[TenTec] tentec orion

[Rolf Krogstad]

To W1DXH,

I was looking at the Ten-Tec email archives from Christmas-time and saw your
questions about computer control of the Orion.

I recently attempted the same thing, to control my Orion from N1MM and
DX4WIN.  All the advice that was given you on the email reflector looked
good.  But missing was one tidbit that made the difference for me.

Here is what I found.   In my case I was using a USB to Serial device
connected to a laptop and plugging my serial cable between that and the
rig.  I could successfully send the raw commands using HyperTerminal and
what I found in the Orion 565 Programmers Manual, but the commercial
programs wouldn't work.

It turned out to be an issue with the type of chip used in the USB-to-serial
interface which I had.  I tried many different drivers but nothing worked.
I finally followed advice from local hams and bought a new USB-to-COM port
interface from Byte Runner:
http://www.byterunner.com/byterunner/new_frontpage=usbserialadapters

The description of the problem I was given is this:
"The problem you report is a symptom of a USB to Serial converter based on
the Prolific chip set. Their drivers work okay with SOME applications but
not others.  The ultimate solution is to be purchase a USB to Serial
converter based on the FDTI chipset.  The manufacturer "Byterunner" is one
source of converters that works. They are not the least expensive, but this
should solve your problem".

That solved all my problems.  Hope this helps.

Rolf NR0T