[TenTec] AM Receiver distortion in Orion II

Wed Jan 24 22:48:56 EST 2007

I listened to the audio clip, but I wasn't sure which radio was which.  It 
sounded like you switched back and forth a few times during the recording. 
To help with the comparison, you might want to list the times that each 
receiver was switched in, for instance Orion :00, Jupiter :27, Orion :48, 
etc.

It sounds to me like the radio with more high-end also had more distortion 
but that radio sounded slightly off frequency.

These audio clips are great for comparing receivers (provided they are done 
carefully), and I would love to hear more of them comparing the different 
radio we have been hearing about from TT and other companies.

      Ron N6IE
 www.N6IE.com
(Formerly N6AHA)

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Rich McCabe" <r.mccabe at ctiowa.com>
To: "'Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment'" <tentec at contesting.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 8:17 PM
Subject: Re: [TenTec] AM Receiver distortion in Orion II

> Hi Larry,
>
> I wish I knew. I know the Orion is hard to figure out but I keep working 
> at
> this thing trying to get it better. It seems like it just needs constant
> tweaking to just get it to the point of my other rigs. As a matter of fact 
> I
> ordered roofing filters from Stan today trying to get myself to like this 
> it
> more.
>
> My Rx is normally set flat "0" but tonight I am running it extreme 
> at -14db
> comparing it to the Jupiter. Dropping the threshold down livens things up 
> a
> bit but the AGC is a little faster than I like.
>
> I am close to giving up on it. If the performance was as good as I was
> hoping it would be easy to overlook the shortcomings in the interface, but
> right now it seems substandard to everything in the shack except maybe the
> Jupiter.
>
> I am running a SP-23 and Sounds Sweet speaker. I have a NCS radio multi
> switcher/audio system so I am using the same speakers on both. I usually 
> set
> the balance at about 1/3 sounds sweet and 2/3 Sp-23.
>
> I did record the audio tonight. This link is a zipped file of a MP3 sound
> file. The first signal is the Orion and then the Jupiter. Both with 
> filters
> set at 2250 and no PBT. www.ctiowa.com/orion-vs-jupiter.zip
>
> Gonna give it another week and if it does not come around I am saving all 
> my
> money for a new 7800. My Pro III was great, so hoping the 7800 is that 
> much
> better.
>
> 73,
>
> Rich
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: tentec-bounces at contesting.com [mailto:tentec-bounces at contesting.com]
> On Behalf Of Larry Menzel
> Sent: Tuesday, January 23 9:49 PM
> To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment
> Subject: Re: [TenTec] AM Receiver distortion in Orion II
>
> Man, Rich, with all due respect, I can't understand what you're hearing.
>
> My Orion II has clear, clean audio, on all bands.  It's crisp and easy to
> listen to.
>
> I'm wondering how you have the AGC set, and more to the point, where your 
> RX
>
> EQ is set.  I find the high plus numbers do tend to muddy the audio, but 
> at
> zero things sound pretty crisp.
>
> My second question is what speaker(s) are you employing.  I have both the
> Icom SP-20 and my computer speakers available to switch back and forth and
> the audio is very good on either. I've heard reports that the matching TT
> speaker is a poor performer without significant modification.
>
> I'm no technician, and perhaps one of those guys will weigh in, but it's
> really curious to me that you'd find the OII generally muddy in character.
>
> I'm not doubting your assessment, but I respectfully submit that maybe 
> it's
> an individual radio issue, and not characteristic of the radio in general.
>
> Others may disagree, but YMMV.
>
> Larry, N0XB
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Rich McCabe" <r.mccabe at ctiowa.com>
> To: "'Ron Castro'" <ronc at sonic.net>; "'Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment'"
> <tentec at contesting.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 5:02 PM
> Subject: Re: [TenTec] AM Receiver distortion in Orion II
>
>
>>I find the Orion II audio muddy in general. Funny you would post this
>> because I am in the process of making an audio file to send service
>> myself.
>> Compared to the Pro III and Jupiter II, the Orion seems to have very
>> little
>> audio response.
>>
>> 73,
>>
>> Rich
>> Kd0zv
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: tentec-bounces at contesting.com 
>> [mailto:tentec-bounces at contesting.com]
>> On Behalf Of Ron Castro
>> Sent: Tuesday, January 23 4:55 PM
>> To: Ten Tec List
>> Subject: [TenTec] AM Receiver distortion in Orion II
>>
>> One of the items on my "wish list" for the Orion II is to fix the AM
>> receive
>> audio, which sounds to me like a problem in the DSP code that causes
>> distortion and 'muddy' sound.  It's most noticeable during selective 
>> fades
>> that cause a serious clipping effect.  Last night, I made an MP3 of a
>> local
>> AM radio station comparing the O2 to a TS-870, and sent it to TT service.
>> This morning, TT said they couldn't hear any difference between the two
>> receivers.  Is it my ears or what?  The link to the clip is below.  The 
>> O2
>> is the first 60 seconds and the 870 is the second 60 seconds.  Bandwidth
>> on
>> the O2 is 6 kHz, while the 870 is 3 kHz, although as you'll hear, it
>> sounds
>> just the opposite!
>>
>> http://n6ie.com/OrionII_vs_870.mp3
>>
>> Can anyone besides me hear the difference?
>>
>>      Ron N6IE
>> www.N6IE.com
>> (Formerly N6AHA)
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>
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