[TenTec] Orion Repaired and Back to V1.373b5 - Workaround

[Merle Bone]

The only real issue I have seen with V1.373b5 stability is the occasional loss of the subreceiver audio. Because of the otherwise exceptional performance of this firmware, I started trying to find a "workaround" for the loss of subreceiver audio. I usually only listen to the main receiver audio but switch to Main in the left ear and "both" in the right ear when I am looking for where a DX station is working in a pileup. So I normally kept the subreceiver audio "off" and only turned it on when I needed it. I tried looking for "keystrokes" that might "revive" the subreceiver audio, but I couldn't find a reliable set of keystrokes - ones that always worked to revive the subreceiver audio. The next thing I tried was to use an outboard "audio manager" to allow me to switch the Orion audio channels outside the Orion. I am using the NCS - 3203 Multi-RX II (New Communications Systems). I am sure there are other ways to achieve the same thing at lower cost. The NCS-3203 allows me to leave both the main and the subreceiver audio on all the time. I use the NCS-3203 to switch the audio between mono (Main RX) or stereo (Main left ear - Sub right ear). I have been operating for several weeks in this mode - usually many hours a day - and I have yet to lose the subreceiver audio! Whenever I switch the NCS-3203 to stereo I get the audio from both receivers. While having one more box is not optimal, I operate a complex station with auto switched antennas, RX only antennas and preamps etc, noise cancellers and antenna tuners etc. So one more box is not a big issue. Not losing the subreceiver audio  - " priceless!"

Because V1.373b5 has notch filters that remove the carrier from the bandpass (notched signals don't pump the AGC and make copy of weak signals very difficult); has an excellent range of Noise Reduction options - particularly for SSB; has excellent quality audio (No overdriven audio distortion); a $250 box to workaround the loss of subreceiver audio is a bargain. I would gladly pay $250 to get the bugs (Even without the notch filter fix) fixed in V2.062a. 

A couple of people on the list mentioned they thought they had an AGC workaround for the audio distortion in the latest release of the V2 code. As someone else mentioned, I would be very interested in hearing what those AGC settings are - settings where the normal harsh audio is heard and settings where the audio harshness is gone. Still hoping for a new V2.0 release - with bug fixes - in early 2008!
73, Merle - W0EWM