[TenTec] Orion and amplifier fault

[Bruce Small]

Service above and beyond, Rick. Thank you for taking a trip down memory 
lane for me!

73,
Bruce KM2L

On 8/10/2021 5:10 PM, Rick at dj0ip.de wrote:
> DANG, I'M GETTING OLD!
>
> I found an exact description of the fault and fix . . . ON MY OWN WEBSITE.
> I can't even remember when I published this; must have been many years ago.
>
> See:  https://www.dj0ip.de/ten-tec-stuff/orion-acom-fix/
>
> Good thing I found it.  In my earlier post I mentioned the wrong pin of the regulator.
> It is to output pin.
> And it is a 10v regulator, not an 8v regulator.
> It is U5 (LM2940S-10).
>
> 73 - Rick, DJ0IP
> (Nr. Frankfurt, Germany)
> May the Sunspots be with Us!
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: TenTec <tentec-bounces+rick=dj0ip.de at contesting.com> On Behalf Of Bruce Small
> Sent: 10 August 2021 20:06
> To: tentec at contesting.com
> Subject: [TenTec] Orion and amplifier fault
>
> I need to tap the collective wisdom of this group regarding an interesting problem.
>
> I have an ACOM 700S solid state amplifier that is driven either by an Orion (565) or an Orion II (566).
>
> When I use the 565, the amp faults on 10 meters only. The protection fault indicates high SWR and excessive drive current. This happens regardless of the amount of drive power from the Orion, even with the PWR control turned all the way down, providing about 6 watts of drive.
> On CW, the fault occurs on key-down, while on SSB and FT-8 the amp faults on key-up, at the end of a transmission. Engaging the TUNE button does not produce the fault. All bands other than 10 meters work normally.
>
> Using the O II, none of this behavior occurs, and the amp plays happily.
>
> Steps taken without solving the problem include:
> *Replace coax jumpers  (they needed it anyway) *Replace arc plug in lightning arrestor *Remove all components from the signal path (watt/SWR meter, tuner, coax switch, lightning arrestor) and connect directly to the coax run to the antenna *Connect to a different antenna fed through a separate coax cable *Control the amp using Keying Loop 1, Keying Loop 2, or the Amp Key output
> * I don't have a good oscilloscope, but to the best of my ability to observe, the CW waveform was well-shaped and didn't show any spikes in power.
>
> All of this points to an issue with the Orion on 10 M - what else should I look at?
>
> Thanks & 73,
> Bruce KM2L
>
> _______________________________________________
> TenTec mailing list
> TenTec at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec
>
> _______________________________________________
> TenTec mailing list
> TenTec at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec