[TenTec] Orion-1 problem

[bill ogden]

The received signal strength on my Orion-1 is way down.  The sub receiver is OK. The effect is as if a send/receive relay did not fully revert to receive.  I hear a few strong signals, as if they were "feed through" with a send/receive relay.

I just installed the latest firmware in the hope that this might fix the problem.  It did not fix it, but it provided an interesting clue. The new sweep function is much better than the old one. The sweep seems to indicate normal signal strengths on the main receiver.  This implies that the problem is after the point where the sweep circuit does its work.

This problem was sporatic for almost a year.  It happened every few weeks.  It would sometimes cure itself after a few seconds, or sometimes after a power off/on cycle.  The problem is permanent now.

I plan to send the rig home to Tennessee for a general tune up, but not until after the Gloriso DXpedition in July --- I hope I can work them via the sub receiver!

Any suggestions?

(I cannot evaluate the new RF AGC yet, but it may take a little getting used to.  I usually control gain via the RF gain control when working CW and this has a different feel with the new RF AGC.)

Bill - W2WO