Bob,
When the mode changes on the Orion, the filter command must be resent from
the serial port. This was explained to me by Gary Barbour. If this is not
done, a default filter for that mode is selected instead. I have never
figured out where this default filter gets its value. The bottom line is WL
needs to resend the filter setting to the Orion after the mode changes.
This will cure the problem you describe.
73,
Carl Moreschi N4PY
Franklinton, NC
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob Henderson" <bob@cytanet.com.cy>
To: <tentec@contesting.com>
Sent: Monday, September 27, 2004 4:16 PM
Subject: [TenTec] Orions SO2R in CQ WW RTTY
> I used my Orions SO2R in the WW RTTY this weekend, so I decided to share
how
> they performed.
>
> Firstly, both radios were on for the full 48 hours of the event and for a
> couple of hours before. I operated the full contest without having to do
> any kind of reset at all on either radio. For me this was unsurprising,
as
> the only time I do a master reset is when I download new firmware. Then,
I
> do it as a matter of course.
>
> Overall, I would say they performed superbly. One particular thing I
> noticed with Orions, which replaced my two FT1kMPs, is that they are
better
> suited to SO2R in the kind of setup I use. What does that mean? Well, I
> have a rather limited station here. No multiple towers or anything like
> that. In fact, just one modest crankup with a Force 12 C31XR and a
> Cushcraft XM240. If you're interested you can see my set up at
> www.5b4agn.net. This is a new website and my first attempt at it, so
please
> excuse it being a little bit raw & obviously unfinished!
>
> The C31XR driven elements for 20/15/10 metres, which are only a matter of
> inches apart, are fed with three seperate feeders. I operate high power
> SO2R using these interlaced yagis. With driven elements so close together
> you can imagine the rf field presented to the second radio rx is really
> nasty. Of course, I use band pass filters and stubs to minimise the
> problems this causes. BUT with my two Ft1kMPs I could always feel a
> presence on my second radio when transmitting on the first. What do I
mean
> by a presence? Well, modulation of the noise floor I guess. I also found
> that listening on say 20m, within about 10kHz of my 40m second harmonic
was
> a bit messy. What I found with Orions this weekend was that I had no
sense
> of a presence on the second radio when transmitting on the first. Not
only
> that but I found myself to have been working about 1 kHz away from the
> second harmonic of my 40m signal on 20m without even realising it. In my
> view, this experience speaks volumes for Orion's bomb proof front end and
> very low phase noise.
>
> I have only two critiscisms to level at Orion after this weekend of RTTY
use
> and one of those I suspect may be down to operator error though I'm
unsure.
>
> 1. My contesting software is Writelog. I ran both Orions set at 250 Hz
b/w
> most of the weekend. Whilst tuning around the bands looking for mults etc
I
> band map wanted stations which don't answer me after a couple of calls. I
> then periodically return to their band mappped frequency to see if their
> pile up has subsided. The problem I found is this: Every time I clicked
> back to a mapped frequency the rx b/w changed. If I had only one Orion
then
> I would probably be thinking this was a logging software problem but I
> don't, I have two and although the bandwidth changes on both it's not to
the
> same setting. On one radio it always goes to a barn door 1 kHz but on the
> other it always goes to 300 Hz which isn't so bad. Though, I'd much
rather
> it stayed at 250 Hz where I'd set it.
>
> What determines the b/w set when frequency is changed via the RS232 port?
> Why is it 1kHz on one Orion and 300 Hz on the other? Anyone know the
answer
> to this mystery? Should I just RTFM?
>
> 2. Filter shape factor is really the only significant concern I had over
> the weekend. With b/w down at around 250 Hz the DSP shape factor is not
far
> short of 3:1 which really isn't good enough. As a consequence, folks
could
> sidle up real close to Orion's beautifully clean signal and sit there
inside
> my passband causing me grief. I spent way too much time over the weekend
> inching up or down in frequency to avoid QRM from folks alongside. This
> leads me to the following conclusion:
>
> FOR TOP NOTCH CONTEST GRADE RTTY USE, ORION'S DSP NEEDS TIGHTER SKIRTS.
>
> Incidentally, FWIW the weekend was a lot of fun. I put in 36 hours and
> finished with he following tally:
>
> QSO: 2582; Points: 7550; State/Prov: 100; Countries: 271; Zones: 94 for a
> total score of 3,510,750
>
> I was placed 4th last year in SOAB (HP). This year my Q's are up by
almost
> 11% but mults are way down and as a consequence so is my claimed score
which
> is about 5% short. Things get tough when 10 metres dies! Hopefully,
just
> as tough for everyone. We'll see when the results come out.
>
> 73, Bob
>
> Bob Henderson, 5B4AGN, P3F
> Giolou, Pafos, Cyprus
> Email: bob@cytanet.com.cy
> http://www.5b4agn.net
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> TenTec mailing list
> TenTec@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec
_______________________________________________
TenTec mailing list
TenTec@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec
|