There are a few problems with that approach - here are some of them:
1. The sensitivity of the SDR-IQ doesn't approach that of the Orion II
on 12 and 10 meters - I judge it to be deficient in that key area. So,
on those bands, you'll hear signals on the Orion that you won't see on
the scope. Using the IF tap approach, you'll see even the weakest of
signals.
2. You'll probably have to provide a means of grounding the SDR-IQ input
in addition to just switching the antenna from it on transmit.
3. The SDR-IQ is limited to something like 30 MHz. So, if you use a 6
meter transverter with the Orion II as I do, you won't have panadaptor
function on 6 meters - one of the places it's most useful.
The problem with SpectraVue not having the offsets right was the same
problem that the N4PY software had - the author didn't have an Orion II
and so didn't know what the exact offsets should be. I approached Moe
Wheatley, SpectraVue author, at Dayton this spring about the Orion
support and he said if I'd test it for him, he'd try to get it done. I
did some frequency measurements as he requested and he delivered the
Beta code in just a few days.
While the N4PY software is top-notch and certainly does what it's
supposed to, I found it to be unnecessary when SDR-IQ was used with
DXLab Commander. Others may prefer that approach for various reasons,
but I chose my current configuration after extensive testing of all options.
73, Floyd - K8AC
On 10/7/2011 8:24 PM, Bruce Beard wrote: It is good to hear that
Spectravue has the offsets figured out. That drove me crazy when I used
an SDR IQ with my Orion II a few years ago and they hadn't figured it
out. I believe that with the N4PY software and an antenna dedicated to
the SDRIQ you don't actually need to pull the IF out of the Orion. It
will just follow the Orion along as you tune showing you the signals on
the band. You need to seue it to believe how nice it is. N4PY's software
is a great addition to the rig and with the SDRIQ as a panadapter.....
wow. Bruce Beard AB1KC Sent from my iPad On Oct 7, 2011, at 7:44 PM,
Floyd Sense <floyd@k8ac.net> wrote:
>> I wouldn't call any of the panadaptor approaches "plug and play", but
>> it does work just fine. You will of course need the IF tap on the Orion
>> II and that's well documented. Currently, I'm using SpectraVue with
>> SDR-IQ and my Orion II and use DXLab for logging and frequency control.
>> So, mousing on a signal on the panadaptor sets the Orion to that
>> frequency and DXLab picks up the frequency as well. When the Orion is
>> tuned, DXLab and SpectraVue both follow along. I use com port sharing
>> software that allows DXLab and SpectraVue to both communicate with the
>> Orion over the same com port. I'm away from the station this week, so
>> can't tell you the name of the port sharing software. I tried a few
>> different programs for that function and found that some do a poor job
>> of managing the rig traffic, while the one I use does it perfectly.
>> This one is free, where others I tried were rather expensive considering
>> they worked poorly.
>>
>> One important aspect is getting the Orion frequency offsets right for
>> the mode you're using and both SpectraVue and the N4PY software do that
>> correctly. I've found SpectraVue to be extremely stable on my Windows 7
>> system, where the program I previously used (PowerSDR/IF) was very
>> unstable and frequently locked up my system.
>>
>> Before the Orion II, my rig was a K3 with P3 panadaptor and while the P3
>> was quite impressive, I find the SDR-IQ/SpectraVue combination to be a
>> superior approach (and the Orion II to be superior to the K3).
>>
>>
>> 73, Floyd - K8AC
>>
>> On 10/7/2011 6:47 PM, John Molenda wrote:
>>> Will SDR IQ run with the Orion II plug and play ? There ad does not
>>> mention Ten Tec equipment . thanks John kb2huk
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