[TenTec] Orion/O2 Drift Problem-who is interested in a fix?

[Ron Castro]

Looks interesting and one that might be worthy of consideration.  Here's a 
question:  is the phase noise specification of the Orion dependant *only* on 
the phase noise characteristic of the TCXO, or are there other contributing 
factors?  IOW would reducing the phase noise of the current TCXO improve the 
final phase noise spec of the radio?

      Ron Castro
Chief Technical Officer
  Results Radio, LLC
          N6IE
 www.N6IE.com
(Formerly N6AHA)

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Paul Christensen" <w9ac at arrl.net>
To: "Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment" <tentec at contesting.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 30, 2007 7:50 AM
Subject: Re: [TenTec] Orion/O2 Drift Problem-who is interested in a fix?


>> expensive! The 10 MHz GPS stabilized part is a no-brainer and
>> the parts are
>> cheap and available.  It's the rest that's a challenge.
>
> I am using an HP 58540A GPS-disciplined OCXO with another brand of
> transceiver.  Of course, stability is excellent but even the best 
> GPS-based
> OCXOs are phase-noise-limited to about -145 dBc @ 1kHz.  Not bad, but not
> great.
>
> For use on general coverage rigs, the performance is probably acceptable. 
> On
> the Orions, I suspect that these units will become a limiting performance
> factor.  However, Jackson Labs has recently introduced a low-noise
> GPS-Disciplined OCXO with phase noise performance about 10 dB better than
> that of the HP units:
>
> http://www.jackson-labs.com/docs/Fury_Flyer.pdf
>
> Probably a better solution for Orion owners who demand exceptional 
> accuracy
> and noise performance is to consider retrofitting a high-stability OCXO 
> with
> an SC cut:
>
> http://www.wenzel.com/datasheets/streamline/501-04608.htm
>
> Note that specified phase noise at 1 kHz from carrier is down about -165 
> dBc
> with the Wenzel OCXO.  Although they're not GPS-locked, stability is so 
> good
> that they need no ongoing locking mechanism.  It's been a while since I've
> checked on pricing, but none of these options are cheap.  Plan on spending 
> ~
> $200-$300 USD or even more for any good OCXO.
>
> Paul, W9AC
>
>
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