Orion Power

[Muxlow]

How do you turn up/down the power output on the orion radios?
Im not even sure what it is at rite now.. But would like to turn it down a bit if someone could explain it in an easy way.
It's a UHF remote mount

 

[JungleJim]

There are three different ways.

1. Personality programming, under the System Setup, General tab there is a box at the far right which says "Power Level:" and the default is "MAX" for full rated power. Set this to the power output level you want; "20" for 20 Watts, "45" for 45 Watts, etc. If the tracking data is properly set that is what the radio will transmit out. If not you will still see a reduction in power out.

2. Adjust the tracking data.

3. Mechanical adjustment. Remove the lid from the RF power amp assembly (the back end with the big heat sink) and the inner shield. There is only one adjustable component on the board, usually labeled RV1 and set to a fixed level with some potting compound. Use a small screwdriver and gently turn until it breaks free and then adjust to the level you want. Macom says not to mess with it and it really is not a power adjust but sets the level from the power out sense to the feedback loop. Effectively though it works well to trim the power and we've done it for years without any side effects.

 

[JungleJim]

An after thought, never set any transmitter for more than its rated power. The limiting factor on a transmitter is heat and though you may be able to get 50 Watts out of a 35 Watt amplifier, you won't get it for long. Especially from a GE/Macom power amp.

 

[Muxlow]

What do I adjust in the tracking data part for 20,45,50 and 100 watts?

 

[JungleJim]

To adjust the tracking data for transmit power use the power level box at the bottom of the edit tracking data screen. The levels are broken down into two power settings denoted in tenths of a Watt (200 = 20W; 350 = 35W; 1000 = 100W) what is displayed depends on the radio you are using but the lower one is the max rated power for your radio. There are 10 boxes to the right of each with different values and these correspond to different frequencies throughout the band. These values are 0 to 255 for full power.

Program your radios with the test frequencies and measure the power out at each set point. Then read the data and adjust it for each set point, program it in and try again. The set points are in the service manual for your radio and, of course depend on the bandsplit.

 

[Muxlow]

Iv got these in the TX Power. Then all the other boxes. So is it at 25 watts then now?
205
405
405