[TenTec] S-meter and RF Gain

[Bill Tippett]

W4CAK:

 >Alas,  both the O2 and the 2.0 firmware for the old Orion have the s meter
working like it does in the foreign imports.  The lower the RF gain the
higher the s meter will be stuck.

 >Change is inevitable,  but don't like this one.

         Toby, you mean you don't like Collins,Hammarlund, 
Hallicrafters, Drake, etc?  It's
how S-meters and RF Gain controls have worked
for at least 60 years!  This wasn't invented
by "foreign imports", it's simply the result
of how the S-meter interacted with RF Gain
in analog rigs.

         The "change" was when Ten-Tec decoupled
the two in Orion.  I feel this will make it
much easier for people to set RF Gain correctly
(the same ones who now complain about Orion
being "noisy" because they don't know how to
set RF Gain properly).  Instead of setting Gain
by ear, now they can set it by simply adjusting
the S-meter deflection to be slightly above
noise peaks.  What could be simpler?

         Actually Sinisa YT1NT first suggested
this in his March 2004 white paper when so
many folks could not figure out how to set
AGC Threshold correctly.  I think this is
actually a good move making Orion much easier
to use.

                                         73,  Bill  W4ZV