[TenTec] Orion 1, No RIT, XIT

[Merle Bone]

I also had problems with the RIT/XIT control. It had problems from the time the Orion was new. In the early days I was told to pull hard on the control - that helped a little. Later I called Ten-Tec and was told some "logging programs" caused a problem with the control. That was not my problem.

I recently took the Orion to Ten-Tec when I went to the Hamfest. The first request on the Service Letter was: "Replace the RIT/XIT optical encoder - Does not work." I also had all of the boards updated, had the V2 mod installed and had the alignment checked. When I received the Orion this week the Service Invoice said there were 10 board upgrades done and the alignment was checked. It also said there was "No problem found with the RIT encoder." It certainly works fine since it was returned - it has never worked this easily since the Orion was new. I can only hope that "the change" is permanent. With so many people reporting issues with this control over the past year or two, I am inclined to believe there is an issue with the control/function (Maybe a wave solder issue on some of the boards). I really don't like "electronic mysteries."

One thing that I learned at the Ten-Tec open-house is that Ten-Tec is bringing out a new board for the Orion II and the OMNI VII that is a high performance - real-time - bandscope add-on. Apparently there is a "connector built into both the Orion II and the OMNI VII. I did not hear anyone indicate it would be available in the Orion.
73, Merle - W0EWM