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1. 64 FUSE 25 A ORION II is equipped with a 25 ampere blade type automotive fuse A replacement has also been provided in the transceiver packing kit 65 GND The GND wingnut is for connection of station ground or counterpoise See A WORD ABOUT GROUNDING in Chapter 1 24 66 AMP KEY 1 ORION II is equipped with two sets of amplifier keying outputs to allow two linear amplifiers to be simultaneously connected to the transceiver AMP KEY 1 and TX OUT 1 TX EN 1 described next utilize the ANT 1 antenna connector for interfacing to an amp AMP KEY 1 is typically used as a non QSK keying connection for a linear amplifier However it is acceptable to connect QSK linear amplifiers that do not employ a full break in keying loop to this jack as well AMP KEY 1 and AMP KEY 2 are open collector outputs RF appears approximately 15 mS after AMP KEY contacts close An adjustable delay called EXT T R Delay 1 gives the operator the ability to keep the amplifier keyed longer preventing drop outs between words of SSB or CW operation EXT T R Delay 1 is found in the TX submenu under MENUS The external amplifier key line should not apply more than 100V output inactive nor should it draw more than 250 mA output active Many older linear amplifiers like those manufactured by Collins Drake and Heathkit have a higher voltage on the keyline Such amplifiers require a relay or transistor switch between the ORION Il AMP K
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3. and you will notice that the overall noise level can increase but signal to noise ratio improves and that is the ultimate goal of the NR system In practical terms how does it work There are 9 different settings and each of the 9 is used to determine only how aggressively quickly the NR adapts and identifies what is signal and what is noise Here is the rub and it s logical with weak signals it is harder for any DSP NR system to determine what is noise and what is signal When turning DSP NR on with a setting of 1 with a signal that is very weak it s going to take a very long time for the algorithm to figure out what is signal and what is noise For a somewhat louder signal 20 dB or more above the ambient noise level still fairly weak a setting of 1 will adapt very fast What is needed for weak signals is more aggression By starting the NR at 3 or 4 the NR will more quickly adapt to what is signal and what is noise for a weak signal Once the NR has adapted for the same signal no change in NR will be made when adjusting the value If you 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA turn the DSP NR on and just cycle through the values looking for best nothing will happen Because the DSP NR builds a bandpass filter to automatically reduce noise it produces the same effect as manually selecting a very narrow DSP passband filter Perhaps nothing is more important than AGC setting
4. 6 VFO A ENTER When VFO A ENTER is pressed the second time during a direct frequency entry the remaining digits will be filled with zeros Note If VFO Ais assigned to the main receiver and you try to enter a non ham frequency FREQUENCY NOT SUPPORTED will appear on the screen and you will be returned to the last frequency used before attempting the invalid direct entry 59 VFO B ENTER Refer to instructions for 58 VFO A ENTER VFO B ENTER works exactly the same except the entered frequency will be for VFO B 60 A gt B B gt A A B Frequencies can quickly be copied or flipped between VFOs by pressing the A gt B B gt A or A B buttons A gt B copies frequency information from VFO A to VFO B B gt A copies frequency information from VFO B to VFO A flips the two VFO s frequency information what was shown for A copies to B what was shown for B copies to A Note that if trying to copy or flip a non ham frequency to the main receiver that the radio will show an error message on the screen and revert to the last used frequencies before the invalid action was attempted If the main receiver is assigned to VFOA and the sub receiver is assigned to VFO B or vice versa mode and frequency information will also be copied between VFO s when pressing A B A gt B B gt A If the receivers are both assigned to the same VFO or either the main receiver or sub receiver are not assigned to a VFO the
5. Place the amp in QSK mode The amplifier will be used in all modes in the QSK position Please note To use a full break in keying loop it must be enabled from the MENUS The keying loops are turned on and off via the TX submenu in the MENUS see the TX MENU description in Chapter 3 If the loop is turned on and no connections are made it will prevent the ORION II from transmitting TUNING UP AN EXTERNAL LINEAR AMPLIFIER The TUNE button on the front panel can be used for initial linear amplifier tune up If an automatic antenna tuner is installed in your ORION go into the TX MENU and disable it Pressing the TUNE button will provide approximately 20 watts of keydown CW carrier output to be used for an initial tune up of your linear It may be desirable to increase the keydown power output when tuning your amplifier To do so press the PWR button after pushing the TUNE button Power output will move from the low power setting to whatever level 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA the PWR control has been set at with the MULTI knob Repeat operation will require pushing TUNE then PWR again for the higher output value FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE SOUND OF SSB TRANSMIT AUDIO AND THEIR ADJUSTMENT One of the features of ORION II is a lot of flexibility afforded the operator for the desired sound of SSB transmit audio Many possible settings are available so that operators with different styles or philosophies can
6. RING Figure 2 5 Wiring Mono Headphones 16 CW ORION II has two jacks for keying the transceiver in CW mode The front panel provides a 74 stereo jack for connection of an external key keyer or paddles See Figure 2 6 for proper wiring The rear panel has a 1 8 stereo jack connected in parallel 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA see description of 79 KEY later in the manual ORION II on initial power up has its internal keyer disabled To use the internal keyer in a CW mode press the SP button Speed and then rotate the MULTI knob for an appropriate CW speed Note In SSB modes SP is used for speech processing and displays a different value common Key or dit Figure 2 6 Paddle Wiring for Using Internal Keyer The PTT pin 3 on the AUX I O rear jack or the PTT connection on the microphone jack may allow you to connect an independent keyer or computer to share CW keying depending on how this jack has been configured via the menu system This would be useful if using the output of a computer program like contest logging software while also desiring a paddle to be connected to the radio for using the internal keyer Connect the CW keying output of the computer logging program to PTT pin 3 on the AUX I O jack or the microphone jack and then connect your paddle to either of the two panel mounted CW jacks front or rear See the description of item PTT in CW as in the manual section for CW
7. To recall a stored memory to VFO A press M gt VFO A button 23 To recall a stored memory to VFO B press M gt VFO B button 24 To delete a stored memory press DELETE button 25 To exit the memory recall submenu press EXIT button 22 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA 23 NB The ORION Il is equipped with a DSP noise blanker that is independently adjustable for each receiver To adjust the DSP noise blanker press NB button 23 A value of 1 through 9 will appear on the screen just above the NB button Use the MULTI knob to adjust the noise blanker value from 1 to 9 A higher value indicates more aggressive noise blanker action please note that high noise blanker settings on loud SSB signals can lead to intermodulation distortion of received signals The DSP noise blanker is adjustable independently for each receiver depending on which is selected for control by the MAIN RX and SUB RX buttons located between the two large main tuning knobs See description later in this chapter of 55 SUB RX and 56 MAIN RX for information on these buttons and their functions Separate from the DSP NB the main receiver only has a hardware noise blanker available See the description of the hardware noise blanker in chapter 3 under RX RX MENU This main receiver hardware noise blanker can be used together with or separate from the DSP NB The hardware NB can be turned on and off from the front panel by pressing and
8. CW MENU in Chapter 3 and EXTERNAL CW OUTPUT PLUS CW KEYER OPERATION FROM PADDLES in Chapter 4 Initial release October 2005 10 ALC 35 17 m m 34 18 e 33 192 114305000 8 2800 10 31 z SEND 2 30 SEND AIN 29 USER 1 28 21 x USER woot 27 22 23 24 25 26 17 PWR This button is used for setting RF power output on ORION Press the PWR button then turn the MULTI knob to adjust value from 1 to 100 The value set from 1 to 100 will roughly correspond to power output in watts but this will vary a few watts depending on band and load impedance The PWR button also interacts with the TUNE button 40 for key down power output for tuning an antenna tuner or linear amplifier See the description of TUNE button 40 later in this section If the low level drive transverter output has been activated in the menu system a low level output RF output level of approximately 15 dBm will be sent through the XVRT RF jack This output power value is adjustable from 5 to 15 dBm by using the PWR and MULTI control when the transverter output is activated in the menus 18 MON ORION II is equipped with a transmit audio monitor to allow the operator to hear actual transmitted audio TX EQ speech processing TX bandwidth LF rolloff all have an effect on the sound of the transmitted SSB signal and to properly adjust these controls f
9. Part 74410 Printed in USA TX TX MENU The TX menu is used for controls related to the ORION II transmitter They are described line by line below Internal Tuner refers to the optional internal automatic antenna tuner in ORION Il If installed the tuner can be enabled or disabled with this line item The internal tuner is operable on the ANT 1 connection only The internal tuner when enabled is actuated by RF When changing bands the tuner has no memory feature and will have to be re tuned using the TUNE button See description of 40 TUNE in Chapter 2 Transmitter allows the ORION II transmitter to be disabled Use the MULTI knob to set to on or off Keying Loop 1 is used to enable the TX OUT 1 TX EN 1 QSK keying loop as described in chapter 2 under 67 TX OUT 1 TX EN 1 Note If the loop is turned and no connections are made it will prevent the ORION II from transmitting Keying Loop 2 is used to enable the TX OUT 2 TX EN 2 QSK keying loop as described in chapter 2 under 69 TX OUT TX EN 2 Note If the loop is turned on and no connections are made it will prevent the ORION II from transmitting EXT T R Delay 1 provides hang time for a non QSK linear amplifier that has been connected to the AMP KEY 1 jack on the rear of the ORION II This will prevent the amp from dropping out between words of a CW or SSB transmission Also see the description of 66 AMP KEY 1 in chapter 2 EXT T R Delay 2
10. amplification to maintain the receiver Initial release October 2005 56 sensitivity despite unavoidable filter losses The amplified and band limited signal feeds the IF converter board A5 via cable 16 A5 provides conversion to the 279 IF amplification filtering and conversion to the 3 IF for processing in the A7 logic board Cable 18 carries the 14 kHz third IF to the DSP in A7 After digital signal processing in A7 the recovered audio travels through the motherboard to the headphone jack on A8 and to the EXT SPKR and AUX I O jacks on A12 From A12 wire cable 36 runs to the internal speaker The synthesizer board A10 supplies 1 local oscillator signal to A3 via cable 12 and 2 LO to A5 via cable 19 Signal Path Subreceiver For the subreceiver the signal path starts at an antenna jack selected by the I O board A0 and proceeds to A6 the subreceiver board This board comprises the entire analog circuitry of the subreceiver accomplishing conversion of HF signals successively to 45 MHz 450 kHz and 14 kHz intermediate frequencies 3 IF signal travels to the DSP via cable 20 Audio from AT goes through the motherboard A11 to the headphone jack on A8 The audio signal also reaches the EXT SPKR and AUX I O jacks via A11 and A12 From A12 it runs through wire cable 36 to the internal speaker The synthesizer board A10 supplies a 2 local oscillator signal and a frequency reference for the sub
11. and for single signal weak signal DXing purposes the programmable AGC value is probably the only setting that the operator should consider using We suggest using AGC hang at either 0 00 or a very small value like 0 04 Why Because with AGC hang AGC will grab onto the most recent noise peak and will adjust gain to it for the hang period After that decay will begin this is not good if you re trying to listen to a signal at the noise floor and band noise is varying on top of the signal It has been argued by operators of the original ORION that a small amount of hang may be desirable to keep the AGC action smoother than it would be without hang This is plausible but again depends on the individual and the situation The threshold value in the AGC system acts like an IF gain control for the DSP section of the receiver chain turn the value low like to 37 uV and the receiver gain comes up as do the signal levels The threshold value can also be used to determine limit the top end of available receiver gain for the digital part of the receive chain Setting the threshold value higher in turn imposes that higher limit on the available range of the RF GAIN control Example Listen to band noise with the threshold set to the lowest value 0 37 uv and the RF GAIN set at 100 With these settings receiver gain is at maximum Adjust threshold value to a higher value like 31 91 uv Note how overall receiver noise has dro
12. lt Uu Figure 4 1 VFO selection for transceive with main RX TX on VFO A subreceiver VFO B VFOA is always the main tuning knob closest to the screen VFO B is always the main tuning knob at the far right of the ORION Il Turn the MAIN AF knob to increase main receiver volume Turn the SUB AF knob to increase sub receiver volume Either of these can be muted by pressing the encoder towards the radio face To unmute press or turn the knob The AUDIO menu determines the mix of main receiver and sub receiver audio heard through the speaker or the headphones See the Chapter 2 description for 36 AUDIO Antenna selection is determined by the matrix of six buttons at the far left of the 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA radio A complete description is provided in Chapter 2 under 2 7 ANTENNA ASSIGNMENTS OPERATING SPLIT FREQUENCY Often DX stations will be listening on one frequency while transmitting on another The two receivers and two VFO s in the ORION II permit the operator to listen to both the DX stations frequency and the frequency where the DX station is listening for calls simultaneously There is no SPLIT button but setting up split frequency operation only requires pressing the A gt B button as shown below An example using the typical transceive setup of main RX TX on VFO A and subreceiver on VFO B A DX station is transmitting on 14 195 MHz and listening for calls on 14 210 MHz
13. 250 mA output active Many older linear amplifiers like those manufactured by Collins Drake and Heathkit have a higher voltage on the keyline Such amplifiers require a relay or transistor switch between either ORION Il AMP KEY jack and the amplifier PTT keyline If you are unsure if your amplifier is suitable please consult the Initial release October 2005 38 operator s manual for your amplifier or contact the Ten Tec service department An adjustable delay is available for each of the AMP KEY jacks These are titled EXT T R Delay 1 and EXT T R Delay 2 These give the operator the ability to have the amplifier keyed longer by the radio preventing drop outs between words of SSB or CW operation EXT T R Delay 1 and EXT T R Delay 2 are found in the TX submenu under MENUS Some QSK linear amplifiers incorporate the use of a full break in keying loop Ten Tec linear amplifiers use a full break in keying loop to assure proper sequencing of the keying between the radio and the amplifier To use the ORION II with a full break in linear amplifier incorporating a keying loop use the TX OUT 1 TX EN 1 or TX OUT 2 TX EN 2 jacks as appropriate for an amp connected to the ANT 1 or ANT 2 jacks Connect TX OUT 1 to the keying loop input on your amp On Ten Tec amplifiers the corresponding jack is marked KEY IN Connect TX EN 1 to the keying loop output on your amp On Ten Tec amplifiers the corresponding jack is marked KEY OUT
14. CUT and LO CUT settings each receiver appear on the screen you will see the BW and PBT values scroll as the knob is turned Pushing and holding in the HI CUT LO CUT knob for two seconds will zero out the CUT setting See Figure 2 15 for examples of HI CUT and LO CUT operation RECEIVER PASSBAND Figure 2 15 HI CUT and LO CUT effects on the passband 44 MAIN AF ENCODER The MAIN AF encoder is used to control main receiver volume output through the speaker and headphones Turn to adjust There is a bargraph display on the screen that shows setting of MAIN AF just above the BW PBT RIT XIT values that are shown stacked on the left side of the screen The MAIN AF receiver gain can be muted by pushing the encoder When muted the top half of the bargraph display on the screen will disappear to tell the operator it is in mute Turning or pushing in the encoder knob un mutes and restores MAIN AF at the last value used before it was muted 45 SUB AF ENCODER The SUB AF encoder is used to control sub receiver volume output through the speaker and headphones Turn to adjust There is a bargraph display on the screen that shows setting of MAIN AF just above the BW PBT RIT XIT values that are shown stacked on the left side of the screen The SUB AF receiver gain can be muted by pushing the encoder When muted the top 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA half of the bargraph display on the screen will dis
15. DSP Filter Length 199 Taps Please refer to the discussion of filtering in Chapter 1 ORION provides for up to seven available mode appropriate I F roofing filters not to be confused with traditional bandwidth filtering as provided for in DSP Optional roofing filters of 1 8 kHz 600 Hz and 300 Hz in the ORION II need to be activated to be used by the operator Please note If you activate an optional filter position and no filter is installed the radio will mute on receive Activating the optional filters is simple For each of the 1 8 kHz 600 Hz and or 300 Hz optional filters that you have installed use the MULTI knob to change the setting from no to yes Roofing filters can automatically be selected by the radio or the operator has the option of 566 manua Part 74410 Printed in USA override to select one specific filter to be used at all times The available choices are 20 kHz 6 kHz 2 4 kHz 1 8 kHz if installed 1 kHz 600 Hz if installed 300 Hz if installed For automatic selection of appropriate roofing filters put the Xtal Filter setting on AUTO When using the DSP BW filtering in the ORION II see description of 41 PBT B W ENCODER in Chapter 2 as a threshold for each filter is crossed the roofing filters will automatically be selected Example After selecting AUTO press MENUS to exit out of the menu system and return to normal radio operation As the DSP bandwidth is narrowe
16. Tune in the DX station on 14 195 on VFO A Press A gt B to equalize the frequencies on the two VFO s Tune VFO A to 14 210 You are now listening to the DX station on the subreceiver on VFO B on 14 195 and are ready to transmit and listen on 14 210 using the main receiver For weak DX stations operating split frequency it is probably advantageous to use the main receiver for listening to the DX station and using the subreceiver frequency for monitoring the pileup and your transmit frequency Starting from the same example of main RX TX on VFO A and subreceiver on VFO B DX station on 14 195 listening on 14 210 Tune in the DX station on 14 195 on VFO A Press A gt B to equalize the frequencies on the two VFO s Tune VFO B to 14 210 Press the button next to TX under VFO B You are now listening to the DX station on the main receiver on 14 195 on VFO A and are listening and ready to transmit on 14 210 with the subreceiver and transmitter on VFO B See Figure 4 2 for assignment of VFO buttons Initial release October 2005 37 lt UJ gt lt OG SUB RX Figure 4 2 Split frequency operation with DX station being received on main receiver via VFO A subreceiver monitoring of pileup and transmit frequency on VFO B OPERATING THE INTERNAL ANTENNA TUNER if installed Your ORION II may be equipped with an internal automatic antenna tuner If installed the tuner is active on the ANT 1 jack only a
17. button A submenu titled DIGITAL VOICE RECORDER CONTROL will appear at the bottom of the screen There are five options EXIT RECORD PLAY DELETE and SAVE The five buttons below these options numbers 22 through 26 are used for these functions To RECORD a message depress the PTT button on your microphone You will not be transmitting on the air when the DIGITAL VOICE RECORDER CONTROL menu is shown on screen Press RECORD button 23 and begin speaking into the microphone There are 4 54 seconds of available recording time for each of the SEND 1 and SEND 2 voice memories When RECORD is pressed the legend on the screen above the button changes to read STOP Initial release October 2005 11 When you are finished recording the message press the button again to STOP When finished you can check the recording off the air by pressing PLAY button 24 To delete the recording press DELETE button 25 To retain the memory after the transceiver is powered off press SAVE button 26 A message titled SAVING RECORDING will appear on the ORION II screen for several seconds during the save process To exit the voice recorder control menu press EXIT button 22 Don t forget before pressing EXIT to release the PTT button on your microphone that you depressed earlier to record the message or upon exiting your mic will be live To play your message while on the air momentarily push the appropriate SEND button and you
18. de select the xm feature press the MAIN RX button again This feature is also available on the subreceiver by pressing an already lit SUB RX button 57 FREQUENCY ENTRY AND BAND CHANGE BUTTONS ORION II is equipped with a band change keypad that also is used for direct frequency entry and to access the four bandstacking registers To change bands press the button that corresponds to the desired ham band Note Press the 0 button for 60 meters 5 MHz ORION II is equipped with four bandstacking registers per band that will retain frequency mode and receiver bandwidth Example Press the 20 button to put the radio on the 20 meter band Repeated pressing of the 20 button will cycle through the four band stacking registers for 20 meters ORION II uses a default VFO for the band change keypad Next to the frequency displays on the screen are A and B to the extreme left of the screen One of the two will be highlighted in reverse text default is VFO A This indicates to the operator which VFO will accept band changes from the keypad See description of the A B button function 60 58 VFO A ENTER ORION II allows for direct frequency entry from the keypad for either VFO To enter a frequency into VFO A press VFO A ENTER and then use the keypad to enter a frequency Use the decimal point button Initial release October 2005 22 Example To enter 7 160000 MHz press VFO A ENTER 7 1
19. doing so see section the section of Chapter 4 called DIVERSITY RECEPTION for information on diversity receive capabilities using the two receivers the VFO s and multiple antennas 14 MIC Jack used for connection of microphone The ORION II features the common 8 pin microphone jack used by amateur radio transceivers Most dynamic or electret microphones can be used When adapting a microphone please refer to the wiring diagrams in Figures 2 3 and 2 4 We include a spare 8 pin microphone connector P N 35363 with the packing kit to allow rewiring of your current mic for use with ORION II The pinout for the 8 pin mic connector on the front of the ORION II is shown in Figure 2 3 Recommended wiring is shown below in Figure 2 4 MIC MIC Figure 2 3 Front view mic connector on front panel of ORION II It important that the microphone body have a common ground with the ORION II We recommend wiring microphone cables as shown in Figure 2 4 566 manual Initial release October 2005 Part 74410 Printed in USA MIC ELEMENT TRANSCEIVER MICROPHONE JACK FRONT VIEW Figure 2 4 Recommended mic cable wiring Pin 2 10 VDC need only be connected if the microphone element in use is an electret condenser requiring a polarizing voltage Keeping chassis ground and mic signal ground separated are done to reduce the possibility of introducing stray hum or RFI into the transmit audio signal Note we recommend t
20. first I F stage plus DSP bandwidth filtering at the third I F stage The ORION II features an even more advanced roofing filter stage than the original ORION for optimum receiver performance The mode appropriate roofing filters used in the ORION II main receiver are the centerpiece of the radio s performance It is common for radio designers to be able to produce a receiver that exhibits in excess of 100 dB of available dynamic range What is not common is the ability to protect superior receiver design from being compromised by real life on band factors i e loud close by signals Mode appropriate roofing filters keep close by loud signals from having a negative impact on receiver performance A typical high performance HF transceiver is equipped with a 15 to 20 kHz wide roofing filter at the first I F stage Any signal that appears under the 15 to 20 kHz roofing filter even if you do not hear it in your receiver passband has the potential to compromise receiver performance Loss of dynamic range third order intercept or the receiver breaking into non linearity distortion are possible results When dynamic range and third order intercept are compromised the ability to copy weak signals is also compromised The typical 100 dB dynamic range high performance HF radio in the presence of loud signals a few kHz above or a few kHz below the targeted receiver frequency could lose a significant amount of the available 100 dB of r
21. for AM operation To select a 6 kHz AM transmit bandwidth select 3000 Hz in the SSB menu as the transmit bandwidth Carrier amplitude for AM operation is set automatically by ORION Il The PWR control on the front is used for PEP output power setting in AM operation A value of 100 would correspond to 100 watts PEP AM output or 25 watts carrier power maximum FSK OPERATION Selection of the FSK mode will allow the ORION II to operate true FSK RTTY The FSK circuitry is controlled through the rear AUX I O jack on the rear panel of the transceiver Pin 7 on the I O jack is the MARK SPACE input This input is typically connected to the FSK output on a modem or terminal unit The ORION II receives FSK using lower sideband The center of the filter passband is preset so any bandwidth filter used will be centered on the standard FSK MARK SPACE 2125 2295 Hz tones 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA The ORION II display indicates the transmit MARK frequency There is also a user control called FSK Tx Data in the Other menu for selecting whether the MARK is the low tone or high tone the standard is low tone This allows the transceiver to be used with either TTL or open collector keying schemes The monitor function is available in FSK mode and may be used to monitor the transmitted tones See 18 MON in Chapter 2 TRANSVERTER HOOKUPS ORION II provides the ability for a VHF transverter to be connected to the rear p
22. for sub receiver As the operator assigns the transmitter and receivers using buttons 8 through 13 the T R and S indicators will move back and forth on the screen If a transmitter or receiver has no assignment the annunciator will not be shown The main receiver and the transmitter are amateur bands only coverage An attempt to assign them to a frequency outside the ham bands will result in one of three messages appearing on the screen VFO A OUTSIDE RX RANGE VFO B OUTSIDE RX RANGE or FREQUENCY NOT SUPPORTED depending on how the user was attempting to put the main receiver on a non amateur frequency Buttons 8 and 9 can be used to turn the transmitter off by deselecting both buttons Push 8 and 9 so neither light is lit The T indicator will not be present on the screen Buttons 12 and 13 can be used in a similar fashion to deselect the subreceiver but there will still be audio present through the subreceiver audio chain on the last used subreceiver frequency when doing so it will not mute the subreceiver Subreceiver audio can be muted by turning the SUB AF encoder all the way counterclockwise or by pressing it to mute After no VFO is assigned to the subreceiver the last subreceiver frequency will still be audible The main receiver cannot be disabled it will always be assigned to either VFO A or VFO B via buttons 10 and 11 Receivers can be assigned to one VFO or the other simultaneously There are advantages to
23. holding the NB button for two seconds It also can be turned on or off through the menu system When the hardware noise blanker is activated on the main receiver an annunciator marked H will appear next to the software noise blanker value on the screen 24 NR ORION II is equipped with DSP noise reduction that is independently adjustable for each receiver There are nine different settings and each of the nine are used to determine how aggressively quickly the NR adapts and identifies what is signal and what is noise Initial release October 2005 13 Once the noise reduction value has been set for a given signal no further adjustment of the noise reduction control is needed Turning the NR to a higher value adjusts only how fast it adapts to a given signal vs noise situation The DSP noise reduction is adjustable independently for each receiver depending on which is selected for control by the MAIN RX and SUB RX buttons located between the two large main tuning knobs See 55 MAIN RX and 56 SUB RX for information on these buttons and their function Refer to the section of Chapter 4 titled Optimal Uses of ORION II Receiver for Weak Signal DXing and Contesting more information on using DSP NR in weak signal environments 25 NOTCH ORION II is equipped with a manual notch filter at the IF level Press the NOTCH button to activate Both the center frequency of the notch and the width of the n
24. jacks If set to on pressing a CW key or some other closure to ground connected either of the key jacks will put the radio into transmit in SSB modes If set to off the radio will not be put into SSB transmit in SSB modes when a closure to ground is present at one of the two key jacks PTT in CW as determines the action of the transmitter in relation to a PTT signal appearing either at the front panel microphone jack or pin 3 on the AUX I O jack on the rear of the transceiver Please note this menu item does NOT affect anything plugged into either the front panel or rear panel key jacks All of the below only applies when the transceiver is being used in LCW or UCW modes When set to key a PTT closure at the mic jack or on pin of the AUX I O jack will result in a transmitted CW signal A closure to ground will key the radio keydown in CW mode An external keyer connected to either the mic jack or AUX I O pin 3 can be used for transmitting CW When set to mox a PTT closure at the mic jack or on pin 3 of the AUX I O jack will result in the radio being put into potential transmit PTT will close but no signal will be transmitted A CW signal from an external source can then be injected via one of the two key jacks and the ORION will transmit CW When finished open the closure and the radio returns to receive This function can be used to override QSK operation from an external source and or provide exact P
25. level control action for the set output of the radio has been reached It will flash on and off with all CW characters transmitted On SSB the ALC light should light on voice peaks to indicate proper adjustment of microphone gain At very low power outputs the ALC light will be lit continuously when transmitting in SSB modes This is normal BARGRAPH A bargraph meter appears on the ORION screen immediately to the right of the VFO B frequency display This un scaled meter is used as a signal strength reference for the subreceiver but no s unit value is indicated Additionally appearing above the bargraph is a display of SWR while transmitting The SWR display is also used to display the legend tuned after use of the internal automatic antenna tuner if installed 566 manual Initial release October 2005 Part 74410 Printed in USA Y AN LCK 48 Please read the section describing the functions of buttons 55 SUB RX and 56 MAIN RX before proceeding with the instructions for other controls 41 PBT BW ENCODER Receiver bandwidth BW and passband tuning PBT are adjustable using this encoder DSP bandwidth and passband tuning are selectable independently on each receiver depending on the status of buttons 55 and 56 To adjust BW or PBT value A green LED indicator is next to the BW and PBT legends on the front of t
26. may be set outside the passband Disconnect any external equipment that might be pulling the PTT line MIC or PBT connector to ground Is the internal KEYER enabled with a mono plug in the KEY jack That would cause a constant stream of dits when you apply power Check settings of the squelch in the RX menu and the AF and RF gain controls Problem No operation in VOX Check the ORION II screen to see if the menu items for VOX are active and set Initial release October 2005 50 properly If any of the three settings is at zero VOX will not operate The Ten Tec model 701 hand microphone will not operate in VOX mode The mic element in other non Ten Tec microphones must be active open when used in VOX mode with ORION Il This generally means locking the PTT on the microphone after putting the radio into VOX mode but every mic is different Consult the operation manual of your microphone Problem Step size selected is always one level higher than desired and xm appears above it on the screen Consult the section of the manual titled 55 SUB RX and 56 MAIN RX The quick jump step size function has been enabled It can be disabled by pressing an already lit MAIN RX or SUB RX button If the above does not solve your problem please consult with our service department 865 428 0364 or via service tentec com 566 manual Initial release October 2005 51 Part 74410 Printed in USA Chapter
27. memory feature the tuner will not retain the last setting for a particular band or frequency CONNECTING AN EXTERNAL LINEAR AMPLIFIER Whether you have an amplifier that is full break in and how the full break in is accomplished will determine the method for connecting the linear to ORION II Two sets of keying outputs are provided for the two available antenna jacks on the radio AMP KEY 1 and TX OUT TX EN 1 are used for a linear connected via the ANT 1 jack AMP KEY 2 and TX OUT TX EN 2 are used for a linear amplifier connected via the ANT 2 jack RF appears approximatel 15 mS after closure of either AMP KEY 1 or AMP KEY 2 Non QSK linear amplifiers or QSK linears that do not employ the use of a keying loop are keyed from the AMP KEY 1 and AMP KEY 2 jacks see 66 AMP KEY 1 and 68 AMP KEY 2 in chapter 2 Connect the PTT keying line of your linear amplifier to the AMP KEY 1 or AMP KEY 2 jack as desired using a shielded cable with RCA style male phono connectors at each end ORION II is equipped with QSK delay feature accessible via the CW MENU that operates on both the AMP KEY 1 and AMP KEY 2 connections and the TX OUT TX EN 1 and TX OUT TX EN 2 keying loops This will allow you to set the amount of delay between CW characters desired Also see the description in chapter 3 under CW CW MENU NOTE The external amplifier key line should not apply more than 100V output inactive nor should it draw more than
28. roofing filter DSP bandwidth filter DSP NR and AGC together that is the correct one for ORION Il There are good places to start and by understanding how the operation of the high dynamic range receiver in ORION II is different from other transceivers will set you on the correct path toward optimum use Let s think this through logically Band conditions always vary noise always varies signals always vary If you set a transceiver for one optimal setting to use it for variable conditions would it seem logical that the operator would be using the transceiver to its optimum capability each and every time Refer back to the definition of the use of a crystal roofing filter The roofing filter is used for keeping strong closeby signals from compromising receiver performance Listening to a weak signal on a quiet band does not meet the definition of need for a tight roofing filter On a band where few signals are present other than a desired target weak signal only a wide roofing filter would be necessary Using the 300 Hz roofing filter when listening to a single weak signal on the low bands gains nothing additional In fact it could hurt your ability to hear a noise floor level weak signal Why Among other reasons all narrow bandwidth filters suffer from insertion loss and in the Orion like other transceivers have for many years we use an amplifier to compensate for crystal filter loss A 300 Hz filter is going to have
29. the front and rear panels with an explanation of the each control and how it is used for operation of the radio ANALOG METER An analog meter is provided at the upper left hand side of the front of the transceiver In receive the meter shows S units of signal strength for the main receiver In transmit the meter shows approximate output power 5 The power meter is a sampling type meter and will stay more or less constant when sampling power output particularly when the transceiver is used in CW mode A separate bar graph S meter for the subreceiver is present on the radio screen 1 POWER This button turns the transceiver on and off 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA 2 7 ANTENNA ASSIGNMENTS The two columns of antenna selection keys numbered 2 through 7 in the figure above allow the assignment of up to three connected antennas to each of the two receivers The most common arrangement would be to have a single antenna connected to ANT 1 used by either the main receiver only or by the main receiver and the subreceiver both Buttons 2 4 and 6 as shown above allow ANT 1 ANT 2 or RX ANT to be connected to the main receiver To connect an antenna attached to the transceiver via the ANT 1 rear panel jack to the main receiver press button 2 shown above The amber LED embedded in the button will light indicating the main receiver is now connected to ANT 1 Pressing button 4 as shown a
30. 00 Hz BW IF DSP filters 4 amp 6 kHz Ceramic filter 15 kHz 5 dBm typical 20 kHz spacing 71 dBm typical gt 70 cB gt 70 dB S9 50 pV lt 20 ms Software adjustable 0 9 ALC Adjustable 5 100 W 1 continuous service 100W continuous with cooling fan accessory 210 k ohms at 1 kHz 5 mV for full power output Internal gain range adjustment dc power for electret elements 6 dBm into 600 ohms for full output RF compression 0 9 adjustment 900 3900 Hz in 10 Hz steps 50 3900 Hz maximum 6 dB points adjustable Up to 6 dB octave bass treble boost cut Modulated IF after filtering processing gt 50 dB gt 60 dB at 1 kHz gt 50 dB below 100 W gt 40 dB below 5 W PTT or VOX on SSB AM FM FSK Adjustable QSK on CW 10 50 wom adjustable weighting Adjustable 3 10 mS Programmable 100 1200 Hz in 10 Hz steps Initial release October 2005 54 XIT Range FM Deviation Current Drain 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA Sidetone pitch automatically matches selected CW offset 10 kHz 5 kHz peak nominal 25 A max Initial release October 2005 55 HARDWARE INFORMATION The transceiver comprises 13 printed circuit board subassemblies plus one optional subassembly as Figure 5 1 shows Figure 5 1 ORION Subassemblies Part Name Designator 81908 Input Output Board AO I O 81909 Low
31. 3 03 uM PBT Irack Bl Track Harduare HB Hain RX Sql Sub 591 of F off of F 1 7 dBn 127 dBm PBT BU Step 10 Hz The RX menu is accessible by pressing the button on the front panel immediately to the right of the screen next to the RX annunciator Sweep Range is used for setting the range of the real time spectrum scope that is available on the main receiver There are 5 selectable widths of 4 5 9 18 36 and 72 kHz AGC is Automatic Gain Control and is used to provide a reasonably uniform output at audio from incoming signal strengths of varying intensity One of the most useful revolutionary new features of ORION II is fully programmable AGC AGC action can be programmed to taste on each receiver for FAST MED and SLOW settings and a fourth setting PROG allows the user to adjust any and all of the AGC characteristics Refer to Figure 3 4 above To adjust a given parameter for each receiver first select the desired AGC on the receivers before entering the menu system by using the AGC button see 33 AGC in Chapter 2 For FAST MED and SLOW The hang and threshold parameters are fully adjustable AGC hang is the amount of time that the AGC remains actuated before decay begins Threshold is the point at which a signal of a given strength expressed in microvolts will actuate the AGC system The threshold value in the AGC system acts like an IF gain control for the DSP part of the receiver c
32. 5 SPECIFICATIONS AND TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION 566 ORION Il HF TRANSCEIVER SPECIFICATIONS GENERAL Frequency range SUB RX TX amp MAIN RX Tuning Step Sizes Frequency Stability Rated RF Load Antenna jacks Modes Fs Display Freq Control Supply Voltage Operating Temperature Range Dimensions H x W x D Weight Construction PC control port 500 kHz 30 MHz Specifications apply 1 8 MHz 1 8 2 0 3 5 4 0 5 25 5 40 7 0 7 3 10 1 10 15 14 0 14 35 18 068 18 168 21 0 21 45 24 89 24 99 28 0 29 7 1 10 100 1k 5k 10k and 100 kHz 3 PPM over operating temperature TCXO is standard 50 ohms nominal 2 0 1 maximum SWR 2x SO 239 transceive 1x RCA style phono female receive only USB LSB AM FM CWUSB CWLSB FSK Panoramic Stereo Binaural w spatial perception Main RX amp TX 9 MHz 450 kHz 14 0 KHz Sub RX 45 MHz 450 kHz 14 0 kHz 320 x 240 pixels TFT color screen with CCFL backlighting Receivers operate on any two bands simultaneously transmitter can be assigned to either receiver 13 8 Vdc nominal Reverse polarity amp over voltage protection standard 0 50 C 5 25 x 17 0 x 18 75 13 3 x 43 2 x 47 6 cm 20 Ib 9 2 kg Al chassis steel cabinet glass epoxy printed circuit boards EIA 232 standard DE 9F The following features amp specifications apply to both receivers Digital AGC systems Passband Tuning RX Audio Eq
33. 50 Hz for a total bandwidth of 3000 Hz You can think of the L F Rolloff control as where the bass response from your voice and the transmit bandwidth is attenuated The next control to adjust is transmitter equalization TX EQ can be used to give your audio more bass or treble response at a given transmit bandwidth and low frequency rolloff setting It can also be used to compensate for a microphone with more bass or treble response ORION is provided with audio equalization for the transmitter It enables tailoring audio frequency response for greater effectiveness and to accommodate your preferences The TX EQ establishes a specific audio profile for your transmitted audio from either the MIC or AUX audio input sources The TX EQ effects from high pitched at 20 dB to essentially flat response at 0 dB to very bassy at 20 dB It is adjustable in 1 dB steps 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA Audio Frequency Figure 4 3 High RX EQ Response 20 dB 28k 56k Audio Frequency 28k 58k Figure 4 5 Low RX EQ Response 20 dB Initial release October 2005 40 Refer to Figures 4 3 Figure 4 4 and 4 5 They illustrate responses in the center and at the extremes of the equalization controls The displayed setting of the equalizers refers to the amplitude in dB at about 100 Hz relative to the highest frequency in the passband For example the 20 dB setting produces 20 dB at 100 Hz relative t
34. E button Directly under the screen a value of 0 off to 100 will appear Use the MULTI knob to change the value Both the transmitted CW sidetone volume and the volume from using the SPOT function are affected by this setting 39 MIC The MIC control is used for setting microphone gain in SSB modes Press the MIC button and then use the MULTI knob to set the desired value To set the proper level adjust mic gain upward until the red ALC LED located just to the left of the S meter is flashing You may also employ the use of the monitor function see 18 MON to properly adjust the sound of transmitted audio 40 TUNE The TUNE button when pressed will transmit a CW carrier at approximately 20 watts output power to allow either the internal automatic antenna tuner to tune if installed or for user adjustment of an external antenna tuner or linear amplifier 566 manual Initial release October 2005 18 Part 74410 Printed in USA It may be desirable to have keydown CW carrier output at the power output level set by using the PWR control button 17 To do so press the PWR button immediately after pushing the TUNE button Power output will move from the low power setting to whatever level the PWR control has been set at with the MULTI knob Repeat operation will require pushing TUNE then PWR again for the higher output value ALC The ALC light just to the left of the S meter is used to indicate when automatic
35. EY 1 jack and the amplifier keyline If you are unsure if your amplifier is suitable please consult the operator s manual for your amplifier or contact the Ten Tec service department See Chapter 4 for a complete description on interfacing a linear to the ORION Il 67 TX OUT 1 TX EN 1 Many QSK linear amplifiers are equipped with a full break in keying loop to assure proper sequencing of amplifier keying when operating full break in CW TX OUT 1 and TX EN 1 are used for a full break in linear amp using ANT 1 TX OUT and TX EN should be connected to the corresponding QSK loop IN and OUT jacks on your amp On a Ten Tec QSK amp TX OUT is connected to KEY IN and TX EN is connected to KEY OUT via shielded cables consult the operator s manual of your non Ten Tec QSK amp for the proper loop information 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA To use the full break in keying loop it must be enabled from the MENUS The keying loop is turned on and off via the TX submenu in the MENUS see the TX MENU description in Chapter 3 Note If the loop is turned on and no connections are made it will prevent the ORION II from transmitting See Chapter 4 for a complete description on interfacing a linear to the ORION II TX EN can also act as a transmit inhibit input if it is desirable to prevent ORION II from transmitting until other station accessories have been switched Example The last item keyed from a sequencer used for VHF tran
36. K operation is above 3 kHz have a more full range sound on the high tone 2295 Hz or low tone to transmitted SSB audio narrower 2125 Hz The standard is for FSK to use bandwidths are communications grade the low tone for MARK FSK direct to the SSB audio Typical communications audio radio from a computer sound card no TNC for TX Filter BW would be 2 7 kHz should have this set to high so tones will not be inverted See the description for FSK OPERATION in Chapter 4 L F Rolloff refers to the point where low end audio response starts for transmitted 566 manual Initial release October 2005 34 Part 74410 Printed in USA SSB audio For example if TX Filter BW is set to 3000 Hz and L F Rolloff is set to 200 Hz the frequency response of the transmitted signal is 200 Hz on the low end to 3200 Hz at the high end Moving L F Rolloff to 100 Hz would move the transmit passband to 100 Hz to 3100 Hz for a 3000 Hz bandwidth The available values are a minimum of 50 Hz to a maximum of 300 Hz TX Audio Source allows the radio to have audio input through either the front panel mic jack or via the AUX input on pin 1 of the rear panel AUX I O connector The available choices are MIC AUX or BOTH Please also see the description for setting up SSB transmit audio in Chapter 4 FILTR FILTER MENU Figure 3 8 Filter Menu Ktal Filter Enable 1 8 kHz Enable 600 Hz 600 Hz C F Adj Enable 300 Hz 300 Hz C F Adj
37. LL to bring up either the factory default settings or a stored user profile press and hold the RECALL button for two seconds A submenu will appear titled FACTORY DEFAULTS and two options EXIT using button 22 and RECALL using button 24 will appear at the bottom of the screen The operator can scroll among the factory defaults and the four user profiles by turning the MULTI knob located to the upper right of the screen When turned the submenu display will change to read PARAMETER BACKUP 1 2 etc The options of EXIT STORE and RECALL are given Factory defaults will return the radio to the state as after doing a master reset Note that PARAMETER BACKUP 1 and PARAMETER BACKUP 2 are duplicates of the user profiles that can be saved and recalled by using the USER 1 and USER 2 buttons 3 and 4 and factory defaults are only accessible via this RECALL submenu RECALL is also used for recalling the traditional memories saved using the VFO A gt M and VFO B gt M buttons To access the recall of memories momentarily press and release the RECALL button A submenu titled MEMORY RECALL will appear Stored memories can be examined using the MULTI knob Turn the MULTI knob to see all stored memories with frequency and mode information Four options are shown under the memory locations EXIT M gt VFO A M gt VFO B and DELETE Each of these functions uses buttons 22 through 25 directly under the options shown on the screen
38. ORION II can easily be used with a sequencer The last relay output to close on the sequencer should be connected to the TX EN 1 jack on the rear of the ORION II Go into the menus and turn on Keying Loop 1 This keying loop will prevent the radio from transmitting until a closure to ground appears at the TX EN 1 jack By connecting the last relay to close on the sequencer to the TX EN 1 jack the operator will have ensured that all required keying connections have been closed prior to RF appearing at the output of the XVRT RF jack 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA DIVERSITY RECEPTION Because the ORION II has the ability to have both receivers tuned by a single VFO simultaneously and because both receivers can be split out to different antennas a world of possibilities for diversity reception are opened First a definition of diversity reception Radio reception in which a signal is obtained by combining or selecting signals from two or more independent sources but which may vary in their fading characteristics at any given instant Good examples would be the use of one horizontal and one vertical antenna or two horizontal antennas separated by one wavelength or more It has been shown from studies that weak and or fading signals can be copied better when they are heard from two sources simultaneously rather than only one As signals fade if another source is available to simultaneously monitor the signal th
39. Pass Filter A1 LPF 81897 Power Amplifier A2 PA 81906 RF Converter A3 RFCNV 81910 9 MHz IF IF A4 81911 Converter A5 IFCNV 81907 Subreceiver SUB A6 81917 Logic and DSP AT DSP 81913 Keypad KEY A8 81936 Power Distribution A9 Board PWR 81912 Synthesizer A10 SYNTH 81916 Motherboard MBD A11 81915 Rear Connector A12 Board 81957 Sweep Amplifier A13 81956 optional Autotuner A14 See Figure 5 2 for a block diagram showing the relationship of these subassemblies in the transceiver A11 the motherboard forms ORION s central electrical spine interconnecting all but two of the printed circuit boards PCBs For clarity the block diagram does not explicitly show A11 s myriad interconnections Miniature coaxial cable and connectors carry essentially all signals between boards Shield partitions suppress possible inter board crosstalk 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA Subassembly Location The central located motherboard A11 connects the logic board A7 keypad board A8 and other front panel parts with the I O A0 and rear connector A12 boards which populate the rear panel Along the way A11 picks up DC and control line connections from A1 A4 A5 and A6 in 4 compartments above the chassis deck Below the chassis deck A3 A9 and A10 also connect to the Motherboard The optional internal automatic antenna tuner A14 connects via wires and plug in cables to AO Each signal p
40. SB SSB MENU FILTR FILTER MENU Chapter 4 OPERATION AND ACCESSORY CONNECTION EXAMPLES BASIC TRANSCEIVE OPERATION OPERATING SPLIT FREQUENCY OPERATING THE AUTOMATIC ANTENNA TUNER IF INSTALLED CONNECTING AN EXTERNAL LINEAR AMPLIFIER TUNING UP AN EXTERNAL LINEAR AMPLIFIER FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE SOUND OF SSB TRANSMIT AUDIO AND THEIR ADJUSTMENT SETTING UP ORION Il FOR AM TRANSMIT FSK OPERATION TRANSVERTER HOOKUPS DIVERSITY RECEPTION 566 manual Initial release October 2005 Part 74410 Printed in USA WEAK SIGNAL DX RECEPTION AND CONTEST OPERATION AND THE ORION II EXTERNAL CW OUTPUT PLUS CW KEYER OPERATION FROM PADDLES DRAG ADJUSTMENT FOR MAIN TUNING KNOBS AND B INSTALLATION OF OPTIONAL CRYSTAL ROOFING FILTERS MASTER RESET UPDATING ORION II OVER THE INTERNET TROUBLESHOOTING Chapter 5 SPECIFICATIONS AND TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION SPECIFICATIONS HARDWARE INFORMATION SUBASSEMBLY LOCATION SIGNAL PATH MAIN RECEIVER SIGNAL PATH SUBRECEIVER SIGNAL PATH TRANSMITTER BLOCK DIAGRAMS AND CABLE ROUTING 566 manual Initial release October 2005 Part 74410 Printed in USA Chapter 1 YOUR NEW ORION II ORION Il ANOTHER STEP FORWARD IN TEN TEC INNOVATION The Ten Tec ORION II represents the most innovative HF transceiver ever created for amateur radio use Our aim in designing and producing this radio was to meet the demands of increasingly intense competition in DX and contesting
41. TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Chapter 1 YOUR NEW ORION II ORION 11 ANOTHER STEP FORWARD IN TEN TEC INNOVATION UNPACKING YOUR NEW ORION ABOUT THIS MANUAL CONNECTING A POWER SUPPLY A WORD ABOUT GROUNDING HOW IS ORION II DIFFERENT FROM OTHER HIGH PERFORMANCE HF TRANSCEIVERS Chapter 2 ORION II FRONT AND REAR PANEL CONTROLS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS ANALOG METER 7 1 POWER 7 2 7 ANTENNA ASSIGNMENTS 7 8 13 VFO ASSIGNMENTS 8 14 MIC 9 15 PHONES 10 16 CW 10 17 PWR 11 18 MON 11 19 SP 11 20 SEND FUNCTIONS 11 21 USER 1 AND USER 2 12 22 RECALL 12 23 NB 13 24 NR 13 25 NOTCH 14 26 AN 14 27 MODE 14 28 PREAMP 14 29 RF GAIN 14 30 SPOT 15 31 STEP 15 32 SWEEP 15 33 AGC 15 34 ATTN 15 35 MENUS 16 36 AUDIO 16 37 VOX 18 38 S TONE 18 39 MIC 18 40 TUNE 18 ALC 19 BARGRAPH 19 41 PBT BW ENCODER 20 42 MULTI ENCODER 20 43 HI CUT LO CUT 20 44 MAIN AF ENCODER 21 45 SUB AF ENCODER 21 46 RIT XIT ENCODER 21 47 MAIN TUNING KNOB 21 48 RIT 21 49 VFO A gt M 21 566 manual Initial release October 2005 Part 74410 Printed in USA SUB RX FREQUENCY ENTRY AND BAND CHANGE BUTTONS VEO AENTER VFO B ENTER A gt B B gt A EXT SPKR REMOTE SERIAL DATA Chapter 3 MENU SYSTEM TX TX MENU VOX VOX MENU RX RX MENU OTHER OTHER MENU S
42. TT switching from an external source When set to none ORION will not respond to a PTT closure to ground or a closure at AUX I O pin when in CW modes Recommended reading See EXTERNAL CW OUTPUT PLUS CW KEYER OPERATION FROM PADDLES in Chapter 4 for practical application 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA Keyer Mode allows the user to toggle between Curtis A and Curtis B modes when using the ORION II internal keyer for CW operation VOX VOX MENU Figure 3 3 VOX Menu VOX Trip Level Anti Vox Level Vox Hang The VOX menu is accessible by pressing the button on the front panel immediately to the right of the screen next to the VOX annunciator VOX Trip Level is the gain level required to put the radio into transmit This control determines how sensitive the VOX circuitry is to input from the microphone Anti Vox Level is set to prevent tripping of the VOX circuitry Set as needed to prevent receiver audio through the speaker from putting the radio into transmit Vox Hang is used to define how long the VOX remains engaged after the end of a transmission This is set to prevent the radio from cycling back and forth between transmit and receive during the course of a normal conversation Initial release October 2005 31 RX RX MENU Figure 3 4 RX Menu Sweep Range 72 kHz Main AGC Hang 00 00 5 Decay 10 dB 5 Threshold 05 05 uV Sub AGC Hang 00 00 5 ned Decay 40 dB S Threshold 0
43. adjust the radio the way they want it to sound Obviously the operator who favors rich full sounding transmit audio is not going to have the same needs as the DXer who wants maximum oomph to try and break an SSB pileup There are several controls that interact on ORION II for SSB transmit audio Every operator is different we use different microphones the timbre of voices are different distance from the microphone will vary What we intend below is to describe what is used to tailor transmit SSB audio and then encourage the operator to experiment with the settings to find the sound they want A monitor function button marked MON on the front panel has been provided for the operator to listen to the sound of actual transmitted SSB audio We recommend using headphones while using the MON circuit to prevent microphone speaker feedback See the description of 18 MON in Chapter 2 There are five radio controls used for SSB transmit audio 1 Transmit bandwidth which is adjusted using the TX Filter BW control in the SSB menu 2 Low frequency rolloff adjusted with the L F Rolloff control in the SSB menu 3 Transmit equalization labeled TX EQ which is adjusted in the AUDIO submenu found by pushing the AUDIO button on the front panel 4 Mic gain adjusted via the front panel MIC button 5 Speech processing adjusted via the front panel SP button Transmit bandwidth is both the frequency response of the transmitted signa
44. anel via the XVRT KEY XVRT RF and AUX RX jacks on the transceiver rear panel Both the XVRT KEY and XVRT RF transverter support connections are activated via the TX menu Enter the TX MENU see description under TX MENU in Chapter 3 and use the MULTI knob to turn the transverter output on This will activate both the XVRT KEY jack and send RF output through the XVRT RF jack Initial release October 2005 42 VHF UHF TRANSVERTER 565 TRANSCEIVER amp 2 RXANT split COAX antenna 4 2 7 verre 989 4 SHIELDED WIRE XVRTR KEY Figure 4 7 Connecting a Transverter Basic connection for a transverter is shown in Figure 4 7 The receive side of the transverter is connected to the AUX RX jack On ORION II select VFO A for transceive operation by pressing the TX and RX buttons on the front panel in the VFO A column under the S meter Select RX ANT for MAIN RX TX on the front panel The transmit side of the transverter is connected to the XVRT RF jack XVTR RF provides a low level output RF output of approximately 15 dBm this output is ALC controlled and is adjustable from 5 to 15 dBm by using the PWR and MULTI control when the transverter output has been activated in the menus XVRT KEY is for the PTT connection of your transverter It may be desirable to employ the use of a sequencer for proper key sequencing of transverter radio linear amplifier etc
45. ange Why Because those loud signals under the 15 to 20 kHz wide roofing filter have had a negative impact on the overall performance of the receiver If a mode appropriate roofing filter is substituted for the 15 or 20 kHz wide roofing filter at the first I F the result is that close by loud signals do not compromise dynamic range or third order intercept point A 2 4 kHz crystal filter will not allow loud signals that are 3 or 5 kHz away from the target frequency compromise the overall performance of the receiver This is where every other HF transceiver that has come before ORION II is deficient Imagine how much worse the receiver performance of a competitor s radio can be in the presence of many loud signals across the band like in a major contest ORION II is equipped with a total of seven available crystal roofing filter slots Four of the seven crystal roofing filters are standard three are optional The standard roofing filters included are 20 kHz 6 kHz 2 4 kHz and 1 kHz Optional filters are available at 1 8 kHz model 2000 600 Hz model 2001 and 300 Hz model 2002 Note that the 20 kHz and 6 kHz roofing filters are of limited utility for maintaining the overall receiver performance level of a high end HF transceiver like ORION II They were included only because AM and FM operation would require them and because some operators with an interest in hi fidelity SSB audio will require receiver bandwidths high
46. appear to tell the operator it is in mute Turning or pushing in the encoder knob un mutes and restores SUB AF at the last value used before it was muted 46 RIT XIT ENCODER RIT receive incremental tuning is available to be set independently on each receiver depending on which of buttons 55 and 56 are selected Press the RIT button 48 to activate Turn the RIT knob to adjust in the range of 10 kHz XIT transmit incremental tuning is available on the transmitter in the range of 10 kHz Press the XIT button 53 to activate and de activate An annunciator on the left side of the screen will indicate XIT value To quickly clear RIT and or XIT press the RIT XIT encoder knob Values will automatically be reset to zero 47 MAIN TUNING KNOB A and 54 MAIN TUNING KNOB B The large tuning knob closest to the screen is for operation of VFO A The large tuning knob to the far right of the transceiver is for operation of VFO B 48 RIT and 53 XIT The RIT and XIT buttons are for turning the RIT and XIT controls on and off See the description of RIT and XIT operation listed under 46 above 49 and 52 VFO A M and VFO B M The VFO A gt M and VFO B gt M buttons are used for storing frequencies on either VFO into the memory system To store a frequency from VFO A to memory press VFO A gt M A submenu titled MEMORY STORE will appear at the bottom of the screen Turn the MULTI knob to scroll throug
47. bove will connect the main receiver to ANT 2 When either of the ANT 1 or ANT 2 buttons in the MAIN RX TX column is lit a receive only antenna can be substituted for the receive side of ANT 1 or ANT 2 by pushing button 6 as shown in Figure 2 1 Example With button 2 or button 4 lit press button 6 The operator will note that there are now two lighted buttons in this column either of 2 or 4 plus 6 The radio will automatically use either ANT 1 or ANT 2 for transmit and RX ANT for receive in this configuration Buttons 3 5 and 7 control the assignment of the subreceiver to each of the antennas connected to the radio The subreceiver can either share the same antenna in use for the main receiver or it can be split off to used with a separate antenna An antenna attached to ANT 1 ANT 2 or RX ANT can be used simultaneously with both receivers or they can be split off to separate receivers One receiver cannot be used with two antennas at the same time One antenna one receiver two antennas Initial release October 2005 7 two receivers One antenna two receivers are the available selections Additionally button 2 is used for performing a master reset of the transceiver See the MASTER RESET description in Chapter 4 8 13 VFO ASSIGNMENTS While dual receive transceivers are common today ORION II allows an unprecedented level of flexibility to the operator for main and subreceiver control with the VFO as
48. cal pre amp off 20 kHz and 5 kHz spacing IP2 Second Order Intercept Point 75 dBm typical LO Phase Noise Image Rejection IF Rejection 136 dBc Hz typical from 0 5 20 kHz offset 270 dB 270 dB Other Spurious Response Rejection gt 90 dB F gt 1 MHz Internal birdies Current drain RIT range S meter Reference TX RX Recovery time Noise Blankers 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA None stronger than specified sensitivity 2 A typical audio reduced 10 kHz S9 50 UV lt 20 ms Two independent noise blankers 9 MHz Hardware on off IF DSP adjustable Initial release October 2005 53 SUB RECEIVER SSB Sensitivity SSB amp CW Selectivity AM Selectivity FM Selectivity IP3 IP2 Image Rejection IF Rejection S meter Reference Recovery Time Noise Blanker TRANSMITTER Power Output Telegraphy CW amp SSB Duty Cycle AM FM AFSK PSK Duty Cycle constant carrier modes Microphone Input Impedance Microphone Sensitivity Line level Input Speech Processor TX Bandwidth TX Frequency Response TX Equalizer TX Speech Monitor SSB Carrier Suppression Unwanted Sideband Suppression Harmonic amp Spurious Outputs T R Switching CW Keyer Speed Range CW Rise amp Fall Times CW Offset 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA 0 35 uV typical for 10 dB SINAD at 2 4 kHz BW 590 IF DSP filters 100 60
49. ced here for ORION Il owners benefit Anecdotal evidence from weak signal DXers using the original ORION transceiver over the past two years has suggested that for the very weakest of signals some AGC hang may be desirable to hold the AGC level constant in the presence of varying noise As every noise situation and signal condition is unique it is possible for some operations that the weak signal rather than the most recent noise peak can hold the AGC constant and allow the very weakest of signals to be copied This will vary with the conditions and with the operator themselves for desirability A practical example from a leading low band DXer for listening to very weak signals in band noise no lightning or unusual atmospheric QRN on 160 meters is to adjust the RF GAIN control upward until normal band noise is present Set decay at a very low value e g 5 dB s and adjust hang between 0 3 and 1 0 for best signal to noise ratio Lightning QRN would be a different scenario perhaps using fast AGC with hang at zero and RFGAIN backed down to limit extraneous noise Consider the settings we have suggested for single signal DXing wider roofing filter NR if desired at a start value of 3 or higher use of programmable AGC DSP bandpass filter set at any value desired Now consider what we started with above conventional settings on a past transceiver of 250 Hz crystal filter AGC fast or off DSP NR on Let s say on Or
50. computer keyboard It is useful in this situation to be able to have both an external keyer in this case the computer and the internal keyer in the ORION II both simultaneously available The external keyer is used for contest CQ s and information while a paddle connected to the internal keyer can be used by the operator for quickly repeating necessary information Pin 3 on the AUX I O connector on the ORION II rear panel is a PTT connection In CW modes this can allow the radio to be keyed by an external device in CW mode There is a menu item located in the CW MENU titled PTT in CW as When this line item is set to key a CW signal from an external source can be injected into either the mic jack or pin 3 on the AUX I O cable on the rear of the radio Connect the output of the external keyer to pin 3 on the AUX I O connector or the PTT connection on the mic jack Connect your paddle either to the front panel or rear panel key connector and use the SP button to enable the internal keyer ORION II will now transmit CW either through the pin 3 input or using the paddles and internal keyer 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA DRAG ADJUSTMENT FOR MAIN TUNING KNOBS A AND B The two main tuning knobs have individual drag controls To adjust the drag on either tuning knob hold the silver skirt still while rotating the knob about a quarter turn There will be a gentle click feel as each knob is loosened or tighten
51. d 566 manual Initial release October 2005 16 Part 474410 Printed in USA BinRX is the unique binaural Panoramic Stereo receive feature incorporated in ORION High pass and low pass filtering combined with time delays produce a three dimensional spatial sound from a monaural audio source Panoramic Stereo can be used for the CW operator to automatically zero beat received CW signals by listening in stereo If the signal is too high or too low for the CW offset that the operator has selected the signal will be heard to the left or to the right with stereo headphones Tuning in the signal for equal audio in both ears tells the operator that the signal is zero beat and on the correct frequency The CW offset you have selected using the SPOT function see explanation for button 30 above controls at what frequency the received CW signal is centered in your stereo headphones Additionally on CW spatial dispersion makes it easier to pick out one signal among many During a CW pileup the operator can more easily and quickly pick out single callsigns from a number of callers than with mono receive audio Panoramic Stereo receive also is usable in SSB modes with the same effect Signals below or above in frequency will be heard in one side or the other of stereo headphones and when centered assure the operator they are on frequency When selecting BinRX on the menu you will notice that the head
52. d the filters will be selected or de selected at a value somewhat below that of the roofing filter For example the threshold where the 6 kHz filter switches out to the 2 4 kHz filter in AUTO mode is 2390 Hz On the screen the roofing filter is represented by a horizontal line on top of the DSP BW filter shape The line will widen or narrow as the roofing filters switch in and out It is possible to override the AUTO setting and use one specific filter at all times To do so turn the MULTI knob while Xtal Filter is is highlighted in the menu and pick a roofing filter Regardless of DSP BW setting this selected filter will be in use as the roofing filter Remember optional roofing filters must be installed and enabled Selecting a non installed filter will mute the receiver If selecting an installed optional filter that is not enabled the next highest value will be the actual filter in use Each of the 600 Hz and 300 Hz optional roofing filters used in ORION must be centered While DSP very accurately repeats from unit to unit crystal filters do not because of individual unit manufacturing tolerances Set your CW offset to desired value via the CW MENU Tune in a carrier of reasonable strength S7 is good at your CW offset Use the Xtal Filter control in the menu to select the filter you want to center Then move down to either 600 Hz C F Adj or 300 Hz C F Adj depending on your filter selection Adjust the MULTI knob for a r
53. d 56 MAIN RX control which receiver is accepting commands from the buttons surrounding the screen and from the encoders above the main tuning knob It also utilizes a hidden step size jump function that will be explained further below Many receiver functions can be set independently for each receiver The default condition is to have the MAIN RX 56 button lit Try adjusting some of the receiver controls like RIT RFGAIN BW AGC ATTN Now press the SUB RX button 55 Note that many of the settings for the items you have adjusted may change on the screen That is because you are now seeing the settings for the sub receiver on the screen and you are now ready to change values for subreceiver functions To return to main receiver functions press the MAIN RX button 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA There is also a step size jump function accessible by pressing an already lit MAIN RX or SUB RX button When tuning up and down the band it may be useful to be able to quickly jump up one step size without having to push the STEP button see description for button 31 go into the submenu come out tune go back into the STEP submenu and so forth To use the jump feature on the main receiver If the MAIN RX button is already lit press it again The annunciator on the screen next to the STEP button will now move up to the next highest step size and the letters xm will appear above the shown step size To
54. dWY 3514 LsquMd NI 2d z 54001 S9NIA3M SVNN31NV 6v QVdA3 l 8v da3MS ETV euis 9 9 Figure 5 7 Major ORION Cables Function amp Direction Sub Rx Ant In Main Rx Ant In XVERT Out Main Rx Audio Out Tx RFOut PA Temp Out PA RF Out PA RF In T voltage Out 13 8 V In 1st Rx IF Out 1st LO In 1st Tx IF In 9 MHz IF Main Sweep In 1st IF Out 3rd Tx IF In 3rd Rx IF Out Main RX LO Ref Sub Rx 3rd IF Out Sub 1st LO Ref Sub 2nd LO Ref Aux Audio In Mic Audio Power Switch S Meter CCFL Backlight DSP CPU A8 Keypad Encoder 1 Out Encoder 2 Out IF to Sweep Amp RG174 RG174 RG174 Sub Rx Main Rx Main Rx RG174 DSP CPU RG174 Lowpass 2 3 Term RG188 Lowpass RG174 Main RX 2 Term Lowpass 16 Red 9 Synth 9 MHx IF Sweep Amp Sweep Amp IF Converter DSP CPU DSP CPU Synth DSP CPU Synth Synth 1 Wht A 2 Enc1 33 Enc2 34 5 Term 5 Term A9 Pwr Dist 5V DC 2 3 Term Dsp CPU AT 35 A11 Motherboard Power amp Control Speaker Tuner RF In Tuner RF Out No Tuner Jumper A12 Conn Tuner Schematic Diagrams 2 Term PWB PWB Speaker RG188 RG188 RG188 ORION s schematic diagrams are available as Adobe pdf files on the company firmware update site located at www rfsquared com
55. ds the radio to be set for a somewhat optimum set of values to meet these criterion 1 the ability to copy both weak signals and loud signals with AGC good enough to minimize the output variability between the two 2 The minimization of loud nearby signals having an effect on overall receiver performance and 3 having an reasonably optimum start setting that will keep the operator from having to constantly adjust controls on the radio Now these goals are not common to single signal DXing At first thought it would seem that what would be good for single signal weak signal DXing would also hold true for contesting and perhaps for previous transceivers there was an element of truth to that Actually though what would be good for copying a varying ratio of signal strengths under crowded band conditions is not at all the same as copying one weak signal with a Beverage receive antenna under quiet non contest conditions Recommended start settings for CW contesting In the filter menu set Xtal Filter to AUTO This will bring in the desired mode appropriate roofing filter automatically as you adjust the DSP BW filter settings 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA across the value of the roofing filter Likely loud signals are going to be present nearby and minimizing them as a factor in overall receiver performance is paramount This is where every other radio fails under contest conditions That S9 30 dB CQer 3 kHz up
56. e CW keyer must be turned on If off the SEND buttons will not respond 21 USER 1 AND USER 2 ORION II is equipped with a total of five user profiles User profiles are like a super memory everything on the radio all settings all menu selections everything will be saved to a user profile memory Unlike traditional memories that save frequency mode bandwidth and maybe one or two other parameters The USER 1 and USER 2 buttons allow saving and recalling of user profile 1 and user profile 2 User profiles 3 4 and default 5 are accessible by pressing the RECALL button 22 To save a user profile in either USER 1 or USER 2 Press and hold the desired button for two seconds Two messages will appear on the screen STORING PARAMETER SET and then STORE COMPLETE To recall user profile 1 or 2 momentarily press and release the USER 1 or USER 2 buttons A series of messages will appear on the screen while ORION recalls stored information RECALLING PARAMETER SET RESTORING USER MENU SET RESTORING RADIO STATE and RECALL COMPLETE 22 RECALL The RECALL button has two different functions One is to allow recall of saved memories that have been entered using the 200 available traditional memories The other function is to allow the operator to quickly recall the factory defaults for Initial release October 2005 12 ORION II or to select one of the four programmable user profiles To use RECA
57. e fading effect can be somewhat compensated for This is useful not only for the weakest signals when chasing DX but for normal communication where signal levels are fairly readable but still subject to some QSB Because ORION allows you to tune two receivers with one VFO diversity reception is possible using the two receivers on two separate antennas First put both receivers on the desired amateur frequency on VFO A To do this merely press all three of the buttons in the VFO A column directly under the S meter Now both receivers and the transmitter are tuned by the VFO A tuning knob Press ANT 1 for MAIN RX TX and ANT 2 for SUB RX See Figure 4 8 MAIN RX TX 1 Qe ES ANT 2 RX ANT SUB Gag 1 Initial release October 2005 43 Figure 4 8 Diversity reception with both receivers on VFO A Main receiver and transmitter are utilizing ANT 1 Subreceiver on VFO B is utilizing ANT 2 In the AUDIO menu either combine the audio outputs of the two receivers in both headphones by selecting Both for Sub and Main RX audio or put one receiver in each ear by selecting Main Left and Sub Right The ORION Il is now set up for diversity reception with the main receiver and transmitter on ANT 1 and the subreceiver on ANT 2 For low band DXing it may be desirable to combine the outputs of the two receivers from two different receive antennas while having the transmit
58. eceived signal peak You will not have to re adjust these unless you do a subsequent master reset of the radio Initial release October 2005 35 DSP Filter Length The DSP filter length is essentially how sharp or not the DSP bandwidth filters are The higher the value indicated the better the shape factor of the DSP BW filtering The default value is 199 which is the highest setting Lower values decrease the shape factor of the filters which can improve well rounded audio sound of received SSB and AM signals at the expense of receiver selectivity Higher values sharper more selectivity on receive Lower values less sharp worse selectivity on receive but for casual SSB and AM operation with no interfering signals present in the receiver passband may be desirable 566 manual Initial release October 2005 Part 74410 Printed in USA 36 Chapter 4 OPERATION AND ACCESSORY CONNECTION EXAMPLES BASIC TRANSCEIVE OPERATION Refer back to the operating instructions in Chapter 2 for 8 13 VFO ASSIGNMENTS The most important point to consider is that VFO s are not receivers Both receivers can be assigned to one VFO if desired Typical transceive operation would be to have the main receiver and the transmitter on VFO A and the subreceiver on VFO B To do so press buttons as shown below in Figure 4 1 Under VFO A the buttons next to TX and RX are lit under VFO B the SUB RX button is lit VFO gt
59. ed Counter clockwise twisting will loosen them and clockwise twisting will increase the drag Loosen them up or increase the drag to your preference INSTALLATION OF OPTIONAL CRYSTAL ROOFING FILTERS In addition to the four stock roofing filters of 20 6 2 4 and 1 kHz there are three optional roofing filters available for the ORION II 1 8 kHz model 2000 600 Hz model 2001 and 300 Hz model 2002 Field installation of these filters is relatively simple Remove the top cover of the transceiver Facing the transceiver the filters are located at the top front left of the transceiver There is a metal shield in place over the filters held by a single screw remove this using a Phillips screwdriver The optional filters are plug ins and each filter location is marked The filters MUST be installed with the correct orientation and with the supplied insulator under each filter Incorrect orientation of filters and or leaving off the insulator under the bottom can result in damage to the transceiver Two of the pins on the bottom of the filter are grounded to the filter case two are not Look at the bottom of the optional filter Two pins are soldered to the filter case two pins are open If you are facing the front of the transceiver and holding the filter the grounded pins that are soldered to the filter case should be closest to you and the front of the radio the two ungrounded pins should be furthest away from
60. eds to be as short as possible Lengths near wavelength on any band used can be particularly troublesome when the far end is connected to earth 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA Another potential cause of distorted SSB arises when the station is in the near field of the antenna This is a problem many apartment dwellers face Distorted SSB transmit can result from chassis ground and signal ground from the microphone being tied together to a common connection This is a common problem with third party microphones Assure the chassis ground and signal ground from the microphone are separated Problem No transmit but receiver s OK Is one of the TX LED s on the buttons to the far left of the transceiver lit See the discussion of buttons 8 and 9 as described in Chapter 2 If neither of these two buttons is lit the radio will not transmit The transmitter can be disabled in the TX menu see Chapter 3 Make sure it has not been disabled Is the gain setting correct for the microphone input or AUX I O as appropriate Is the KEYING LOOP set properly for your mode of operation With no amplifier or with a non QSK amplifier the menu should indicate keying loops are turned off If either of the two keying loops are enabled and no connection is made to them the radio will not transmit Is the PWR control turned up to an appropriate value Problem No receiver s transmit OK Check the PBT setting or turn it off It
61. eiver for Weak Signal DXing and Contesting and the description of RX RX MENU elsewhere in this manual 30 SPOT ORION II is equipped with adjustable CW sidetone and autotracking CW offset This value can be adjusted in the menu system or via the front panel Pressing and holding the SPOT button will produce a tone at the value set by the operator default is 700 Hz This tone can be matched to the received tone of an on air CW signal to achieve zero beat Press and hold the SPOT button while tuning in a CW signal When the tones match you are on the proper frequency The SPOT value can be adjusted by pressing and holding the SPOT button while turning the MULTI knob It is adjustable from 300 to 1200 Hz This value is also adjustable via the menu system See the description for CW CW MENU in Chapter 3 31 STEP The tuning step size for each receiver is adjustable in seven different steps 1 10 100 Hz and 1 5 10 and 100 kHz Press STEP A submenu with the seven values will appear use buttons 28 through 34 to select a particular value STEP size is adjusted per receiver depending on which of the MAIN RX or SUB RX buttons located between the two main tuning knob is lit There is also a quick step size jump feature accessible by pressing a lit MAIN RX or 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA SUB RX button see 55 MAIN RX and 56 SUB RX 32 SWEEP The main receiver on the ORION II is equipped w
62. er than the typical 2 4 kHz communications grade roofing bandwidth would allow Certainly the use of either a 20 kHz or 6 kHz wide roofing filter has the potential to allow overall receiver performance dynamic range and third order intercept point to be seriously compromised by loud close by signals For serious receiver use like weak signal DXing and contesting a much smaller roofing bandwidth than 20 or 6 kHz is necessary In ORION II for SSB use it can be as little as 1 8 kHz for roofing For CW it can be as little as 300 Hz depending on the installation of optional filters For some recommended real world examples of how roofing filters affect overall receiver performance please look at recent ARRL Product Reviews from QST magazine where dynamic range and third order intercept are measured at 20 kHz and 5 kHz signal spacings For our competitors transceivers the 5 kHz spacing numbers are always significantly worse than the 20 kHz spacing numbers this is because of the presence of test signals under a 15 to 20 kHz wide roofing filter vs outside the filter 566 manual Initial release October 2005 Part 74410 Printed in USA POWER SIGNAL LEVEL 1 atate SATT powen 2 oo i a JK 6 3509 OF u 15 Chapter 2 ORION Il FRONT AND REAR PANEL CONTROLS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS Chapter 2 of the ORION II manual covers the various controls and connectors on
63. ersion This link will be titled with the date and the available version number of the firmware Example 10 19 05 Orion 11 Firmware Version x xxx Available For Download Connect the DB 9 serial port connector on the back of ORION II to an open serial port on your computer with a standard serial port cable From www rfsquared com download the file Note to which folder on your hard drive the file is being downloaded This file is an exe executable The executable file will have a set of step by step instructions Go to the folder where you have downloaded the exe file and double click it to execute Follow the instructions provided and send the new version of the firmware over to your transceiver Suggestions for new features for ORION II are always welcome feel free to contact us TROUBLESHOOTING While we cannot cover every possible problem here are some hints for dealing with some potential difficulties Check the obvious Is your dc power source okay Check power supply cable and connector s Is the 25 ampere fuse loose or missing Antenna problems Try a dummy load Is a proper antenna connected Is any external antenna switch connected and properly set Have you checked ORION 1 5 control settings Have you double checked ORIONI II s many control settings including those on all MENUS Initial release October 2005 49 screens for your intended mode of operation Problem No audio from recei
64. eyer or voice memories 566 manual Initial release October 2005 33 Part 474410 Printed in USA VFO A Ent and VFO B Ent allow direct Remote Pod Enc is used for the accessory frequency entry off the keypad for either 302R remote encoder keypad The 302R s VFO A or VFO B main tuning knob can be used as a duplicate of VFO A or VFO B by selecting either VFO A or VFO B on this menu line item The 302R main tuning knob can also be used for RIT XIT or PBT BW operation by selecting RIT XIT or PBT BW on this menu line item The Rem Pod Enter setting determines where a band change from the keypad is sent VFO A or VFO B The ten button keypad on the 302R accessory duplicates the band change keypad on the ORION II unless a function button has first been Line Out Src determines which receiver pushed for direct frequency entry Push 9 audio output is sent as line level to the line to change to 40m 7 to change to 160m level audio output at pin 4 on the rear panel etc Note that the 302R buttons are not AUX I O jack Choices are Ma in Sub arranged in the same numerical order as the Both keypad on the ORION II it is the location of the button in the matrix rather than the number on the button on the 302R that determines to what band the radio is changed Line Out Level determines the level of output at the pin 4 AUX I O jack Settings are High Med Low for most applications like digital modes the High setting will be
65. for the main receiver It represents a signal threshold measured in dBm The higher the value the more receive signal will be needed to break the squelch Adjust by turning the MULTI knob Sub RX Sql is the squelch threshold for the sub receiver It represents a signal threshold measured in dBm The higher the value the more receive signal will be needed to break the squelch Adjust by turning the MULTI knob PBT BW Step allows the operator to choose in what step size the PBT BW encoder selects filter bandwidths and PBT values The available choices are 10 50 and 100 Hz OTHER OTHER MENU Remote Pod Fi Remote Pod F7 Step Remote Pod TX Rem Pod Enter VFO B Ent Henu Delay off Back light High VFO A Enc Rate Slow VOX VFO B Enc Rate Slow CU RIT Rate Slow SSB RIT Rate Slow POD Enc Rate Slow The Other menu is used for ORION II functions that do not fit into one of the other menu categories Remote Pod F1 Remote Pod F2 and Remote Pod F3 refer to the control of radio functions available via the F1 F2 and F3 buttons on the accessory model 302R remote encoder keypad available for ORION Il If you do not have the 302R connected they will have no function To scroll through the available choices for each of Remote Pod F1 Remote Pod F2 and Remote Pod F3 turn the MULTI knob VFO duplicates the function of the button on the fr
66. h the available memory locations There are 200 available memories At the bottom of the screen there are four choices available EXIT VFO A gt M VFO B gt M DELETE Press one of the four buttons below the four choices to select VFO A gt M stores the frequency and mode from VFO A to a selected memory channel VFO B gt M stores the frequency and mode from VFO B to a selected memory channel Initial release October 2005 21 DELETE is to delete a stored memory with no other action taken EXIT is to exit the MEMORY STORE submenu Note that pressing either VFO A gt M or VFO B gt M button allows the operator to actually store either VFO s information as a memory This was done so if the operator accidentally pressed the VFO A gt M button when the intention was VFO B gt M and vice versa the memory could still be stored as desired 50 and 51 LCK The LCK buttons are to lock the main tuning knobs for VFO A and or VFO B Press the left hand LCK button 50 and the VFO A tuning knob to the left is locked An amber LED will light inside the button indicating it is locked Press the right hand LCK button 51 and the VFO B tuning knob to the left is locked An amber LED will light inside the button indicating it is locked 52 VFO B gt M See description for button 49 53 XIT See description for button 48 54 MAIN TUNING KNOB B See description for knob 47 55 SUB RX and 56 MAIN RX Buttons 55 SUB RX an
67. hain 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA turn the value low and the receiver gain comes up as may signal levels and extraneous noise Decay is used to determine how fast the IF gain increases in the absence of a signal above the threshold value The hang value for FAST MED and SLOW is adjustable from 0 to 10 92 seconds The threshold value for FAST MED and SLOW is adjustable from 0 37 uV to 191 48 uV The decay values available are FAST 80 200 dB second MED 20 80 dB second SLOW 5 20 dB second The factory default values for FAST MED and SLOW are FAST hang 0 00 decay 80 dB s threshold 3 03 uV MED hang 0 00 decay 40 dB s threshold 3 03 uV SLOW hang 0 00 decay 10 dB s threshold 3 03 uV These default settings apply to both the main and sub receivers Any default value for a given AGC setting FAST MED and SLOW can be instantly restored to factory default value merely by pressing the MULTI knob encoder toward the front panel while the parameter is highlighted in the menu The PROG programmable AGC setting provides full adjustment of all parameters in the AGC system In addition to the hang and threshold values being fully adjustable as they are with FAST MED and SLOW the programmable AGC setting allows the decay rate to be adjusted over its full range from 5 to 2000 dB second AGC is an important characteristic of overall receiver performance for contesting and weak signal DXing Please als
68. hat the case of the microphone also be tied to chassis ground on the transceiver via pin 5 This is to help assure stray RF does not have a path to be coupled into transmit audio Some microphones are not wired to separate microphone signal ground from chassis ground and the two are tied together We recommend separate pins for use for mic negative signal and chassis ground as shown in Figure 2 4 15 PHONES DO NOT PLUG A MONO PHONE PLUG two circuit INTO THE ORION Il FRONT PANEL PHONES JACK UNLESS PROPERLY WIRED AS DESCRIBED The PHONES jack is optimally for stereo headphones ORION II uses left and right stereo outputs from two audio amps A mono plug will short circuit one of the two audio channels causing damage to the radio Use a stereo 3 circuit plug such as one that comes packed with your radio Using stereo headphones lets you take full advantage of ORION II s advanced features Audio from the front panel phones jack to a stereo connector is left tip right ring ground sleeve Mono headphones can be used with ORION Il provided they are wired correctly with a stereo plug and the headphone audio settings in the AUDIO menu are set to the appropriate values You can use left side audio output to mono headphones by wiring the headphones as shown in Figure 2 5 See 36 AUDIO later in the manual for adjusting the headphone output for mono headphones as wired below GROUND SLEEVE NO CONNECTION
69. he radio above the encoder Press the encoder to switch between BW and PBT The BW and PBT values are shown per receiver on the screen BW is adjustable from 100 to 6000 Hz PBT is adjustable or 2 5 kHz from center PBT 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA 4950 51 52 53 can easily be cleared to zero When the PBT LED is lit next to the encoder press the encoder in and hold for two seconds The PBT value will revert to zero BW and PBT step size is adjustable in the menu system in 10 50 and 100 Hz steps 10 Hz is the default setting BW and PBT can also be set to track each other automatically on each receiver in the menu system See the description of RX MENU in Chapter 3 42 MULTI ENCODER The MULTI knob is used for control of a variety of transceiver values as assigned by buttons pressed by the operator 43 CUT LO CUT ORION II has a dual function HI CUT LO CUT control that modifies the BW function HI CUT and LO CUT referred to audio frequency functions allow the operator to move one edge of the filter at a time towards or away from the center of the passband Initial release October 2005 20 This can be especially useful for rejecting adjacent frequency interference The HI LO CUT control changes its function between HI CUT and LO CUT when the operator briefly pushes the knob toward the panel LED indicators show which function the knob is performing at any time The independent HI
70. hone and other settings available to send the transmitter into distorted SSB output Use the MON function to listen to what you are transmitting and avoid this The speech processor used in the ORION II is a true RF compressor DSP generated Human voices have peak to average ratios 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA as high as 15 dB At 100 watts PEP output the average output power might be as little as 3 watts RF compression raises the average output power and tends to improve intelligibility by bringing out subtle parts of speech With a digitally generated RF speech processor we have the advantage of calculating the RF envelope before the modulation is performed Microphone audio is sampled and converted to an analytic signal and an equation is used to compute the envelope Note on wide SSB transmit bandwidths Audio fidelity generally improves with the use of wider SSB transmit filtering Using a 3 0 kHz or higher bandwidth will have a more well rounded audio response than a narrower bandwidth As transmit bandwidth widens so does the potential for interference with stations using adjacent frequencies Part 97 of the FCC regulations governing amateur radio operation does not specify a maximum transmit bandwidth usable by amateurs for SSB communication However FCC regulation 97 307 a requires amateur stations not to occupy more bandwidth than is necessary for the emission type being transmitted in accordance w
71. ining the 3 1 ratio Sidetone Pitch is the CW offset from carrier that is used for listening to CW on the ORION Turn the MULTI knob to adjust This value is also adjustable from the front panel while pressing and holding the SPOT button and turning the MULTI knob simultaneously Also see the description of 30 SPOT in Chapter 2 CW Rise Fall allows the operator to adjust the rise and fall time of the transmitting CW envelope for more or less rise time The adjustable values are 3 ms to 10 ms depending on whether the internal keyer or external keying is used and the speed at which the internal keyer is set The default value is 5 ms Lower values like 3 ms will result in a harder keying sound with a quicker slope from keying initiation to full envelope and back Higher values result in more gentler slopes for the CW transmit envelope on the and break and result in a softer transmitted CW note For the internal keyer 3 to 10 ms is available at speeds up to 30 WPM Past 30 WPM the available values to 5 ms Keying at softer rise and fall times above 30 WPM can result in mushy non definitive sounding CW transmit Initial release October 2005 30 For external keying the rise and fall times available are 3 ms to 5 ms regardless of the keyer speed Key PTT in SSB determines whether or not the ORION can be put into SSB transmit mode by a closure to the front or rear panel key
72. ion you ve put in the 300 Hz roofing filter put the DSP BW at 100 Hz turned the AGC to fast or off put the DSP NR on 1 and then went to copy a single weak CW signal on the low bands Knowing what you now know what is the likely result Not much chance that desired signal is going to be as copyable or copyable at all as it would be with setting the transceiver to take it to its full capabilities Initial release October 2005 46 To summarize for weak signal single signal DXing Use the programmable AGC settings in the table above adjusting if needed for each situation to enhance weak signal copy Use the narrow roofing filters only if a loud signal is close enough to warrant it Gain does not vary for DSP bandpass filters use any value down to 100 Hz you feel comfortable with For weak CW signals either leave NR off or start NR at a setting of 3 or 4 for quicker adaptation Make sure the narrow roofing filters if you choose to use them are centered using the C F controls in the menu Make sure the signal you are listening to is zero beat at the CW offset you have selected Contest operation is a little different Generally contesters will not want to be fiddling with controls during the course of the contest like DSP NR AGC etc unless it s to quickly adjust some parameter for a given situation The needs of the contester are somewhat different from the single signal DXer The contester nee
73. ipped with a series of menus each clearly labeled for various transceiver settings Most often used functions are available on the transceiver front panel via buttons and knobs Menus are used for items for which only an occasional or one time adjustment is needed To access the MENU system press the MENUS button located to the upper right hand corner of the radio screen Figure 3 1 Menu Screen Internal Tuner disabled on Transmitter Keying Loop 1 off Keying Loop 2 EXT T R Delay 1 EXT T R Delay 2 20 X Transverter off 160H Antenna Antenna Antenna Antenna Antenna Antenna Antenna Antenna Antenna Antenna A menu screen as shown above in Figure 3 1 will appear There are seven selectable menus accessible after pressing the MENUS button To the right side of the screen there are seven choices TX CW VOX RX Other SSB Filtr Each of these menus can be accessed by pressing the corresponding button next to the right edge of the screen In Figure 3 1 a button was pressed to access the TX menu The TX annunciator on the screen is highlighted and the menu options for TX are shown in text on the Screen In each menu to scroll through the available choices on the screen turn the large main tuning knob VFO closest to the radio Screen For each line item to change the values turn the MULTI knob To exit the menu system and return to radio operation press the MENUS button again 566 manua
74. ith a real time band sweep display A separate adjustment in the menus allows for the sweep range to be adjusted in five different increments the default is 72 kHz See the description in Chapter 3 under RX RX MENU Press the SWEEP button A display of activity will appear at the bottom of the screen updating several times per second The center of the sweep scope has 0 above it to indicate kHz offset from center where a signal appears The other numbers appearing at the top of the sweep scope to the left and right of the 0 are the distance in kHz from the dial frequency To tune to a signal seen on the spectrum scope turn the main tuning knob on the main receiver towards the signal seen on the scope If the signal is to the left on the screen turn the knob counterclockwise downward in frequency If the signal is shown to the right turn the knob clockwise upward in frequency 33 AGC ORION II has five selectable AGC settings that can be used independently on each receiver The available options are OFF SLOW MED FAST and PROG To select AGC setting press the AGC button to cycle through the available choices AGC settings of SLOW MEDIUM FAST and PROGRAMMABLE have a number of parameters that are user adjustable to place AGC action exactly where the operator desires See the description in chapter 3 under RX RX MENU for detail 34 ATTN ORION II is equipped with a receive attenuator that can be
75. ith good amateur practice Regulation 97 307 b requires that emissions outside the necessary bandwidth must not cause splatter interference to operations on adjacent frequencies While these are broad regulations subject to interpretation the responsibility for complying with the regulations rests with the operator Using an SSB transmit bandwidth wider than necessary for communications and causing interference to adjacent stations while doing so is specifically what these regulations are addressing In summary what may be an acceptable bandwidth on a given band at a given time may not be on another band at another time See Figure 4 6 for some initial settings for various microphones Remember your results will vary and these are just suggested starting points Initial release October 2005 41 pm pm Input Input MIC AUX TX Source pu E Gain Gain EQ zero 6 dB zero Ten Tec Desk Mic Sound Card PSK31 zero 14 dB Interface Sound Card MFSK zero Interface Figure 4 6 Initial Suggested Microphone Settings SETTING UP ORION Il FOR AM TRANSMIT The same factors that affect SSB transmit also come into play for AM transmit operation as well Speech processor low end rolloff TX bandwidth mic gain and TX EQ are all used for AM operation as well Transmit bandwidth in AM operation is doubled from that shown in the SSB menu AM transmit bandwidth is still set from the SSB menu but the value selected is doubled
76. l DXing may be of use but setting the most optimal AGC setting for any one signal is not always the most practical during a contest Setting programmable AGC at 0 00 or 0 04 hang 20 dB s decay and 1 uV threshold is a good starting point but individual operators Will want to vary them according to taste and to account for what band you re operating at the moment Where do I set the DSP NR Obviously with signals coming in and out if you choose to use NR it should be at a higher setting Initial release October 2005 47 like 3 or 4 to allow very quick adaptation of each appearing signal Setting it very high to start could result in signal distortion particularly on SSB but setting the value too low may not allow it to act quickly enough on the weaker signals There is another choice of course and that is to simply leave it off and with the ORION II s receiver capabilities individual operators may find this to be the best choice of all Remember like all adaptive DSP noise reduction sometimes it helps sometimes does nothing sometimes hinders It all depends on signal and noise at that particular moment Each operator will use or not use it to taste EXTERNAL CW OUTPUT PLUS CW KEYER OPERATION FROM PADDLES Some contest logging programs use computer generated CW for transmission of contest data CQ s reports etc but do not employ the ability to send CW through any device other than input from the
77. l and the amount of spectrum occupied by that signal Typical communications grade audio for SSB is in the 2 4 to 2 7 kHz range Some Initial release October 2005 39 hi fi SSB enthusiasts have been experimenting with larger transmit bandwidths in an effort to improve the quality of audio transmitted and ORION II has been provided with the ability to transmit on SSB with a maximum bandwidth of 3 9 kHz Please see the note toward the end of this section about wide SSB transmit bandwidths and their potential ramifications Set the TX Filter BW in the SSB menu to an appropriate value based on your operating preferences For communications grade audio we recommend starting the ORION II transmit bandwidth at 2 55 kHz 2550 Hz For more well rounded transmit audio start the transmit bandwidth at 3 0 kHz 3000 Hz The ORION II default value for this setting is 3000 Hz The next control to adjust is L F Rolloff also found in the SSB menu L F Rolloff refers to low frequency rolloff This control interacts with the TX Filter BW to determine your frequency response For example if the TX Filter BW is set to 3000 Hz and L F Rolloff is set to 150 Hz the response envelope for your transmitted SSB signal is a low of 150 Hz and a high of 3150 Hz for a total bandwidth of 3000 Hz Using the same 3000 Hz TX Filter BW setting if the L F Rolloff is changed to 50 Hz the response envelope is now a low of 50 Hz to a high of 30
78. n To use the full break in keying loop it must be enabled from the MENUS The keying loop is turned on and off via the TX submenu in the MENUS Note If the loop is turned on and no connections are made it will prevent the ORION II from transmitting See Chapter 4 for a complete description on interfacing a linear to the ORION II TX EN can also act as a transmit inhibit input if it is desirable to prevent ORION II from transmitting until other station accessories have been switched Example The last item keyed from a sequencer used for VHF transverter operation To use the loop in this manner turn the keying loop on in the MENUS Connect the inhibit line to the TX EN jack The ORION II will not transmit until a closure to ground appears at the TX EN jack 70 13 8 VDC This jack provides 13 8 Vdc for connection of accessory equipment A maximum of 2 amps current draw is possible The jack is equipped with a thermal shut off autoreset 2 ampere fuse The jack has voltage present only when transceiver power is turned on 71 AUX RX This RCA style phono connector is for connection of a receive only antenna This antenna can be used to transceive with either ANT 1 or ANT 2 being used as the transmit antenna merely by selecting the appropriate button on the front panel see description of buttons 2 through 7 on the front of the radio 72 XVRT KEY and 73 XVTR RF XVRT KEY is transmit keyline for external transve
79. n only frequency information will be copied between the VFO s See 8 13 VFO ASSIGNMENTS elsewhere in the manual for a description of how receivers are assigned to VFO s Additionally the A B button is used to change the default VFO for band changing with the keypad Next to the two frequency displays at the extreme left of the screen are 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA the A and B annunciators One of the two will be highlighted in reverse text to indicate it is the entry VFO for the band change keypad To change press and hold the A B button for two seconds Please note that the default is for VFO A and powering off the transceiver will revert it to the default Initial release October 2005 23 66 68 72 70 71 73 76 E 61 62 2 une spare our 13 8V FUSE 25A iF t 1 181 5 64 TEN TEC MODEL 565 MADE IN USA 65 67 69 74 75 61 ANT 1 ORION II is equipped with three antenna connectors two for transceive one for receive only ANT 1 is for connection of a transceive antenna Nominal impedance is 50 ohms The optional automatic antenna tuner if installed uses the ANT 1 connector Connect a suitable antenna to this jack fed with 50 ohm coaxial cable This antenna is selected for use by the operator by pressing buttons on the front panel see description of buttons 2 through 7 earlier in the manual Also see the descripti
80. n of 49 and 52 VFO A gt M and VFO B gt M in Chapter 2 and the profile memories stored in the USER 1 4 locations see 21 USER 1 and USER 2 in Chapter 2 Pressing YES by utilizing the AN button will clear out any previous user entered data Pressing NO by utilizing the RECALL button will restore ORION II to default settings without disturbing the user memories If you answer the Clear User Settings prompt with YES ORION II will then bring up a prompt reading Clear Filter Settings to the screen These settings pertain to the centering of the optional 600 and 300 Hz crystal filters See FILTR FILTER MENU in Chapter 3 If you have these filters installed and centered you will probably want to answer NO to avoid repeating the process UPDATING ORION Il OVER THE INTERNET One of the revolutionary features of the ORION II is the ability to upgrade any 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA existing transceiver to the latest version of the radio To check what version of the firmware you presently have installed in ORION Il either read the screen when first powering on the transceiver or with the power on press and hold the MENUS button for two seconds Ten Tec s firmware update site is located on the Internet at URL www rfsquared com To upgrade your transceiver visit the www rfsquared com web site and click on Get The Latest For Your ORION II A link will be available with the latest firmware v
81. n the rear panel 75 SPARE This is an open jack provided for future use or for custom modifications made by the user 76 BAND DATA 1 and 77 BAND DATA 2 These are 15 pin receptacles used for Switching accessory devices BAND DATA 1 corresponds to ANT 1 and AMP KEY 1 or TX OUT TX EN 1 BAND DATA 2 corresponds to ANT 2 and AMP KEY 2 or TX OUT TX EN 2 They contain open collector active low lines for 5 to 13 volt control of amplifiers and other devices to be Switched by amateur band selection The external load should not apply more than 13 8V output inactive nor should it draw more than 250 mA output active BAND DATA 1 and BAND DATA 2 outputs are controlled by the ORION II transmit frequency Initial release October 2005 26 Figure 2 17 Band Data Connector Pin Outs 80 AUX AUX I O Figure 2 19 Rear Panel AUX I O pin out Figure 2 18 below is a sample example of controlling a relay from the individual pins The AUX I O jack is an 8 pin DIN receptacle used for interfacing accessory device Sd requiring audio in out connections FSK connections and or an auxiliary PTT input BAND DATA 1 OCBANDIDATA Z An 8 pin DIN connector p n 46172 and an CONNECTOR LM accessory cable p n 46176 have been Similar connections provided as part of the ORION II packing kit for other bands Cy N for easier connection of the AUX I O jack to TO SWITCHED C DEVICE ON 40M accessory equipment The cable i
82. nd has a load impedance range of 6 to 800 ohms up to 10 1 SWR The tuner can be enabled or disabled from the menu system The default condition is to have the tuner enabled To enable or disable press MENUS then select the TX menu The first line item in the TX menu is Internal Tuner Use the MULTI knob to turn the tuner on or off The tuner is activated by pressing the TUNE button on the front panel The rig will transmit a keydown CW carrier at approximately 20 watts output The tuner will activate and tune When finished the CW carrier will stop and tuned will appear on the screen just above the sub receiver s meter where SWR is normally shown The tuner will usually stop at a value of 1 5 1 SWR or lower Occasionally it may present a slightly higher SWR after tuning This is normal and the transceiver will still transmit at full output power with no foldback The tuner does not automatically reactivate when presented with a higher SWR after changing frequency If the tuner was tuned on 14 025 MHz and you later moved to 14 200 MHz the tuner may require re tuning and can be activated again with the TUNE feature However as the internal tuner in ORION II is an L network assuring broadband matching you may find the 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA range of the tuner when tuned to be larger than that found on HF transceivers from other manufacturers that use a Pi or T network tuning arrangement There is no
83. ndicate a gentler slope The same curves apply to both receiver equalizers and to the transmitter equalizer The displayed setting of the equalizers refers to the amplitude in dB at about 100 Hz relative to the highest frequency in the passband For example the 20 dB setting produces 20 dB at 100 Hz relative to 0 dB at 6 kHz Initial release October 2005 17 Figure 2 11 Minus 20 dB Equalization 28k 56k Audio Frequency Figure 2 13 Plus 20 dB Equalization 28k 58k Please note that there are several factors that interact for ORION II SSB transmit audio Type of microphone sound of the operators voice distance from the microphone the TX EQ settings and the TX filter BW and LF rolloff settings as selected in the SSB menu See the section of Chapter 4 titled FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE SOUND OF SSB TRANSMIT AUDIO AND THEIR ADJUSTMENT for a description in more detail how to most optimally adjust ORION II SSB transmit audio This section of Chapter 4 also includes a chart with some suggested settings to get you started 37 VOX Used for turning VOX operation on and off for transmit on voice modes VOX trip anti VOX and VOX hang settings are adjusted through the menu system When the VOX button is pressed the annunciator will appear on the screen just below the button If no on annunciator is shown VOX operation is disabled 38 S TONE Sidetone volume for CW operation Press the S TON
84. nna connected to ANT 2 for transmit and the receive only antenna connected to AUX RX for receive CW CW MENU Figure 3 2 CW Menu Internal Keyer CW Weighting Sidetone Pitch Rise Fall SSB CW Jack PTT PTT in CH as Keyer To select the CW menu press the button immediately adjacent to the screen next to the CW selection labeled AGC CW QSK Delay allows the operator to slow the QSK action of the transceiver in CW 566 manua Part 74410 Printed in USA transmit A higher value represents more transmit receive delay between individual transmitted CW characters This delay control also controls the delay of the QSK amplifier keying loops and the delay set for the outputs at AMP KEY 1 and AMP KEY 2 The default value is 20 Internal Keyer can be turned on and off via the menu system if desired Please note that when the radio is ina CW mode that the keyer can also be turned on and off from the front panel by pressing SP See the description of 19 SP in Chapter 2 CW Weighting refers to the 3 1 dit dah ratio employed by the CW keyer for transmitting Morse code The length of each dah sent is three times that of a dit relative to the spacing between the elements The default value is 100 with an adjustable range of 50 to 150 As weighting increases in percentage dits and dahs become longer in length maintaining the 3 1 ratio As weighting percentage decreases dits and dahs become shorter mainta
85. o 0 dB Generally the TX Filter BW L F Rolloff and TX EQ controls are set once and not adjusted again unless you change microphones or want to experiment with different SSB sound The two most used SSB transmit controls will be mic gain accessible from the MIC button on the front panel and the speech processor accessible from the SP button on the front panel Mic gain is set by pressing the MIC button and talking into the microphone When you have reached proper ALC the red ALC LED located next to the S meter on the front of the radio will flash on voice peaks Adjust the mic gain upward until the ALC light is flashing on and off while you are transmitting Different microphones will require more or less gain The Ten Tec model 706 communications desk microphone will require a small amount of gain Microphones like those manufactured by Heil Sound may require more gain This is normal Speech processing SP is provided to give the operator more punch to the transmitted signal Speech processing increases the average amplitude relative to the peaks for an increase in average power transmitted Press the SP button if desired and use the MULTI knob to adjust the speech processing level Speech processing is generally not used for higher fidelity SSB audio its use is primarily for added intelligibility for communications grade SSB audio It is also possible with high levels of speech processing and combinations of microp
86. o read the section in Chapter 4 of this manual titled Optimal Uses of ORION II Receiver for Weak Signal DXing and Contesting PBT Track and BW Track are used to simultaneously set the PBT and BW values for each receiver with one turn of the MULTI knob The default value is off allowing the PBT and BW values to be adjusted separately by receiver If it is desirable to adjust both PBT and BW on both receivers at the same time this control can be set to Additionally BW setting can be copied between VFO A and VFO B when using the A gt B B gt A or A B buttons on the front panel if this value is set to on default is that BW information is not copied between Initial release October 2005 32 VFOs when frequency information is exchanged Hardware NB allows the hardware noise blanker available for the main receiver to be turned on and off This additional noise blanking system for the main receiver only can either be used together with or independently of the software noise blanker When activated the area just above the NB button on the bottom of the radio screen will show the annunciator H next to any value set for the software noise blanker The hardware noise blanker can also be activated without going into the menu system by pressing and holding the NB button for two seconds Also see the description of the software noise blanker in Chapter 2 under 23 NB Main RX Sql is the squelch threshold
87. ons for 62 ANT 2 and 71 AUX RX 62 ANT 2 Like ANT 1 ANT 2 is a transceive antenna jack with nominal impedance of 50 ohms The optional automatic antenna tuner if installed is not operable for an antenna connected to ANT 2 Connect a suitable antenna to this jack fed with 50 ohm coaxial cable This antenna is selected for use by the operator by pressing buttons on the front panel see description of buttons 2 through 7 earlier in the manual Also see the descriptions for 61 ANT 1 and 71 AUX RX 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA BAND DATA 1 BAND DATA 2 Initial release October 2005 78 79 80 ext KEY AUX vo REMOTE SERIAL DATA 82 81 63 DC IN This is the dc input connector ORION requires 23 amps at 13 8 Vdc nominal for 100 watts output power The supply voltage can range from 12 8 to 15 0 Vdc but 13 8 Vdc is the optimum value We recommend using the included dc power cable P N 86095 We have also included spare connector pins P N 41020 and a spare two pin power connector shell P N 35165 for building your own cable The power supply plug will attach in only one direction to the polarized two pin dc connector on ORION s rear panel Use no less than 14 gauge 12 recommended stranded wires for three foot long connections to accommodate the high current demand during transmit Use heavier gauge wire for longer power supply leads
88. ont panel see 60 A gt B B gt A A B in Chapter 2 This flips the two frequencies shown copying A to B and B to A Step duplicates the function of the STEP button on the front panel see 31 STEP in Chapter 2 Unlike the front panel STEP button the step sizes available are selected via repeat pushing of the F1 F2 or F3 button depending on which is being used The radio will cycle through the seven available step sizes Mode duplicates the function of the MODE button on the front panel see 27 MODE in chapter 2 Unlike the front panel MODE button the step sizes available are selected via repeat pushing of the F1 F2 or F3 button depending on which is being used The radio will cycle through the seven available modes Sweep on off duplicates the function of the SWEEP button on the front panel see 32 SWEEP in Chapter 2 The real time spectrum sweep on the main receiver can be turned on and off USER 1 and USER 2 are duplicates of the front panel USER 1 and USER 2 buttons see 21 USER 1 and USER 2 in Chapter 2 These allow retrieval of the profile Pe Display oe that are stored in USER 1 and Remote Pod Enc VFO A Ee ME Hoan Send 1 Send 2 and Send 3 duplicates Filtr of the SEND 1 SEND 2 and SEND 3 buttons found on the front of the ORION Figure 3 6 Other Menu see 20 SEND 1 SEND 2 SEND 3 in chapter 2 They are used for sending memory information stored in either the CW k
89. or longer power supply leads NOTE always enable the power source first and then the transceiver If a generator or alternator supports the dc source always turn off the transceiver before starting or shutting off the dc source equipment These recharging devices often generate large voltage spikes that can damage the transceiver A WORD ABOUT GROUNDING A good ground system is essential for optimum operation of any HF transmitter The best solution is to connect all the station equipment chassis together using a heavy gauge of flat ground braid Use a short length of braid to connect to a ground rod If you are not using a linear amplifier a less ideal ground may suffice A ground connection to a copper cold water pipe was often suitable but that is now a violation of the National Electrical Code Be aware that many modern water connections use plastic pipe and are not suitable ground connections Antenna type and its proximity to the station are also factors in choosing ground methods With good resonant antennas located away from the station the AC ground in your house wiring might be adequate HOW IS ORION II DIFFERENT FROM OTHER HIGH PERFORMANCE HF TRANSCEIVERS ORION II is different from HF transceivers that have come before it The original 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA Initial release October 2005 ORION transceiver pioneered the use of mode appropriate selectable crystal roofing filters at the
90. or no distortion and desired sound use the monitor Press the MON button The volume of monitor level is expressed as a value from 1 to 100 of available Monitor is available through either headphones or via the speaker 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA The MON function is also usable in FSK mode for monitoring of transmitted tones 19 SP SP has two different functions depending on which mode the operator has selected In SSB modes the SP control is used for speech processing In LSB or USB mode press the SP button to turn the speech processor on and off When on use the MULTI knob to adjust from a value of 1 to 9 Higher values represent more processing Please note on the highest settings of 8 and 9 that it is relatively easy to send the radio into SSB transmit distortion depending on where the mic gain and other TX controls are set Use the monitor function to listen to your transmitted audio The SP button is used for keyer speed control in CW modes Press the SP button when in LCW or UCW mode to activate the CW keyer Speed control is 10 to 50 WPM 20 SEND FUNCTIONS ORION is equipped with three CW memories and three voice memories ORION II will retain three on each mode for a total of six An asterisk appears on the ORION II screen just to the right of each button when a SEND memory has been recorded To record a message in a voice mode in SEND 1 or SEND 2 Press and hold the appropriate
91. otch filter are user adjustable When pressing the notch button the center frequency value with the C annunciator will appear Example C 500Hz would be a 500 Hz center frequency The center frequency is variable from 20 to 4080 Hz in 10 50 or 100 Hz steps adjustable in the menu using the PBT BW step size control While the C value is shown press the NOTCH button again to change the display to notch filter width An annunciator marked W with the notch width value will be shown Example W 250Hz is a notch filter width of 250 Hz Turn the MULTI knob to adjust the width value Pressing the NOTCH button when the W value is shown will turn off the notch filter 26 AN ORION II is equipped with an automatic notch filter for notching out carriers in voice 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA modes Multiple carriers will be notched by the automatic filter To activate press the AN button Higher values indicate more aggressive action by the autonotch for suppressing undesired carriers 27 MODE Pushing the MODE button allows selection of the various operating modes for the transceiver Press the MODE button to bring up the mode selection menu Along the right side of the screen in descending order will be the available mode selections Each mode selection will correspond to one of the buttons numbered 28 through 34 in Figure 2 1 at the beginning of Chapter 2 Example to select USB press MODE then pres
92. output like the CW keying output from popular contest logging 566 manual Initial release October 2005 27 Part 74410 Printed in USA software or for PTT control of the radio in CW modes Pin 4 is line level audio output Which receiver s are output to here and the level of audio sent to the jack are controlled by the Line Out Src and Line Out Level commands in the Other menu Pin 5 and Pin 6 have no connection Pin 7 is the FSK mark space input 5 volts 1 mark 0 volts 0 space See FSK OPERATION section in Chapter 4 Pin 8 has no connection 81 REMOTE The REMOTE jack is used for connection of the model 302R accessory remote encoder keypad allowing armchair tuning and control of transceiver functions 82 SERIAL DATA The serial data connector is used for both loading Flash ROM updates into the transceiver and for computer control of radio One of the great features about ORION is that the latest version of the radio is always available from our firmware update website Complete computer control of the ORION is possible via the SERIAL DATA connector A programmers reference guide and the latest version of the radio firmware are located on Ten Tec s firmware update site at www rfsquared com Brief instructions on firmware updating your transceiver are provided in Chapter 4 566 manual Initial release October 2005 Part 74410 Printed in USA 28 Chapter 3 MENU SYSTEM ORION II is equ
93. phone settings for Left and Right will also change to whichever receiver you have selected Panoramic Stereo receive for When BinRX is set to off Left and Right Will revert to earlier values set by the operator ORION II also provides audio equalization for both receivers and for the transmitter They enable tailoring audio frequency response for greater effectiveness and to accommodate your preferences The TX EQ transmit equalizer establishes a specific audio profile for your transmitted 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA audio from either the MIC or AUX audio input sources The TX EQ is selectable in 1 dB steps from high pitched at 20 to essentially flat response at to 0 dB to very bassy at 20 dB Press button 30 and turn the MULTI knob to adjust values upward or downward TX EQ can also be adjusted upwards in 1 dB increments by pushing button 30 The MULTI knob can adjust the values up or down RX EQ main receiver equalization works the same way More treble or bass response from main receiver audio can be had by adjusting this selection with button 29 and the MULTI knob SUBEQ subreceiver equalization is identical in operation to RX EQ except it is used for sub receiver audio Press button 28 and use the MULTI knob to adjust The graphs in Figures 2 11 2 12 and 2 13 show the response curves in the center and at the extremes of the equalization controls Lower numbers of decibels i
94. pped with the gain reduction The top end of the available range of the RF GAIN control which is still set at the highest value is now limited by the threshold value rather than the entire actual available range of the receive chain The crucial part is adjusting decay and threshold Decay is used to determine how fast the IF gain increases in the absence of a signal above the threshold value Fora Initial release October 2005 45 conventional setting like fast either on ORION Il or any other transceiver the AGC can actually clip both a weak signal and the noise Want an example Tune to a point on the band where there is no signal only band noise Set AGC hang at 0 00 threshold at 37 uV and then start decay rate at 5 dB s Turn it up to 2000 dB s fastest setting Hear the background noise change That s AGC clipping the noise at the fast decay setting If there s a weak signal in there at that level you guessed it the signal gets clipped too How to use the programmable AGC for optimum performance for weak signal DXing There are two possibilities For each set hang value at 0 00 or 0 04 The first example we ll call quick decay variable gain Set the decay to 60 dB s which is still fairly fast and the threshold at 37 uV while listening to a weak signal As you increase the threshold to higher values it is possible that the weak signal will come out of the noise as the system gain decreases and
95. provides hang time for a non QSK linear amplifier that has been connected to the AMP KEY 2 jack on the rear of the ORION II This will prevent the amp from dropping out between words of a CW or SSB transmission Also see the description of 68 AMP KEY 2 in chapter 2 Transverter enables low level RF output from the XVRT RF jack on the rear of the transceiver When turned on no RF at regular power output will be transmitted Initial release October 2005 29 through the ANT 1 or ANT 2 connectors The XVRT KEY jack for keying of the transverter is also activated when this menu selection is turned to on Also see the transverter connection and operation description in Chapter 4 The next 10 line items correspond to automatic antenna selection per band ORION II provides the ability for the radio to automatically select an antenna combination when the band change keypad is used to change amateur bands The available options are Ant1 Ant2 Ant1 RX Ant2 RX and The dashed line represents no change and when changing to a band marked as such the radio will retain the previous antenna selection before the band change was made Ant1 and Ant2 automatically selects the antenna connected to ANT 1 or ANT 2 on the rear panel for transceive operation Ant1 RX will select both the antenna connected to ANT 1 for transmit and the receive only antenna connected to AUX RX for receive Ant2 RX will select both the ante
96. r recording will be transmitted To record a message in a voice mode in SEND 3 Follow the same instructions as for SEND 1 or SEND 2 SEND 3 s message can be up to 28 1 seconds in length but cannot be retained in memory by using the SAVE button after recording This memory will erase after the transceiver is powered off To record a message in CW mode in SEND 1 SEND 2 or SEND 3 Press and hold the appropriate button A submenu titled CW MEMORY KEYER CONTROL will appear at the bottom of the screen Please note CW memories can only be recorded using the internal keyer There are four options EXIT RECORD PLAY and DELETE The four buttons below these options numbers 22 through 25 are used for these functions Unlike voice memories all 3 CW memories are automatically saved to memory when recorded and will retain after powering off the transceiver To record a message in CW mode press RECORD button 23 and begin sending CW The words EXIT RECORD PLAY and DELETE will momentarily disappear 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA and the word STOP will appear above button 23 When you have completed your recording press button 23 to end STOP To check your CW memory off the air without transmitting press PLAY button 24 To delete the CW memory press DELETE button 25 To exit the CW memory keyer control menu press EXIT button 22 When playing your CW message on the air using SEND 1 SEND 2 or SEND 3 th
97. receiver s 1 local oscillator to Cables 23 and 21 carry these signals Signal Path Transmitter The TX signal path has the MIC and CW key keyer jacks on A8 as sources Other sources the KEY and AUX I O jacks on A12 The audio signals from MIC and AUX I O travel via cables 25 and 24 respectively Keying lines get to A7 via A11 From the DSP cable 17 carries keyed or modulated 3 IF to 5 The 9 MHz output from the IFCNV feeds A3 via cable 13 The resulting HF signal can go to the XVRTR RF 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA jack on the I O board through cable 3 or to the PA A2 via cable 8 From A2 the path to the LPF board is via cable 7 Cable 27 brings the high level amateur band HF to AO the I O board On the I O board the signal is routed to the selected ANT1 or ANT2 RF output connector If itis installed the optional internal automatic antenna tuner A14 is connected in the ANT1 path only Cable 26 provides the A14 input path and cable 27 is the output path If the transceiver has no A14 cable 28 replaces the autotuner Initial release October 2005 57 85 QVdA35 8v YSN pejuug Olt Wed S00Z 1990100 eseojo jeniu jenuew 996 Q S318V2 WIXVOD 537190 IAIM O I OV SYOLOSNNOO T3Nvd AVIA c v1va Z LYAX COSA div ISNA o d isquMd NI 2d 2 SdOO1 9NIA3 E SYNNILNY 6v Bulges 2
98. rench 1 38313 T10 Torx Wrench 1 46172 Serial Cable 1 46176 Accessory Cable 5 pin DIN to phono female 1 74020 Warranty Card 1 74410 User s Manual 1 86095 DC Power Cord Initial release October 2005 Figure 1 1 ORION II Packing Kit ABOUT THIS MANUAL The ORION II is a firmware updateable transceiver Features and functions on the transceiver can change as time passes when new firmware revisions are issued via Ten Tec s www rfsquared com firmware download website The latest version of the ORION II manual is posted in pdf format on the ORION II section of the Ten Tec website at www tentec com This manual was written by Scott E Robbins W4PA CONNECTING A POWER SUPPLY The ORION II transceiver requires a source of well filtered and regulated DC voltage The supply voltage can range from 12 8 to 15 0 Vdc but 13 8 Vdc is the optimum value The voltage source must be capable of supplying 22 amperes continuous duty We recommend using the included DC power cable P N 86095 We have also included spare connector pins P N 41020 and a spare 2 pin power connector shell P N 35165 for building your own cable The power supply plug will attach in only one direction to the polarized two pin DC connector on the ORION II rear panel Use no less than 14 gauge 12 recommended stranded wires for three foot long connections to accommodate the required current demand during transmit Use heavier gauge wire f
99. rocessing module has its own compartment Figure 5 3 maps the physical locations of these subassemblies in ORION s chassis AO and A2 share the rear panel space with each taking up most of the height and about half the width of the panel The rear connector board A12 shares the panel half dominated by the PA It carries 5 connectors whose design suits them to mounting on a board perpendicular to the panel Together with 19 connectors on AO they comprise almost all of ORION s input output connectors for DC audio control and RF The MIC CW and PH headphone jacks are in front Signal Path Main Receiver Figure 5 4 diagrams the path a main receiver RF signal takes from antenna to audio A signal from one of ORION s 3 antennas enters one of the antenna jacks on the rear panel where I O 0 selects the path to the RFCNV A3 via cable 2 Amateur band preselection pre amplification and high dynamic range conversion to the first IF take place in the RF converter From A3 cable 11 brings the IF signal to the 9 MHz IF A4 where the hardware noise blanker operates in a wideband environment Cables 14A and 14B route the wideband IF signal through the sweep amplifier A13 to AT for use in ORION s band scope feature Four standard and three optional crystal filters selected automatically by the BW control or manually in the menu system define the tuned signal bandwidth ahead of DSP filtering This stage provides enough
100. rter Connect this jack to the keyline of your transverter unit The capabilities and precautions for this circuit are the same as for the AMP 1 KEY circuit described above XVTR RF provides a low level TX RF output for external transverter The RF output level is ALC controlled at approximately 15 dBm this is adjustable from 5 to 15 dBm by using the PWR and MULTI control when the transverter output has been activated in the 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA MENUS Both transverter support connections are activated via the TX menu See Chapter 4 for complete information and diagrams on connecting a VHF or UHF transverter to ORION 74 LINE OUT This is a line level output What is present at this jack is determined by the Line Out Source item in the Other menu Line level audio from the main sub or both receivers can be routed via this jack There are three selectable output level of High Med Low that are selected in the Other menu under line item Line Out Level High is approximately 1 V p p output Med is approximately 5 V p p output Low is approximately 25 V p p output Impedance 600 ohms 1 V p p at 600 ohms the High setting is typically the line level utilized by most equipment requiring a line level input signal Please note there are also fixed 1 V p p 600 ohm line level outputs for main and sub receiver audio as determined by the AUDIO menu available on the AUX I O connector o
101. s button 34 labeled ATTN to select USB Available modes are USB LSB UCW LCW AM FM and FSK UCW and LCW are conventional CW modes except the operator chooses whether the BFO is above or below the target frequency to minimize QRM UCW is CW on the upper sideband LCW is CW on the lower sideband When selecting a mode the last bandwidth filter selected for that mode will be automatically recalled for use USB LSB LCW and UCW are all counted as separate modes for filter recall a filter last used in USB will not be recalled or retained when switching the ORION II to LSB 28 PREAMP The ORION II main receiver is equipped with a 12 dB gain preamp Push the PREAMP button to activate This button has no effect on the subreceiver a built in always on preamp is used for it 29 RF GAIN The RFGAIN control is selectable independently for each receiver Press RFGAIN and adjust the MULTI knob for a value between 0 and 100 RF gain is used to limit receiver sensitivity to minimize Initial release October 2005 14 extraneous noise under large signal conditions Selecting RF GAIN and turning value down using the MULTI knob will limit overall receiver sensitivity for both the analog and DSP receiver stages DSP receiver gain alone can be limited via the menu system by the use of the threshold function in programmable AGC if desired See the section in Chapter 4 of this manual titled Optimal Uses of ORION Rec
102. s color coded as follows WHITE pin 1 audio input YELLOW pin 4 line level audio Figure 2 18 Connecting a Band Operated output RED pin 5 no connection Relay BLACK pin 3 push to talk Ground from the 46176 cable is connected to pin 2 Pin 1 is used for a line level audio input from 78 EXT SPKR an accessory device like a TNC or sound card for digital mode operation There is a gain control available for this input accessible through the menu system This jack is for connection of an external speaker When connected using a standard 1 4 phone plug the internal speaker in Ns ORION II is disabled Tip of the 1 4 phone e ihe aesenp on under SSE MENU plug is audio sleeve is ground apter 3 Requirements for an external speaker Pin 2 is ground ted to ORION is mini 4 watt Oe ae pA eae ee Pin 3 is a PTT connection In SSB and AM Se ee SUID OOM modes when grounded the radio begins transmitting In CW modes the behavior of 79 KEY the ORION II when pin 3 is closed to ground is dependent on the setting of the menu item PTT in CW as in the CW MENU See the description of this item in Chapter 3 The rear panel key jack is wired in parallel with the front panel CW key jack see description of 16 CW earlier in the manual for operation wiring instructions and This pin can be used for connection of a operation footswitch for SSB operation or for accepting CW from an external keyer or computer generated
103. s the menu screen There are seven selectable menus To the right See Figure 2 10 Each selectable item uses side of the screen there are seven choices buttons 28 through 34 for selection They are TX CW VOX RX Other SSB Filtr Each of these menus can be accessed Left is for routing audio to the left side by pressing the corresponding button 28 of stereo headphones The available through 34 next to the right edge of the choices are Main main receiver audio Sub screen In Figure 2 9 button 34 was sub receiver audio and Both main and pressed to access the TX menu The TX sub receiver audio Press button 28 to annunciator on the screen is highlighted and select as desired Right is for the right the menu options for TX are shown on the side of stereo headphones Spkr is for screen All seven of the menus are internal and external speaker audio explained in detail in Chapter 3 of this manual If using mono headphones wired with a stereo connector as described in the To exit the menus and go back to normal description for the phones jack see button transceiver operation press the MENUS 15 description earlier in the manual use button again the Left headphone setting to determine what audio is heard in your headphones The MENUS button can also be used to We recommend stereo headphones for display the currently installed firmware using ORION II to its fullest effect version in the transceiver Push and hol
104. selected independently for each receiver There are Initial release October 2005 15 four selectable steps of off or 6 dB 12 dB the MENUS button for two seconds The and 18 dB of attenuation To activate press words TEN TEC ORION II the Ten Tec the ATTN button Pressing the ATTN button logo and the firmware version number will will cycle through the four available settings momentarily appear on the screen OFF 6 dB 12 dB 18 dB and an annunciator on the screen next to the ATTN 36 AUDIO button will indicate the value selected ORION II has two audio sources main 35 MENUS receiver and sub receiver and each has four potential destinations SPEAKER ORION II has a number of user adjustable LEFT RIGHT or BOTH phones that the settings that allow the operator to customize operator selects The separate volume preferences for their particular style of controls knobs MAIN AF and SUB AF let operating Several menus are present in the operator adjust the audio mix to the ORION II to facilitate this To access them headphones or speaker press and release the MENUS button To access the audio menu press the Figure 2 9 Menu Screen AUDIO button Internal Tuner disabled Transmitter Keying Loop 1 Keying Loop 2 EXT T R Delay 1 EXT TAR Delay 2 20 X Transverter off 160H Antenna Antenna Antenna Antenna Antenna Antenna Antenna Antenna Antenna Antenna Figure 2 10 AUDIO Routing Submenu Figure 2 9 show
105. signment buttons Receivers can be assigned to separate VFO s the most common arrangement or both receivers can be assigned to a single VFO The operator is permitted to assign each VFO to either receiver and the transmitter VFO s can be adjusted even if NO receiver is selected for them The two large tuning knobs are for each VFO The large knob on the left closest to the display screen is always VFO A the large knob to the right is always VFO B Buttons 8 and 9 determine which VFO the transmitter is assigned to The TX frequency also determines the output of the BAND DATA connectors on the ORION rear panel see description of 76 BAND DATA 1 and 77 BAND DATA 2 elsewhere in this manual Buttons 10 and 11 determine which VFO the main receiver is assigned to Buttons 12 and 13 determine which VFO the sub receiver is assigned to The assignments of the VFO s are not only shown by the amber LED s inside the buttons and are announced on the display screen Shown in Figure 2 2 below is a default screen when powering up ORION after a master reset 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA Initial release October 2005 fit USB I SUB LCW cE Bu 2400 BW 2800 PBT 0 T PET o RIT n RIT 0 Figure 2 2 ORION II Screen Display Refer to Figure 2 2 Next to the 14 250 000 frequency display for VFO A are the letters TR T is for transmitter R is for main receiver and S is
106. slightly more loss than a 600 Hz filter Both of these narrow filters have more loss than the 1 kHz roofing filter The loss after preamp compensation is about 2 dB No loud signals nearby no need for a tight roofing filter Regardless of DSP bandpass filter setting we d recommend Initial release October 2005 44 using a wider roofing filter as acceptable for weak signal DXing The DSP bandpass filtering does not vary in gain down to the minimum setting of 100 Hz Therefore if there is no offending signal within 1 kHz setting the roofing filter at 1 kHz and narrowing the DSP bandwidth to any desired value is by far the best setup for ORION II for single signal DXing Of course if you have a pileup 1 kHz away perhaps a tighter roofing filter is warranted to keep those loud callers from compromising close in performance That s fine but make sure that the crystal roofing filters are centered DSP noise reduction in the ORION II interacts somewhat with the digital AGC system Here is why when turning on the noise reduction without changing digital AGC the receiver will get very quiet very quickly This is not the desired effect of noise reduction The desired effect is to identify what is signal and what is noise and improve the ratio between the two rather than making the whole receiver quieter signals and noise When DSP NR is selected digital AGC artificially reduces the threshold setting of the digital AGC
107. sverter operation To use the loop in this manner turn the keying loop on in the MENUS Connect inhibit line to the TX EN jack The ORION will not transmit until a closure to ground appears at the TX EN jack 68 AMP KEY 2 AMP KEY 2 is for connection of a second linear amplifier to be used with the ANT 2 antenna connector AMP KEY 2 is typically used as a non QSK keying connection for a linear amplifier However it is acceptable to connect QSK linear amplifiers that do not employ a full break in keying loop to this jack as well AMP KEY 2 and AMP KEY 1 are open collector outputs An adjustable delay called EXT T R Delay 2 gives the operator the ability to keep the amplifier keyed longer preventing drop outs between words of SSB or CW operation EXT T R Delay 2 is found in the TX submenu under MENUS The external amplifier keyline voltage warning as described for AMP KEY 1 also applies to AMP KEY 2 See 66 See Chapter 4 for a complete description on interfacing a linear to the ORION II 69 TX OUT 2 TX EN 2 TX OUT 2 and TX EN 2 are used for a full break in linear amp using ANT 2 TX OUT and TX EN should be connected to the corresponding QSK loop IN and OUT jacks on your amp On a Ten Tec QSK amp TX OUT is connected to KEY IN and TX EN is connected to KEY OUT via Initial release October 2005 25 shielded cables consult the operator s manual of your non Ten Tec QSK amp for the proper loop informatio
108. ter use a third antenna This is accomplished by connecting receive only antennas to both ANT 2 and the RX ANT jacks on the rear panel and using ANT 1 for transmitting Put the subreceiver on ANT 2 the main receiver on RX ANT and the transmitter on ANT 1 by pushing buttons on the front panel so they light up as shown in Figure 4 9 Again put both receivers and the transmitter on VFO A SUB BX TX VFO A VFO B 1 2 O O suB ANT RX Figure 4 9 Diversity reception Main receiver on VFO A is using RX ANT jack Transmitter on VFO A is using ANT 1 Sub receiver on VFO B uses a second receive antenna connected to ANT 2 Using this configuration both receivers can use independent receive antennas while the transmitter uses a separate TX antenna all on the same frequency Both receivers are tuned simultaneously by turning the VFO A main tuning knob 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA WEAK SIGNAL DX RECEPTION CONTEST OPERATION AND ORION II With most transceivers an operator typically would set CW for a low or comfortable offset select a narrow bandwidth filter like 250 Hz turn AGC to either fast or off use some setting for DSP noise reduction and start listening for weak signals Which is fine except that typical settings like this used for other radios simply won t use ORION II to its maximum capabilities An important point to ponder There is no one setting for RX combination defined as
109. the AGC no longer clips the weak signal and the noise The other method is low threshold varied decay to set threshold at a low or the lowest value for maximum IF gain and then use the decay control to adjust starting from the slowest setting of 5 dB s and working upward As decay goes faster it introduces clipping When listening to a weak signal with threshold low advance the decay until the point clipping starts audible change in the noise component and or loss of copy of chopping of the weak signal ideally you want to adjust this to just before the clipping point for maximum copy of the weak signal So all that being said how about a set it once and leave it value for programmable AGC for weak signal DXing Set AGC hang at 0 00 decay at 40 60 dB s and the threshold at 5 uV This ought to provide a good enough combination of settings to allow just about anything that can be audible to be detected by the radio and likely copied as well and allow for plenty of gain If you need just a little more you can go in and change the AGC parameters for a given situation as described above While you can have an optimal starting point for programmable AGC every signal and 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA every noise situation is unique This is precisely what makes this system so advantageous over traditional settings of fast and off Updated February 2005 in the original ORION manual and reprodu
110. the band from you It s killing the receiver performance of other radios even though the operator doesn t hear the signal through the bandwidth filter With the narrow roofing filter the ORION II has no negative reaction to the same signal preserving receiver performance down to the smallest bandwidths needed for optimal contest operation Programmable AGC can also be of tremendous value as it gives the operator the ability to determine in their head what large signal strengths can be accommodated It also will prevent fast AGC action from chopping up weak signals present in the passband which can happen with conventional AGC settings Setting programmable AGC value is a little more tricky for contest operation Obviously you want a good amount of gain through the system but limit the ability of strong signals to blast the operator in between listening to the weak ones Setting the AGC hang value again to 0 00 or 0 04 a good starting point for threshold value would be approximately 1 uV with decay at a somewhat slow value to prevent signal clipping of the weak ones as noted in the weak signal DXing adjustments for programmable AGC This will allow good copy of the weaker signals but allow the AGC system to compress loud signals and give uniform signal output for both the weak and loud signals Of course there are times when digging out the weak ones is part of contesting as well and the prog AGC settings for weak signa
111. ualizers RX Audio Output Power Line level Output 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA Programmable AGC threshold hold amp decay times fast attack Independent controls for each receiver Independent controls for each receiver Bass treble boost cut up to 6 dB octave 2W into 4 ohms 396 THD 0 dBm into 600 ohms Initial release October 2005 52 RX Notch Filters Auto Notches RX Noise Reduction MAIN RECEIVER SSB Sensitivity AM Sensitivity FM Sensitivity Selectivity 1 I F Selectivity DSP IF Selectivity FM IP3 Third Order Intercept Point IMD3 Dynamic Range IF DSP gt 50 dB depth adjustable width Notch affects S meter IF DSP Multi tone adjustable on each receiver IF DSP adjustable on each receiver 0 18 uV typical for 10 dB SINAD at 2 4 kHz BW pre amp on 0 5 uV typical for 10 dB SINAD at 2 4 kHz BW pre amp off 1 50 uV for 10 dB SINAD at 6 0 kHz BW 30 modulation 1 kHz pre amp off 2 50 uV for 12 dB SINAD at 20 kHz BW 3 kHz deviation 1 kHz pre amp off Standard 9 MHz IF crystal filter BWs 20 kHz 6 kHz 2 4 kHz 1 0 kHz Optional crystal filter BWs 1 8 kHz 600 Hz amp 300 Hz Automatically selected via DSP BW or under independent control 590 built in DSP filters from 100 6000 Hz 20 kHz 25 dBm typical 20 kHz spacing at 2 4 kHz BW pre amp off 24 dBm typical 5 kHz spacing BW 500 Hz pre amp off 101 dB typi
112. used md Delay is used to set the encoder SSB SSB MENU uning rates and button responses while using the menus Figure 3 7 SSB Menu Backlight is used to determine the Bux Input Gain 4 brightness of screen characters High Med TX Filter BU 3000 Hz Low are available choices LE 20 Hz TX Audio Source HIC VFO A Enc Rate and VFO B Enc Rate have settings of fast and slow Unlike tuning STEP as set via the STEP button the Rate controls are used to determine how many steps per revolution of the two main tuning knobs are made The fast rate is 4x the slow tuning rate Like the main tuning knob rates CW RIT Rate and SSB RIT Rate are used to vary the rate but not the step size of the RIT encoder The fast rate is 4x the slow tuning rate The SSB menu is used for adjustment of If the optional model 302R encoder keypad SSB transmit options is in use POD Enc Rate can be used to control the tuning knob rate The fast rate is 4x the slow tuning rate Aux Input Gain is used for adjusting audio gain from an accessory device using the line level aux input available on pin 1 of the rear LCD Display selects color schemes for the panel AUX I O connector Sereen Turn the MULTI knob to select TX Filter BW controls the SSB transmit filter different pre set color setups bandwidth The maximum bandwidth usable FSK Tx Data is used to to determine by ORION II is 3 9 kHz Wider bandwidths whether the MARK tone in FS
113. ver If you are using the SUB Rx does it have a VFO and an ANT assigned If frequency controls act normally Which receiver are you controlling at the moment What routing is set in the AUDIO menu If S meter seems to be reacting to signals Is receiver squelched Check squelch threshold in the RX menu Check setting of RF gain controls for main or sub receivers Try a set of headphones in case the speaker has failed Is either receiver muted from pushing the SUB AF or MAIN AF encoders Is the volume on either turned all the way off Check inside the cabinet for cable connectors that may have loosened in shipment or rough handling Problem Distorted SSB transmit Be certain the mic gain is set properly The ALC LED should flash on voice peaks but not remain continuously lit Check the setting of the speech processor An excessively high setting can reduce audio quality A frequent cause of a distorted SSB signal is inadequate RF grounding resulting in RF feedback Common RF grounding problems are no ground connection or too long a lead to a good ground Many problems relate to the lack of an RF station ground as contrasted with a safety ground connection We recommend bonding all equipment chassis together with short heavy metal braid or strap Make these connections from chassis ground lug to chassis ground lug and connect the last piece in the chain feeding the antenna to a good earth ground This lead ne
114. while adding many non performance related features that the active ham can also appreciate The features and performance ORION II brings to ham radio will enhance HF radio contacts of all sorts while opening new possibilities for amateur radio operation ORION II offers world class reception and transmission of CW SSB digital modes FM and AM on all 10 HF amateur bands plus excellent general coverage reception via the second sub receiver from 100 kHz to 30 MHz UNPACKING YOUR NEW ORION Examine ORION II for signs of shipping damage Should any damage be apparent notify the delivering carrier immediately stating the full extent of the damage Retain all damaged cartons Liability for shipping damage rests with the carrier We recommend that you keep the carton and fillers in the event that storage moving or shipment becomes necessary The following hardware and accessories come standard with your ORION II Make sure that you have not overlooked anything 566 manual Part 74410 Printed in USA Qty Part Description 1 27074 Mini ATC Blade Fuse 25 Amp 1 35003 Phono Plug 1 35363 8 pin Microphone Connector 1 35241 8 pin DIN socket 1 35165 2 pin Power Connector Shell 2 41020 Female Power Pins 1 35017 Phone Plug 3 circuit 1 35331 Shell Band Data Plug 15 41068 Band Data Plug Pins 1 38040 050 Hex Wrench 1 38088 062 Hex W
115. you towards the back of the radio Plug in the filter assuring correct orientation and that the insulator is under the filter to keep it slightly elevated from the filter circuit board Re attach the filter shield over the filters and re install the transceiver top cover Initial release October 2005 48 After installation the filters must be enabled via the menu system to be used See the description provided in Chapter 3 under FILTR FILTER MENU MASTER RESET On rare occasions it may be possible to confuse the microprocessors in the transceiver to the point where a master reset may be necessary to restore operating state A master reset also usually needs to be done after an upgrade for the transceiver is sent via the serial port interface see the section titled UPDATIING YOUR RADIO OVER THE INTERNET elsewhere in this chapter To perform a master reset turn transceiver power off Press and hold the MAIN RX TX button in the ANT 1 column on the far left side of the radio this button is described as number 2 in Chapter 2 of this manual Turn transceiver power on and continue to hold the MAIN RX TX button in the ANT 1 column until the message Master Reset Complete appears on the bottom of the radio screen This should take about 5 seconds after turning radio power on A prompt will appear at the bottom of the screen reading Clear User Settings The User Settings are the 200 VFO memories see descriptio

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