[TenTec] Question

Sat Oct 8 05:03:14 PDT 2011

I actually use a Perseus receiver with the Orion for a Panadapter. 
There are no sensitivity issues with the Perseus on 10 and 12 meters. 
And I also use a transverter for 6 meters, 2 meters, and 70 cm, and I 
have mine wired so that the 28 mhz output of the transverters is also 
shared with the Perseus receiver.  This gives me a panadapter even on 
the transverter bands.  And my software takes care of all the Perseus 
frequencies being correct on the transverter bands.  It even has a value 
to allow for the crystal oscillator being off a little in the transverter.

Carl Moreschi N4PY
121 Little Bell Dr.
Hays, NC 28635
www.n4py.com

On 10/7/2011 11:28 PM, Floyd Sense wrote:
> There are a few problems with that approach - here are some of them:
>
> 1. The sensitivity of the SDR-IQ doesn't approach that of the Orion II
> on 12 and 10 meters - I judge it to be deficient in that key area.  So,
> on those bands, you'll hear signals on the Orion that you won't see on
> the scope.  Using the IF tap approach, you'll see even the weakest of
> signals.
>
> 2. You'll probably have to provide a means of grounding the SDR-IQ input
> in addition to just switching the antenna from it on transmit.
>
> 3. The SDR-IQ is limited to something like 30 MHz.  So, if you use a 6
> meter transverter with the Orion II as I do, you won't have panadaptor
> function on 6 meters - one of the places it's most useful.
>
> The problem with SpectraVue not having the offsets right was the same
> problem that the N4PY software had - the author didn't have an Orion II
> and so didn't know what the exact offsets should be.  I approached Moe
> Wheatley, SpectraVue author, at Dayton this spring about the Orion
> support and he said if I'd test it for him, he'd try to get it done.  I
> did some frequency measurements as he requested and he delivered the
> Beta code in just a few days.
>
> While the N4PY software is top-notch and certainly does what it's
> supposed to, I found it to be unnecessary when SDR-IQ was used with
> DXLab Commander.  Others may prefer that approach for various reasons,
> but I chose my current configuration after extensive testing of all options.
>
> 73, Floyd - K8AC
>
> On 10/7/2011 8:24 PM, Bruce Beard wrote: It is good to hear that
> Spectravue has the offsets figured out. That drove me crazy when I used
> an SDR IQ with my Orion II a few years ago and they hadn't figured it
> out. I believe that with the N4PY software and an antenna dedicated to
> the SDRIQ you don't actually need to pull the IF out of the Orion. It
> will just follow the Orion along as you tune showing you the signals on
> the band. You need to seue it to believe how nice it is. N4PY's software
> is a great addition to the rig and with the SDRIQ as a panadapter.....
> wow. Bruce Beard AB1KC Sent from my iPad On Oct 7, 2011, at 7:44 PM,
> Floyd Sense<floyd at k8ac.net>  wrote:
>>> I wouldn't call any of the panadaptor approaches "plug and play",  but
>>> it does work just fine. You will of course need the IF tap on the Orion
>>> II and that's well documented.  Currently, I'm using SpectraVue with
>>> SDR-IQ and my Orion II and use DXLab for logging and frequency control.
>>> So, mousing on a signal on the panadaptor sets the Orion to that
>>> frequency and DXLab picks up the frequency as well.  When the Orion is
>>> tuned, DXLab and SpectraVue both follow along.  I use com port sharing
>>> software that allows DXLab and SpectraVue to both communicate with the
>>> Orion over the same com port.  I'm away from the station this week, so
>>> can't tell you the name of the port sharing software.  I tried a few
>>> different programs for that function and found that some do a poor job
>>> of managing the rig traffic, while the one I use does it perfectly.
>>> This one is free, where others I tried were rather expensive considering
>>> they worked poorly.
>>>
>>> One important aspect is getting the Orion frequency offsets right for
>>> the mode you're using and both SpectraVue and the N4PY software do that
>>> correctly.  I've found SpectraVue to be extremely stable on my Windows 7
>>> system, where the program I previously used (PowerSDR/IF) was very
>>> unstable and frequently locked up my system.
>>>
>>> Before the Orion II, my rig was a K3 with P3 panadaptor and while the P3
>>> was quite impressive, I find the SDR-IQ/SpectraVue combination to be a
>>> superior approach (and the Orion II to be superior to the K3).
>>>
>>>
>>> 73, Floyd - K8AC
>>>
>>> On 10/7/2011 6:47 PM, John Molenda wrote:
>>>> Will SDR IQ   run with the Orion II plug and play ?  There ad does not
>>>> mention Ten Tec equipment .  thanks  John kb2huk
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