ORION SERIAL COMMUNICATIONS, FIRMWARE VERSION 1.372
05/05/2005 AA6E
These codes were first taken from the TenTec Orion Manual (v1.2) and from my own tests.
Several undocumented features and formats are provided here.
Other functions are still not documented, including the protocols for downloading and verifying firmware. Please send any corrections are additions to AA6E.
| ORION SERIAL COMMUNICATIONS VERSION 1.372 revised May 5, 2005 | |||||||
| an unofficial compilation by Martin Ewing, AA6E. Comments to aa6e@arrl.net |
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| c0 | c1 | c2 | c3 | c4 | FUNCTION | RESPONSE | COMMENT |
| ? | A | F | VFO A FREQ | ASCII HZ | |||
| ? | A | L | VFO A LOCK | U/L (NON-STD) | |||
| ? | A | U | VFO A LOCK | U/L (NON-STD) | |||
| ? | A | VFO A FREQ | 4-BYTE HZ | NOT TESTED | |||
| ? | B | F | VFO B FREQ | ASCII HZ | |||
| ? | B | L | VFO B LOCK | U/L (NON-STD) | |||
| ? | B | U | VFO B LOCK | U/L (NON-STD) | |||
| ? | B | VFO B FREQ | 4-BYTE HZ | NOT TESTED | |||
| ? | C | D | KEYER RISE/FALL | 3-10 MS (1-2 DIG) | |||
| ? | C | K | KEYER ON/OFF | 0-1 | |||
| ? | C | Q | KEYER QSK DEL | 0-100 % (1-3 DIG) | |||
| ? | C | S | KEYER SPEED | 10-60 | |||
| ? | C | T | KEYER SIDETONE FRQ | 100-1200 HZ (3 OR 4 DIG) | |||
| ? | C | V | KEYER SIDETONE VOL | 0-100 (1-3 DIG) | |||
| ? | C | W | KEYER WEIGHT | 50-150 (2 OR 3 DIG) | |||
| ? | D | ??? | "@RMM4" | REPEATS 'MODE' LIKE ?RMM | |||
| ? | K | A | ANT SELECT | MMM/ASN/... | |||
| ? | K | V | VFO ASSIGNMENTS | AAA/ABA/... | |||
| ? | P | POD ROUTE ENBL | 0-1 (1 DIG) | ||||
| ? | Q | GET PREFIX | 1 CHAR | ||||
| ? | R | M | A | MAIN AGC MODE | O/F/M/S/P | NOTE DIFF FROM *RMAX | |
| ? | R | M | E | MAIN PREAMP ON/OFF | 0-1 (1 DIG) | ||
| ? | R | M | F | MAIN RX FILT | BW HZ | ||
| ? | R | M | G | MAIN RF GAIN | 1-3 DIG, 0-100 | ||
| ? | R | M | I | MAIN RX TUN STEP | 1,10,100,...100000 | ||
| ? | R | M | M | MAIN MODE | 0-7 | ||
| ? | R | M | N | N | MAIN NOISE RED | <NONE> | BROKEN |
| ? | R | M | N | B | MAIN NOISE BLANK | 0-9 | |
| ? | R | M | N | A | MAIN AUTO NOTCH | 0, FIXED | BROKEN |
| ? | R | M | P | MAIN PBT | HZ | ||
| ? | R | M | R | MAIN RX RIT | +/- 8000 HZ SIGNED | ||
| ? | R | M | S | MAIN SQUELCH | 1-3 DIG, SIGNED, DB | ||
| ? | R | M | T | MAIN RF ATTN | 0-3 | ||
| ? | R | M | X | MAIN RX XIT | +/- 8000 HZ SIGNED | MISNOMER? | |
| ? | R | S | A | SUB AGC MODE | O/F/M/S/P | NOTE DIFF FROM *RSAX | |
| ? | R | S | F | SUB RX FILT | BW HZ | ||
| ? | R | S | G | SUB RF GAIN | 1-3 DIG, 0-100 | ||
| ? | R | S | I | SUB RX TUN STEP | 1,10,100,...100000 | ||
| ? | R | S | M | SUB MODE | 0-7 | ||
| ? | R | S | N | A | SUB AUTO NOTCH | 1, FIXED | BROKEN |
| ? | R | S | N | B | SUB NOISE BLANK | 0-9 | |
| ? | R | S | N | N | SUB NOISE RED | <NONE> | BROKEN |
| ? | R | S | P | SUB PBT | HZ | ||
| ? | R | S | R | SUB RX RIT | +/- 8000 HZ SIGNED | ||
| ? | R | S | S | SUB SQUELCH | 1-3 DIG, SIGNED, DB | ||
| ? | R | S | T | SUB RF ATTN | 0-3 | ||
| ? | S | SWR | TFfwdRrevSswr, 001-105, 256-999 | TX: fwd, rev = PWR (W); swr = 256*VSWR | |||
| ? | S | SIG STR | RMsssSttt, 000-100 | RX: sss,ttt = METER LEVEL, MAIN/SUB | |||
| ? | T | A | TX ANTI-VOX | 000-100 (3 DIG) | LEADING ZEROES | ||
| ? | T | D | 1 | TX KEY LP 1 DEL | 000-100 (3 DIG) | LEADING ZEROES | |
| ? | T | D | 2 | TX KEY LP 2 DEL | 001-100 (3 DIG) | LEADING ZEROES | |
| ? | T | F | TX BANDWIDTH | 900-3900 HZ (3-4 DIG) | |||
| ? | T | G | TX VOX TRIG LVL | 001-100 (3 DIG) | LEADING ZEROES | ||
| ? | T | H | TX VOX HANG TIME | 0.00-10.00 SEC (4-5 CHR) | |||
| ? | T | L | 1 | TX KEY LP 1 ENBL | 0-1 (1 DIG) | ||
| ? | T | L | 2 | TX KEY LP 2 ENBL | 0-1 (1 DIG) | ||
| ? | T | M | MIC GAIN | 0-100 (1-3 DIG) | |||
| ? | T | O | TX AUDIO MON LVL | 000-100 (3 DIG) | LEADING ZEROES | ||
| ? | T | P | TX POWER | ' 1' - '100' (3 CHAR) | LEADING BLANKS | ||
| ? | T | S | TX SP PROC | 0-9 (1 DIG) | |||
| ? | T | T | TX TUNER ON/OFF | 0-1 (1 DIG) | |||
| ? | T | V | TX VOX ON/OFF | 0-1 (1 DIG) | |||
| ? | T | X | TXVTR ENBL | 0-1 (1 DIG) | |||
| ? | U | B | MAIN/SUB RX VOL | @UMmmmSsss (2x 3-DIG) | LEADING ZEROES, non standard | ||
| ? | U | C | SPKR/PHONES SEL | BBB/MSB/... | |||
| ? | U | M | MAIN RX VOL | 000-255 (3 DIG) | LEADING ZEROES | ||
| ? | U | R | BINAURAL MODE | M, S, O | main, sub, off | ||
| ? | U | S | SUB RX VOL | 001-255 (3 DIG) | LEADING ZEROES | ||
| ? | V | VERSION | "Version 1.372" | ||||
| * | A | F | VFO A FREQ | ASCII HZ OR MHZ.KHZ | OPTIONAL DECIMAL POINT | ||
| * | A | + | VFO A OFFSET + | HZ | |||
| * | A | - | VFO A OFFSET - | HZ | |||
| * | A | L | VFO A LOCK | U/L (NON-STD) | |||
| * | A | U | VFO A LOCK | U/L (NON-STD) | |||
| * | A | S | + | VFO A INC+ | NO. STEPS | BROKEN | |
| * | A | S | - | VFO A INC- | NO. STEPS | BROKEN | |
| * | A | VFO A FREQ | 4-BYTE HZ | NOT TESTED | |||
| * | B | F | VFO B FREQ | ASCII HZ OR MHZ.KHZ | OPTIONAL DECIMAL POINT | ||
| * | B | + | VFO B OFFSET + | HZ | |||
| * | B | - | VFO B OFFSET - | HZ | |||
| * | B | L | VFO B LOCK | U/L (NON-STD) | |||
| * | B | S | + | VFO B INC + | NO. STEPS | BROKEN | |
| * | B | S | - | VFO B INC - | NO. STEPS | BROKEN | |
| * | B | U | VFO B LOCK | U/L (NON-STD) | |||
| * | B | VFO B FREQ | 4-BYTE HZ | NOT TESTED | |||
| * | C | D | KEYER RISE/FALL | 3-10 MS (1-2 DIG) | |||
| * | C | K | KEYER ON/OFF | 0-1 | |||
| * | C | Q | KEYER QSK DEL | 0-100 % (1-3 DIG) | |||
| * | C | S | KEYER SPEED | 10-60 | |||
| * | C | T | KEYER SIDETONE FRQ | 100-1200 HZ (3 OR 4 DIG) | |||
| * | C | V | KEYER SIDETONE VOL | 0-100 (1-3 DIG) | |||
| * | C | W | KEYER WEIGHT | 50-150 (2 OR 3 DIG) | |||
| * | K | A | ANT SELECT | MMM/ASN/... | |||
| * | K | M | SELECT MAIN RX | (NO ?KM) | |||
| * | K | R | A | MEM TO VFO A | 000-199 (3 CHAR) | ||
| * | K | R | B | MEM TO VFO B | 000-199 (3 CHAR) | ||
| * | K | S | SELECT SUB RX | (NO ?KS) | |||
| * | K | V | VFO ASSIGNMENTS | AAA/ABA/... | NOTE MAIN VFO MUST BE IN BAND | ||
| * | K | W | A | VFO A TO MEM | 000-199 (3 CHAR) | ||
| * | K | W | B | VFO B TO MEM | 000-199 (3 CHAR) | ||
| * | P | POD ROUTE ENBL | 0-1 (1 DIG) | ||||
| * | Q | SET PREFIX | 1 CHAR | DEFAULT = '@' | |||
| * | R | M | A | O | MAIN AGC OFF | SET AGC OFF | SELECT PARAM GROUP 'OFF' |
| * | R | M | A | F | MAIN AGC FAST | SET AGC FAST | SELECT PARAM GROUP 'FAST' |
| * | R | M | A | M | MAIN AGC MED | SET AGC MED | SELECT PARAM GROUP 'MEDIUM' |
| * | R | M | A | S | MAIN AGC SLOW | SET AGC SLOW | SELECT PARAM GROUP 'SLOW' |
| * | R | M | A | P | MAIN AGC PROG | SET AGC PROG | SELECT PARAM GROUP 'PROG' |
| * | R | M | A | H | MAIN AGC HANG | 00.00-10.00 SEC | LAST SEL. AGC PARAM GROUP |
| * | R | M | A | D | MAIN AGC DECAY | 00-99 DB/SEC | LAST SEL. AGC PARAM GROUP |
| * | R | M | A | T | MAIN AGC THR | 00.37-191.48 UVOLT | LAST SEL. AGC PARAM GROUP |
| * | R | M | E | MAIN PREAMP ON/OFF | 0-1 (1 DIG) | ||
| * | R | M | F | MAIN RX FILT | BW HZ | ||
| * | R | M | G | MAIN RF GAIN | 1-3 DIG, 0-100 | ||
| * | R | M | I | MAIN RX TUN STEP | 1,10,100,...100000 | ||
| * | R | M | M | MAIN MODE | 0-7 | ||
| * | R | M | N | N | MAIN NOISE RED | <NONE> | BROKEN |
| * | R | M | N | B | MAIN NOISE BLANK | 0-9 | OK |
| * | R | M | N | A | MAIN AUTO NOTCH | 0, FIXED | OK |
| * | R | M | P | MAIN PBT | HZ | ||
| * | R | M | R | MAIN RX RIT | +/- 8000 HZ SIGNED | ||
| * | R | M | S | MAIN SQUELCH | 1-3 DIG, SIGNED, DB | ||
| * | R | M | T | MAIN RF ATTN | 0-3 | ||
| * | R | M | X | MAIN RX XIT | +/- 8000 HZ SIGNED | MISNOMER? | |
| * | R | S | A | O | SUB AGC OFF | SET AGC OFF | SELECT PARAM GROUP 'OFF' |
| * | R | S | A | F | SUB AGC FAST | SET AGC FAST | SELECT PARAM GROUP 'FAST' |
| * | R | S | A | M | SUB AGC MED | SET AGC MED | SELECT PARAM GROUP 'MEDIUM' |
| * | R | S | A | S | SUB AGC SLOW | SET AGC SLOW | SELECT PARAM GROUP 'SLOW' |
| * | R | S | A | P | SUB AGC PROG | SET AGC PROG | SELECT PARAM GROUP 'PROG' |
| * | R | S | A | H | SUB AGC HANG | 00.00-10.00 SEC | LAST SEL. AGC PARAM GROUP |
| * | R | S | A | D | SUB AGC DECAY | 00-99 DB/SEC | LAST SEL. AGC PARAM GROUP |
| * | R | S | A | T | SUB AGC THR | 00.37-191.48 UVOLT | LAST SEL. AGC PARAM GROUP |
| * | R | S | F | SUB RX FILT | BW HZ | ||
| * | R | S | G | SUB RF GAIN | 1-3 DIG, 0-100 | ||
| * | R | S | I | SUB RX TUN STEP | 1,10,100,...100000 | ||
| * | R | S | M | SUB MODE | 0-7 | ||
| * | R | S | N | A | SUB AUTO NOTCH | 1, FIXED | BROKEN |
| * | R | S | N | B | SUB NOISE BLANK | 0-9 | |
| * | R | S | N | N | SUB NOISE RED | <NONE> | BROKEN |
| * | R | S | P | SUB PBT | HZ | ||
| * | R | S | R | SUB RX RIT | +/- 8000 HZ SIGNED | ||
| * | R | S | S | SUB SQUELCH | 1-3 DIG, SIGNED, DB | ||
| * | R | S | T | SUB RF ATTN | 0-3 | ||
| * | T | A | TX ANTI-VOX | 000-100 (3 DIG) | LEADING ZEROES | ||
| * | T | D | 1 | TX KEY LP 1 DEL | 000-100 (3 DIG) | LEADING ZEROES | |
| * | T | D | 2 | TX KEY LP 2 DEL | 001-100 (3 DIG) | LEADING ZEROES | |
| * | T | F | TX BANDWIDTH | 900-3900 HZ (3-4 DIG) | |||
| * | T | G | TX VOX TRIG LVL | 001-100 (3 DIG) | LEADING ZEROES | ||
| * | T | H | TX VOX HANG TIME | 0.00-10.00 SEC (4-5 CHR) | |||
| * | T | K | TX KEY | <NONE> | |||
| * | T | L | 1 | TX KEY LP 1 ENBL | 0-1 (1 DIG) | ||
| * | T | L | 2 | TX KEY LP 2 ENBL | 0-1 (1 DIG) | ||
| * | T | M | MIC GAIN | 0-100 (1-3 DIG) | |||
| * | T | O | TX AUDIO MON LVL | 000-100 (3 DIG) | LEADING ZEROES | ||
| * | T | P | TX POWER | ' 1' - '100' (3 CHAR) | LEADING BLANKS | ||
| * | T | S | TX SP PROC | 0-9 (1 DIG) | |||
| * | T | T | TX TUNER ON/OFF | 0-1 (1 DIG) | BROKEN (HANGS CPU) | ||
| * | T | T | T | TX TUNER CYCLE | BROKEN | ||
| * | T | U | TX UNKEY | <NONE> | |||
| * | T | V | TX VOX ON/OFF | 0-1 (1 DIG) | |||
| * | T | X | TXVTR ENBL | 0-1 (1 DIG) | |||
| * | U | B | MAIN/SUB RX VOL | mmmSsss (2x 3-DIG) | BROKEN (NO EFFECT) | ||
| * | U | C | SPKR/PHONES SEL | BBB/MSB/... | |||
| * | U | M | MAIN RX VOL | 000-255 (3 DIG) | LEADING ZEROES | ||
| * | U | R | BINAURAL MODE | M, S, O | BROKEN (HANGS CPU) | ||
| * | U | S | SUB RX VOL | 001-255 (3 DIG) | LEADING ZEROES | ||
| / | SEND CW CHAR | CHAR | SOME PROSIGNS | ||||
| Modes | ||
| USB | 0 | |
| LSB | 1 | |
| UCW | 2 | |
| LCW | 3 | |
| AM | 4 | |
| FM | 5 | |
| FSK | 6 | |
| Antenna Select | ||
| Sub Rx | S | |
| Main Rx | M | |
| Both Rx | B | |
| None | N | |
| AGC Mode | ||
| Off | O | |
| Fast | F | |
| Medium | M | |
| Slow | S | |
| Program | P | |
| VFO Lock/Unlock (non-standard command/response) | ||
| Lock Status A | ?AU or ?AL | returns @AL if locked, @AU if unlocked |
| Lock Status B | ?BU or ?BL | returns @BL if locked, @BU if unlocked |
| S Meter level | ||
| Read S Meter | Response = @SRMuuuSvvv, where uuu,vvv are 000 - 100; half-scale ~ '040' | |
| Power/SWR | ||
| Get SWR | Response = @STFuuuRvvvSwww, uuu, vvv = fwd/rev pwr (watts); www = 256*VSWR | |
| Problem commands | ||||||||
| c0 | c1 | c2 | c3 | c4 | FUNCTION | RESPONSE | COMMENT | Further Comment |
| ? | R | M | N | N | MAIN NOISE RED | <NONE> | BROKEN | no effect |
| ? | R | M | N | A | MAIN AUTO NOTCH | 0, FIXED | BROKEN | no effect |
| ? | R | S | N | A | SUB AUTO NOTCH | 1, FIXED | BROKEN | no effect |
| ? | R | S | N | N | SUB NOISE RED | <NONE> | BROKEN | no effect |
| * | A | S | + | VFO A INC+ | NO. STEPS | BROKEN | not recognized | |
| * | A | S | - | VFO A INC- | NO. STEPS | BROKEN | not recognized | |
| * | B | S | + | VFO B INC + | NO. STEPS | BROKEN | not recognized | |
| * | B | S | - | VFO B INC - | NO. STEPS | BROKEN | not recognized | |
| * | R | M | N | N | MAIN NOISE RED | <NONE> | BROKEN | no effect |
| * | R | S | N | A | SUB AUTO NOTCH | 1, FIXED | BROKEN | no effect |
| * | R | S | N | N | SUB NOISE RED | <NONE> | BROKEN | no effect |
| * | T | T | TX TUNER ON/OFF | 0-1 (1 DIG) | BROKEN (HANGS CPU) | causes front panel to hang and/or garbage display in menu - but seems to work when run alone? | ||
| * | T | T | T | TX TUNER CYCLE | BROKEN | no effect | ||
| * | U | B | MAIN/SUB RX VOL | @MmmmSsss (2x 3-DIG) | BROKEN (NO EFFECT) | |||
| * | U | R | BINAURAL MODE | M, S, O | BROKEN (HANGS CPU) | causes front panel to hang and/or garbage display in menu - but seems to work when run alone? | ||
| / | SEND CW CHAR | CHAR | SOME PROSIGNS | Buffers up to ~20 char (undocumented), no handshake to control buffer overrun? | ||||
| Commands that should exist, but don't |
| Read/Set Tx audio source: mic / aux / both |
| Can work around by manually setting 'both' and adjusting Mic/AUX gains |
| Read/Set manual notch center/width |
| Read/Set band-by-band antenna selections |
| Read/Set Band Stacking Registers |
| Read/Set Hardware Noise Blanking |
| Read/Set PBT Track |
| Read/Set BW Track |
| All of “Other” menu (Remote Pod setup, LCD, rates, FSK, etc) |
| All of “Filtr” menus is lacking (filter selects, tuning, etc) |
| All of “Other” menu (Remote Pod setup, LCD, rates, FSK, etc) |
| Sweep on/off & resolution controls |
| Read out sweep spectrum display |
| Mute set/clear on main/sub receivers |
| Access (read/store) to SEND 1/2/3 |
| Access (read/store) to USER 1/2 |
| Direct read/store of memory channels (without changing active VFO/mode etc.) |
| Spot tone on/off |
| Other computer interface features desired |
| may require additional hardware |
| Power on/sleep/off |
| Digital audio in/out via S/PDIF, USB, or Ethernet |
| Digital IF out (14 kHz) via USB or Ethernet |
| Digital Tx IF input via USB or Ethernet |
| Digital Tx audio monitor via S/PDIF, USB, or Ethernet |