[TenTec] IRF gain, IF gain or AF gain?

[Martin Sole]

I find the use of RF gain as an audio level control rather counter
intuitive, but workable however it renders the Orion as a radio with
essentially no S meter and ties up the multi knob that is used for
everything else leaving the AF gain virtually unused.

If this is really the best way to extract maximum weak signal performance
from the Orion, and enough people do seem to think it does, then it also
seems reasonable to look at a way to either reverse the controls, having the
AF control operate RF gain full time and change the soft key RF gain to AF
gain and further, to remove the S meter from the loop that is affected by
the RF gain control.

Whilst I think I understand that the Orion RF gain is acting to reduce
overload of the succeeding analog to digital conversion process there seems
to be a difference between how Orion achieves this and how almost every
other design does it, I've not heard mention of the need for this approach
on other IF dsp radios.


Regards
Martin, HS0ZED