a point with the exception of not muting the
receiver.  As a practical matter, I find that by using the ATTN settings
before using the RF control, I achieve much better results.  Generally the
AGC settings adjusted to default do not work all that well for me on 160
thru 40 meters.  For SSB I find the following more useful:
SLOW:
HANG:  00.38 to 00.60
DECAY:  5 db/s
THRESHOLD:  9.12 to 47.87 uV  (set for best perceived S/N ratio for condx.)

For CW I like the following:
PROG:
HANG:  00.38
DECAY:  50 db/s
Threshold:  00.59 uV

I usually don't mess with FAST or MED AGC settings other than to test them
to see which way they take the S/N.

The stereo CW reception consternated me for some time, but at present as I
operate the rig it always seems to work perfectly.  I do prefer to use a
different method for CW however.  You might enjoy this too.
AUDIO:
LEFT: Main
RIGHT: Both
SPKR: Both

VFO A:  TX, RX, and SUB all share
Set the SUB receiver on the same AGC and mode settings as the MAIN receiver
and adjust the volume of the SUB receiver to about 1/2 the level of the Main
receiver.  Set the BW of the SUB receiver to 1800 Hz, set the BW of the Main
receiver to 250 Hz.  You will now be able to hear the signals in the right
ear and when you are zero beat or close to it, you will hear them plainly in
the left and right ear at increased amplitude.  Really cool effect.

The CUT control is ideal as designed for the digimodes.  In PSK31 with BW
set at 2400 and a nice QSO underway, a strong signal shows up on the band
and swamps the receiver, just adjust the cut and or BW until the only signal
left is the QSO.  Works like magic.  I never use CUT or PBT for CW using the
other method described above.  I do use the PBT with SSB to eliminate noise
and other interference, and find it works very well and quick.

I use the ICOM IC 756 PRO II in the ARES station here, and I think based on
your statements that this type of radio would be more accommodating to your
operating expectations.  The ICOM is a great radio and is easy to use and I
like it a lot, but it has a different operating philosophy than the ORION,
and the ORION is the rig I currently prefer to use.  Wish I was in a
position to trade you the ICOM for the ORION... HI
73
Ron
KA7U

-----Original Message-----
From: tentec-bounces at contesting.com [mailto:tentec-bounces at contesting.com]On
Behalf Of Bill Ogden
Sent: Friday, July 15, 2005 11:04 AM
To: tentec at contesting.com
Subject: [TenTec] Orion "anomalies"

I have been using my Orion for about 6 months now and, like many, have
noticed a few anomalies --- none of them really serious.  For example, my
stereo CW reception seldom works.  (To my surprise, I did not like it when
it did work.)  The wide range of anaomalies reported makes me wonder about
the underlying programming. So many different little problems seem to point
to problems in something very basic, such as a thread dispatcher or routines
that save/restore system state.  I hope the next release clears up some of
these erratic nits.

One of my first comments about the Orion was, "Where is the RF gain
control?"  The answer was, "The AGC is so wonderful that you do not need an
RF gain control."  After trying to live with that situation (high RF gain,
fooling with AGC parameters) I finally gave up.  I now operate with AF gain
at full, AGC on "program" with the threshold set as low as possible, and use
the Multi control as my basic gain control.  This performs well, but I have
essentially lost the use of a Multi control (since it is now mostly
dedicated to RF gain).

I would like to see the Cut controls moved to a menu function and the Cut
knob put to better use, perhaps as an RF gain control.  I very seldom use
the Cut control, and find the interaction between Cut, BW, and PBT offset to
be a bit irritating.

Bill
W2WO
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