[TenTec] Orion II wannabe

[John Nason / NA9U]

I'll relate my experience with the Orion II on the
ARRL DX.  The QRM was enormous so I set the Orion for
300 hz roofing filters and 100 Hz DSP.  I then moved
very slowly with the VFO set to 10 and went from
signal to signal.  Very nice because one signal would
fade away when another would appear and it sounded
like it was just me and him.  I kept the reciever
fairly open between 95 and 100 but with the filters so
tight the noise was not too bad.  I used programmable
AGC of .04 hang, 60 dB/s and 0.50 uV threshold.

I worked sporadically and logged 10 hours with a score
of 111,186 score, 251 Q's and 142 multipliers.  A
modest score but a personal best.    

My old Kenwood would never have let me do this even
with the audio filter I used with it.  The Kenwood had
500hz filter which does not cut it on these types of
signals.  

--- Art Searle W2NRA <w2nra at optonline.net> wrote:

> HI
> 
> I am a lurker and TenTec Orion II wannabe. 
> Someday!?  Just so you guys can appreciate the
> advantages of your radio I thought I'd relate my
> annual experience in the ARRL DX CW contest.  I use
> a Yaesu FT-1000MP MrkV Field with all of the
> necessary filters and mods installed including 250
> Hz CW filters in both IFs and the Roofing Filter
> mod.  This radio is as tight as I can get it.  BTW I
> only play in contests; no competitive antennas here.
>  Anyway to my point, every year on Friday evening
> when 20 meters slows down a bit I go to 40 meters. 
> And every year I think my receiver is broke.  Gee,
> the signals seem to magically cut out in pulses. 
> Occasionally there is QRM but usually the frequency
> is clear but the signal I'm copying cuts out in
> pulses.  I go to a wide filter position to try and
> find the offending signal that might be blocking my
> receiver but usually I can't find it.  Once we get
> later into the contest the problem seems to fade
> away.  Obviously the masses are de-sensin
>  g my receiver.  I just thought I'd let you guys
> know what your missing.
> 
> 73, Art W2NRA
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