[TenTec] Additional Thoughts on New Orion

[Bernard(1)]

    Now that I have had several weeks to play with my new Orion, I can better understand some of the comments that have been made on this board about the AGC, NB, NR and attenuation settings.  On a quiet band the settings just don't seem to matter that much, but on a band with QRM and/or QRN the difference is quite amazing.  I find this particularly the case on 80 and 40 SSB.  Using the settings described on this board, I find that I can usually use them or tweak them to improve the receive copy.  I guess that using is actually believing.  

    But, I do have a question for the board regarding Ten-Tec's selection of roofing filters.  Remembering that the roofing filters do not set the receive bandwidth as in most transceivers, I really have to wonder why they selected 6 KHz for the second filter and 2.4 KHz for the third filter.  Why?  I find it difficult to copy a SSB signal with a bandwidth of less than 2.0 KHz. Maybe I have a tin ear, maybe it is something else, but I find it difficult to do.  Way back when, I bought a 1.8 KHz filter for my Drake R4-C and ended up never using it.  In the Orion auto filter selection position, my 2.4 filter doesn't kick in until the bandwidth is around 1.kHz.  That's just too narrow for me.   Other than the obvious reason of having compatibility with their other rigs, why wouldn't they have selected something like 7 or 8 KHz for the second filter and then something like 3.5 KHz  for the third filter?

    Second question, in the auto mode, how is the change over filter selected.  In other words, if I put a 2.8 KHz filter in place of the 2.4 KHz, at what bandwidth would it be enabled?

            73


            Bernard, WA4OEJ