[TenTec] Orion /O2 Drift PRoblem

[Toby Pennington]

When working cw or RTTY this is not an issue as you tune differently than when you are on SSB.  On CW you just tune to the correct tone or offset and the exact frequency is not an issue unless you are on a net and then it takes on more importance.  It is always good to be on  the exact same frequency for a roundtable or net in any mode,  but for one on one QSOs it is not a big deal. 

However,  being off frequency on SSB even 20 hz causes your audio to sound different and can be readily detected.  When you add a drift of 20 hz to a rig that is already off a little bit anyway,  and then you have a bigger problem.  I have heard some Orions off as much as 30 to 35 hz and this is really obvious on SSB,  and when in a round table is annoying.  

The master osc. in the Orion is not hard to get to for making adjustments but you have to allow for drift when making your adjustments.  I deliberately would set the adjustment 15hz to 18hz off from WWV to allow for drift in the first hour of operation.  

I would think that most would want a mod such as Inrad could offer to make the Orion more stable.   

Toby  W4CAK