as an aside to the comments below here is my take. Orion running 1.732,
alpha 87a, 3 ele steppir or gap voyager, my basic setup .
I also have a 5btv, ma5b alpha delta 160-20 sloper and other antennas.
I use the Orion for modest contesting. For example last week I did about
20 hours in the arrl dx contest (ssb) and made about 350 contacts over 3 day
on 10 to 160.
I used the Orion. it worked very well. I would spot the occasional call to
my local friends on 2 meters and most of the time they could not even hear
them
My Orion was usually set at 2250 on BW 75 on rfgain, audio volume loud, NR
either off or on 1. worked a lot of split. it did fine
I also fired up the 746 pro and the ts 2000 and listened to the same signal
on all 3 and I find the Orion was consistently better. With the same
antenna, I could usually hear "something" on all 3 but I could understand it
on the
Orion. It has that 10% better hearing to let you pull out the soft ones. I
think by controlling the bandwidth, gain and offset of the signal, it allowed
me to quiet nearby stations, get rid of band noise, kill most of the Base
part of the signal and let me hear the weak ones.
I could hear them on all 3 ( or hear something!!) but I could pull them out
on the Orion, for instance a yu1oj was continually reported as ya1oj and was
weak but the call was definitely yu1oj so that is the things that make the
Orion shine in my book.
It just gives you more control of the signal, so you can make it sound the
way YOU need it to be able to hear it.
As an aside, both the Orion and the alpha 87a use silent switching. it is
such a pleasure to use VOX ste to drop off in 25 milliseconds, and talk on vox
naturally, just like you were sitting next to me. no more AHHHHH to hold
the amp up between words. with no click on click off, you just talk and don't
care. I wish I had bought the OIrion / Alpha 87 first, it is a superb set
up.
The new O II and newer versions of all the soft ware may be better, and may
need some minor adjusting, but folks who are reading this thinking about
buying an Orion, by all means do it. it is simply the best HF rig I have ever
used. and I have had probably 20 or 30 different rigs over the years, and
currently own 8 hf rigs. but I use the Orion.
tom N6AJR
======================================================
In a message dated 3/12/2006 9:42:30 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,
douglas.shock@gmail.com writes:
Toby,
Nothing is broke...there are just a few of us who refuse to be appliance
operators.
It is an excellent radio. Do I find the sweep concerning? No I don't. It's
an interrupt thing. It serves my purpose well. The NR...it works and it
works well...what's in question is how it works.
Please don't let these few items shadow the brilliance of this radio. I have
been a Yaesu operator for 12 years now. True, it is an adjustment for me but
an easy one now and I wish I had gone tentec years ago.
The flexibility of this radio goes beyond my wildest expectations. Let's not
overlook the incredible DSP in the 3rd IF...holy cow you have to hear it to
believe it. 100 hz and no ring...199 tap points and 50 hz away the s9+
signal is gonzo. The crystal filters in my mark V never worked this well.
If you are holding out...don't do it. I have spent the last year weighing
the difference with the big three...needless to say...here I am on a tentec
reflector.
On 3/12/06, Toby Pennington <toby423@earthlink.net> wrote:
>
> <<<<I'm not quite sure what you mean, but of course it moves when you
> tune. It
> doesn't move WHILE you tune, at "normal" tuning dial rates using the knob.
> The minute you stop, or even just hesitate, the sweep immediately begins
> to
> update at your new dial frequency.
>
> Grant/NQ5T>>>>>>
>
> I assume what you are trying to say is that the sweep does not move in
> tandem with the VFO AS you are turning the VFO, but when you stop turning
> the VFO the sweep will reflesh and set up on that new frequency.
>
> If this is the case then the sweep is practicaly useless. What else
> besides the Sweep and the NR that is broke in the O2? New potential buyers
> want to know? How about the TX audio?
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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