[TenTec] Orion Battery Operation

[Mike Gorniak]

I just finished 6 days of Orion operations using deep cycle marine 
batteries. I promised to post the results on the old Yahoo discussion 
board, so will post them here instead. The radio performs very well until 
the battery drops to about 12.3 volts. After that, the receive is fine, but 
on transmit, the display flickers rather severely with modulation.  This 
does not seem to impact the actual transmission audio quality at all, but 
it is a bit unnerving....The display acts like a modulation monitor ! In 
any case, Ten Tec states that the minimum voltage requirement is 12.8 
Volts. In a pinch, the transmitter still functions well on SSB until the 
voltage drops to about 11.1. That is the point at which the transmit audio 
distortion shot up dramatically. I did not test it on CW.

When using the Orion for battery powered  situations like camping or Field 
Day, a battery booster might be the best way to go .

73,  Mike Gorniak, NM7X