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Thread: 1 question 20 answers

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Posted: 2017-07-26 18:41
I learned something last night..that I should have already known. If you ask a fairly simple question of a bunch of hams you will get twenty different answers!!! My question was, "how can I know, own a modern transever, when I am tuned to the exact frequency that a station I want to talk to is transmitting on in CW?" I got all kinds of answers about spot switches, zero beat, on my swan, and K3 radio. Here is the best one I found:
Tuning a cw station is different for everyone. In my opinion, the first thing you should do when tuning is to TURN OFF the RIT! When I hear someone I want to talk to on CW, I turn on my filter (500 hz for example), and tune that station for peak s-meter reading, which puts that signal in the center of my pass-band. I then turn off the filter (unless there is close qrm) and turn on the RIT. I then use the RIT to adjust the signal for a tone that is pleasant to my ears. Just that simple! This allows you to (almost) zero beat your frequency to the other stations xmit frequency (meaning he does not have to retune his recver or tune his RIT to be able to copy you.) At last someone who doesn't bore you with a lot of technical jargon, and superbolus junk...Bob

Posted: 2017-07-26 20:16
Sorry Bob,
We got a license to investigate and develop our knowledge and skills.

That is something else as asking for a shortcut without understanding what you are really doing in order to tune a transceiver.

Above that: Is it possibly not optimal; just let the RIT in your preferred position and tune to the max of the S meter reading in the CW filter, which is then equal equal to the by you preferred tone.

Posted: 2017-07-27 05:13
See what I mean? I didn't want to know the mechanics of it; just the procedure. Most of us don't know everything about our newer cars engine or driveline, but we still enjoy driving it. In this day of micro components & digital circuitry only the highly technical/highly trained could possibly know what is actually happening inside the radio when you do anything. You might know the theory, but I doubt that Joe Q Ham knows(or even cares)about the actual internal actions going on inside when he turns a knob or flips a switch.He just knows it works. Most of these, so called, boat anchor ham repairmen wouldn't even think about taking the cover off a newer ICOM, Knwood, or Yaesu. you experiment with those much; it will cost you.Never trust these mod guys all have disclamers. Example: mod to double the output of my rig, good idea? NO! it is what it is..Bob

Posted: 2017-07-27 19:53
When I tune anyone in on my Ten Tec Omni 7 I turn the knob and really narrow my filter to the narrowest point,200 Hz tune them in to the loudest and nicest sounding signal then open up the filter to hear whilst in contact, if the QRM is not too bad.I have never been told I am on the wrong frequency.If you don't get pretty close these days and they have their filter in they just won't hear you at all. I notice on my Yaesu FT 991 there is a auto tune for CW and that seems to work well, 73 Rich G4FAD.

Posted: 2017-07-27 23:56
Wish my ICOM had that auto tune button. Wud sure make it easier. Guess my ears are bad, because I don't hear a whist in the contact???? My old ICOM Rit was also a push button that matched the vfo to the rit, but my 7300 does not have that..they must have thought that was a bad idea.

Posted: 2017-07-29 22:40
Hiya Bob

How's the 16/16 going ???


. . . SNIP . . .
Here is the best one I found:
. . . SNIP . . .


. . . SNIP . . .
See what I mean? I didn't want to know the mechanics

. . zero beating is probably the best subject to broach if you want to witness a ferocious on-line ding-dong / religious war, sometimes going on for a week or more with increasing bitterness . .

Rich has some good radios . . .

Posted: 2017-07-30 10:58

you are trolling us - right?

In a well adjusted TRX: If sidetone pitch (when sending) equals receive pitch (when listening) then you are zeroed in.

So when tuning just make the receive pitch the same as your side tone pitch.

Just use your musical ear ;-)

Posted: 2017-07-31 13:08

you are trolling us - right?



Just use your musical ear ;-)

Don't think so. Bob is NOT just trolling, he is just like me. I love guys like Bob.

I have not only RIT but also pass band tuning that means that I can change with stable receiving pitch the IF bandfilter of position over the desired spectrum.

Honestly: I do not understand it. Salesman of the used set explained me twice, and in order to prevent to be labelled as an extremely stupid blonde, I said : "Yes, nice, amazing, super cool and awsome, I understand".

That is because I failed and dropped out of highschool, I have a technician license and it is the limit I can reach, I am sure. Took me 4 years, a lot of help and even more luck. and untill I met Morse code, it turns out I could do that. It helped my self esteem and I am far better then the guys in the local radio club.

Anyway I have to because I promissed things that I don't like, but some of them obviously do, when they outperform my Morse code proficiency.

Posted: 2017-12-27 18:40
My rig has a sidetone pitch that is adjustable so I can't match his to mine. I have no idea if he has adjustable pitch as well. I'm guessing that if I adjust my pitch, I am adjusting on transmit as well as my sidetone, true?

Posted: 2018-01-06 12:47
The Musical ear answer is a good one. You really don't need any other tuning process than this:

Make the received tone sounds the same as the tone you get when you key for transmit then you are tuned to the exact frequency that is being sent by the other ham (it is called side tone and the process is known as zero beating in case you hear those terms).

It doesn't matter what the other operator's tone is set to, your radio uses the tone you are set to. Just match the tones and you are good.

Hope this helps.

John - KM4FOS

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