Just after learning about the Orion development, I was reading Joe
Bottiglieri?s review of the Icom IC-756PROII in the February 2002 QST. I
noticed that it will decode RTTY on the display screen. It started me
thinking about the coming Orion ? inside the box.
For those of you whose OMNI-VI+ is front and center at your operating
position, look at your set up. Do you have a transmatch? It could be
optionally inside the box and be configured with latching relays so that it
draws no power and makes no electrical noise after it has found its match.
Do you have an antenna switch? It could be inside the box, also with
latching relays. Do you have a keyer paddle? I?d like to keep it out of
the box, but it should plug into a contest-grade memory keyer inside the
box. I?d also like to continue using the four remote buttons on my keyer
paddle to control principal memories. Do you have a keyboard? You should
be able to plug it into the box and use it for any conceivable digital mode,
including CW. Would you like a front-panel display screen like the
IC-756PROII and its predecessors? Sure, but you also should be able to
attach a full-sized computer monitor to the box.
The Pegasus is a rig inside a computer. The Jupiter is essentially that
same rig in a separate box. The Orion should be an impeccable rig with a
full-featured computer inside. That computer should open the whole digital
world to the operator. You should be able to be check your e-mail at the
same time that you?re participating in a 75-m gabfest. You should be able
to monitor the DX Cluster on line while you?re chasing DX or contesting.
You should be able to compose a letter while waiting to check into the
weekly RACES net. The Orion hardware should allow for future developments
in digital voice modes. Speaking of the computer inside the rig: it should
be configured so that, say, five years from now, you could replace the
computer motherboard without replacing the whole box. The computer should
be designed so that it is configurable to your choice of RAM, CD-ROM,
hard-drive and sound-card capabilities. Needless to say, the computer
inside the box should be engineered with extreme care so that it won?t
degrade the performance of the rig.
73, Bruce Prior N7RR
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