[TenTec] New Orion owner

[Bill Ogden]

I have been reading comments in this group for some time (very interesting) and received my new Orion last week.  My turn for a few comments based on first impressions:

1. It would be nice to have an option to simply key the transmitter (at the current power setting) by using the CW key while in SSB mode. (When I try to set this up, the Orion is muted by the key but no output is produced).  In my case this would help with my amplifier tuning.

2. It would be nice to have the Orion "save" the setting for the internal keyer whenever one of the SEND functions is used and then restore the setting when the SEND message ends or when the external key is hit.  I prefer to use a bug and this appears not compatible with the SEND functions.

It certainly takes a while to learn to balance the HIGH CUT/LOW CUT/PBT/BW/Equalization for various modes. I am still learning.  When things are right, the rig sounds great.  When they are not right the audio seems distorted, shrill, muddy, etc, depending on the various settings.  I cannot think of any shortcuts, although I wonder if the "feel" of the rig would be improved by changing the HIGH CUT and LOW CUT so they they only change the effective equalization without affecting the bandwidth.  This would seem more intuitive to me. 

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Question: Does anyone know if the Orion power supply (963) is compatible with the new PWRgate (PG40S) from West Mountain Radio?  That is, is the power supply voltage high enough to effectively charge an AGM battery through this device?  Is it suitable for running the rig directly from the battery while using the Orion power supply to charge the battery via the PWRgate?  (Somewhat like described in QST a year or so ago.)

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Can I join the tentec discussion list without receiving each update via email?

Thanks,

Bill
W2WO