[TenTec] Orion Filters

Tue May 6 23:38:23 EDT 2003

I was curious about my ProII and using the same methodology I did the same
on my ProII using only 3 bandwidths assuming 6db per S unit:

500hz    1.45:1
250hz     1.24:1
2.4khz   1.36:1

I'm going to doublecheck the measurements to be sure. I'm suspicious about
the linearity of my S-meter or any S-meter for that matter. It will be
interesting when my Orion arrives and I can compare the two side by side. No
doubt the Orion will win in the strong signal handling category.

Interesting..
John N1JM

-----Original Message-----
From: tentec-bounces at contesting.com
[mailto:tentec-bounces at contesting.com]On Behalf Of Carl Moreschi
Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 9:22 PM
To: TenTec_Orion at yahoogroups.com; tentec
Subject: [TenTec] Orion Filters

I received my Orion today.  I decided to take at look at the filter shapes
of several filters in the Orion.  I used a crystal calibrator signal for a
constant source and the Orion S meter to determine the relative strength.
Below is the data I got.

Filter       6 DB width     60 DB width    Shape Factor

100            150             440                  2.9:1
250            240             470                 1.95:1
500            510             820                 1.6:1
1000           980            1160               1.2:1
1600          1580            1880              1.2:1
2400          2360            2500              1.06:1
3000          2930            3270              1.12:1
4000          3960            4280              1.08:1

These filters are all very good.  I used the same procedure on my rx340 and
found all the rx340 filters have 1.2 :1 shape factors, even the 100 hertz
filter.  But the rx340 100 hertz filter has some softening of the CW signal
through it.  The Orion 100 hertz filter still sounds fine, exhibiting no
apparent softening of the CW edges.   I would say the rx340 CW filters from
300 hertz to 900 hertz are better than the Orion filters of the same widths.
But the Orion Filters from 1000 hertz and up are a little tighter than the
rx340's.

I also put my 250 hertz crystal filter in the Orion.  For these simple
tests, no improvement was seen.  I also am seeing a 2 S unit insertion loss
from the 250 hertz crystal filter.  I had to adjust the center of my crystal
filter 70 hertz to get it exactly on center in the Orion.  That means my 250
hertz old filter I've had for years has always been off frequency by 70
hertz.  I will be looking for a situation where the 250 hertz filter
improves things.  I'll report it when I find one.

I've tried to be objective in my measurements, but my simple measuring
method may not be perfectly accurate but none the less it should give a
reasonable account of the filters in the Orion.  The bottom line is they are
very good.

Carl Moreschi N4PY
Franklinton, NC

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