[OKDXA] Additional Orion II Tips and Motors for a Vacuum Variable

[Kim Elmore]

Well, I got the Orion II!

It's a marvelous rig -- I played with the rx a little bit yesterday 
during SSB SS and it's an amazing improvement compared to my '930S. 
And, I performed a firmware update to the latest version. How cool is that?

I haven't found the leaning curve to be terrible in figuring out how 
to manipulate the thing, but I'd be happy to see anyone's tip sheets 
or whatever about good setting combinations.

It's been a bit of a job undoing 20+ years of '930S customization 
with wiring and patch cables, but not as bad as it could have 
been.  The Orion II plays well with my aged AL-80A with the PIN5 QSK 
switch installed, so I'm pretty happy.

Now for a question unrelated to TenTec anything: I'm going to 
shunt-feed my tower for 160 m. To match it I'm going to make an 
L-network at the feed point using a vacuum variable. Do any of you 
have recommendations for what kind of motor to use to adjust that 
vacuum variable? How stiff are they and how much torque will it take? 
I've thought about a stepping motor, but I'm worried that all the RF 
will preclude that application. So I figure a DC motor will be the 
only viable choice if I want reversibility and variable speed. Any suggestions?

Cheers,

Kim Elmore, N5OP