Hello All!
I've ordered an Orion from the third production run
which should be delivered in June and have a few questions:
1. I see Inrad is having a 10% off filter sale in May, and am
considering their 400 Hz (#759) and maybe the 1800 Hz (#761)
for $103.50 each after the discount.
http://www.qth.com/inrad/
Given the roofing filter scheme in the Orion, I'm inclined to
believe optional filters might not be necessary, since the stock
1 kHz and 2.4 kHz should provide exceptional adjacent channel
rejection, and DSP filtering can take care of what remains.
Question for Orion users who have optional filters installed:
Are the optional filters truly worth adding? For CW, SSB or both?
I really want to hear from folks who have actually used Orions with
optional filters in extreme conditions (contests, low bands, etc).
2. This is a more general question for all. I need to get a power
supply for my Orion but am very concerned about RFI that may
be generated by switching power supplies. The last thing I want
to hear is a bunch of RFI birdies when I'm digging weak signals out
of the noise on 160. My inclination is to go with a traditional
power supply like the Astron RS-35, but wonder if anyone has any
experience with RFI from power supplies (Ten Tec, Astron, others)
for the Orion?
3. Does the Model 310 cooling fan run continuously or is it temp-
controlled? (It appears that it runs continuously with an attached
plug for 12V on the back of the Orion). How noisy is it? I would
normally plan to unplug it except for contests, but it seems like
cheap insurance since I know that heat is the number one cause
of semiconductor failure.
http://www.tentec.com/HFaccyStore.htm
Thanks for your thoughts!
73, Bill W4ZV
|