John -
I turned on the radio in the shack and the RIT was not working. I took
the radio to the workbench (OK, kitchen table).
I removed the top and bottom covers and removed the screws that hold the
front panel.
Holding the front panel in one hand, I turned the radio on. The RIT was
working.
I on the front panel end of the B ribbon, touched the ribbon with a
finger, lightly. The RIT stopped working.
I pressed on the on the B ribbon and the RIT began working again.
I shut off the radio. I removed the B ribbon completely at both ends.
I re-inserted the cable at both ends and applied power. The RIT was
working. (I did also notice that the A ribbon on the radio end was not
fully seated and pressed that home. I doubt that had any effect, but
full disclosure.)
I reattached the front panel and applied power. The RIT was working.
I reattached the covers and applied power. The RIT was working.
I returned the Orion to the shack. The RIT is working.
It will be interesting to see how long this lasts. It does explain how
all of the other RIT solutions (re-solder, clean contacts, replace
encoder) would work, as all required disturbing the B cable. It would
also explain why a non-working radio RIT sent to Ten Tec would work at
Ten Tec if the techs started by opening up the radio.
That B cable looked fairly standard and a better quality cable should be
available, if not from Ten Tec, then from another source.
My experiment is just one data point. It would be interesting to check
on the reflector to see how many others have had the RIT problem and if
this works for them.
Congratulations may be in order if you have found the source of this
long-running mystery.
73 de K1ESE
John
John T. Fleming wrote:
> John,
>
> You are the candidate I am looking for if you have the time and patience. I
> would appreciate it very much if you would remove the case and then loosen
> the front panel by removing the 12 screws and lay the panel down on it face.
> Unplug the "B" ribbon cable as shown in the Orion V2 Mod documentation, tap
> the back of the connectors and then reconnect the cable. (Looking at the
> front of the Orion with the front face down, the "B" ribbon cable is the
> right hand ribbon cable.) Don't do any other soldering, spraying with
> contact cleaner, etc. After you reassemble your rig, let me know if the
> RIT/XIT works again. If so, I think we have identified the problem. If you
> trace the encoder connections through the various diagrams, the B ribbon
> cable is how the signal gets to the Motherboard A11 which runs between the
> right and left hand sides of the rig. It is also the board connected to the
> remote pod connector and the RS232 connector. Thanks.
>
> 73,
> John
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