Ham Radio - Tuning your rig for CW, matching the other station's frequency.

[@Al_F-fs4ng]

That is the best explanation of zero beating the transceiver that I have heard. 17:47

[@loughkb]

Thank you.

[@b4i4getjr]

Great video. Clear explanation and no eardrum rupturing music. Thank you

[@ElektroLUDIKITS]

At last, I understood this CW tuning thing... and it is an english spoken video that helped me out, even though I am french! :)

[@MauriatOttolink]

Elektro LUDIKITS. Bon Chance Mon Brave. Vive La Belle France sauf M. Macron.

[@johnpeterson7264]

I also love the math test story. Reminded me of something Jean Shepard (used to be on WOR when I was young) would talk about. He was also a ham operator . Excellent.

[@doubledrats235]

Jean Shepherd (K2ORS) SK

[@kelvin0mql]

Love the math test story - you crafty delinquent.

[@clintonhunter6821]

I love how you break it down into easy to understand explanations but also how you give the history behind your topics. 73

[@jameskeough4620]

This vid is excellent in so many ways: informative, to the point, well organized, well paced, good diction. Thanks!

[@KX4UL]

Excellent explanation for new HAMS interested in CW Kevin! I remember back in the late 50's and early 60's my Dad, KØQBR-SK, having a rock-bound transmitter and a separate receiver and feverishly tuning for a CW QSO. I use the auto-tune on my IC-7300 sometimes, but as a long time musician, I am used to relying on my ears. Also, I am a member of FISTS and the SKCC clubs. I really think CW is making a come back in large part due to these friendly organizations. And your are right...it's fun sending with a straight key!

[@gfodale]

Thanks for this. I need to relearn CW, and it's planned. Just got my tech license back, first time was in the early 80's. Now I'm old, and have a lot of tinnitus. CW is a near necessity. At the same time, I was a radio tech for / in USMC. Zero beat was discussed, but were only taught how to fix it as another oscillator. We never transmitted CW at that point, so the purpose was not discussed. Currently repairing an FT-101B. Glad I got the external VFO. It will serve the purpose of your RIT. Always something new to learn. Thanks.

[@jimmcdonald3525]

All good for me. IC-7300 is my new rig, so this was great to learn. Jim

[@ct7aus]

The sweeping tone is most likely a ionosonde. If you look at these signals on an SDR you'll see you can follow the sweep for a great deal of MHz and the sweeping rate is constant and always in the higher bands direction. I prefer this to whistle tuning :) great video, thank you for sharing your knowledge. Keep it up!

[@acestudioscouk-Ace-G0ACE]

Liked the history and tuition, as someone starting out with morse, this was great for me. Thank-you.

[@westtexasvideogateski5juf255]

This is a great video and you are correct the FT991A also in CW the frequency you see on the VFO is the transmit frequency. The VFO in USB is TX/RX same frequency voice, in CW the Pitch offset is added to the VFO TX and reference to the RX VFO and you have the tone. Great job I'll stop by you Patron site you are a great resource '73 KI5JUF

[@peterm2618]

Great video! I especially love the last part of it...CW in general and when you help a friend at school! Hi, hi...

[@rv6amark]

Good video, Kevin. Tuning is a subject some people have difficulty understanding. BTW, those sweeps are indeed someone checking his antenna SWR. All antenna analyzers put out a small signal that sweeps across the bands cluttering the frequencies, but I'm certain they are here to stay. 73, Mark, KE6BB

[@loughkb]

Hi Mark, thanks. After more research, and others suggestions, I'm 90% sure those sweeps are ionosonde transmissions.

[@bhenry5091]

Hey Kevin. Glad you have buoyed back into production. Good cw talk. You're getting me more and more interested in code. Maybe this winter as other activities slow down. Love your stuff. Brent

[@Jimwill01]

I think Cw is the first digital mode. It's either on or off! I have also heard that CW can be copied in very noisy situations where AM or SSB would be completely lost. Also, CW transmitters are much easier to build, often just a simple oscillator with a bit of filtering! :)

[@jbloodwo]

I think at least 3 states. Long, short, and space. But yes. Essential it is digital

[@MauriatOttolink]

J Wiiliams... Thanks for that... I always thought it was because you do it with your fingers.Hi. (grin!)

[@mitchelldullnig9915]

Best video on subject out there!! Excellent work, humorous and enjoyable too!! Many thanks!!!!

[@jankersten6212]

I'm also a noob in cw, but you gave very good info. Thanks 😊

[@Nobody12409]

Thanks for the great explanation of tuning for CW! Just starting out learning morse code, and videos like this is getting me encouraged. I was also wondering what that occasional fast frequency sweep noise was (I thought it was a "birdie"). Thanks for the explanation of that too! Great video! [Gil, KI5BPK]

[@loughkb]

Well, I said I 'suspect' that's what the sweeps are, nothing definitive. Could be many things. I may look closer at what the 7300 does when it measures swr.

[@Nobody12409]

@@loughkb - Would be interested in seeing if you find anything definitive. Your explanation makes a lot of sense. If it turns out to be wrong, the concept still is a good learning opportunity. Thanks again for all that you do and the info you're sharing.

[@thorntonderevoires7243]

Thank you for the video. I am just staring out learning Morse so it will be a while yet before I get on the air with CW, but understood the explanation and have filed this video for when I do.

[@donreid358]

I think the actual answer to whether the receiver or transmitter shifts frequencies depends on the design of the radio. Some radios use SSB mode for CW and inject an audio tone to transmit so their main oscillator is offset from the displayed frequency. But the important point is that the displayed "dial" frequency should be where the actual signal is, the "center" frequency. This is different from SSB where radios show the actual oscillator frequency instead of the center of the signal.

[@Swoop180]

The Yaesu FT 857D has the spot function to zero beat, but i'm just an appliance operator, so I opted for the 991A. Now all I need to do is Zin in!

[@rtgideon]

Kevin; Thanks for the information, that was a big help! Randy. California.

[@cwebs1000]

Great vid Kevin. We want more. Don't forget us poor people with 40 year old transceivers. I have 5 on line. Mostly hamfest, find and fix. I be poor. And I still run my Heathkit SB-104A that I built in 1978! 73 AB1ZI

[@BruceInFlorida]

Still have my Yaesu FT-102 purring along like a kitten. Yeah, the Icom 7300 sitting next to it is a nice rig, but the FT-102 is still my primary CW rig. Like you, my Mike is stuffed in a drawer, somewhere 😊 Sadly, I'll be moving to a HOA later this year, so these toys will be getting new homes. 😥 73, N4BRM

[@loughkb]

Hi Carl, Most of the old rigs will generate a sidetone when you turn off VOX while in CW mode and the same method would apply. I know it works on that old Kenwood I had, and also the old Icom 745 I used to have.

[@cwebs1000]

You are correct Kevin. Kenwood TS820s, ten week rebuild. Icom 740, three week rebuild and the Heathkit SB 104a. Have sidetone. More vids coming ???????

[@sparksw9dkb187]

Good video Kevin. Many Yaesu rigs have a visual indicator for matching CW freq. On my FT-857D, the receive light changes from green to blue, pulsing with each CW element. Elecraft and others have a bar graph type visual indicator.

[@loughkb]

Yep. The 7300 has a center line on the bandscope you can center the received signal on. Modern rigs have all kinds of tricks.

[@richard-fy2mu]

Technology changed since cw bfo on my hammerlund and little orange xtal xcver. in 1968! Anxious to try my FT875D with rit. KG5WKO I listen 7040 area straight keyer!

[@williamrudge175]

I’m new to ham radio. This has been an excellent video. Best wishes Bill

[@edk4590]

Most excellent Kevin, not that i have any use for this as I am not licensed, but it was very interesting anyway as I do understand radio theory and enjoy the fine qualities of the hobby .

[@dl8cy]

thank you and 73 for your explaining de dl8cy

[@acestudioscouk-Ace-G0ACE]

Thanks for this video. I'm just getting into HF and morse, so it was very useful infomation for moe.

[@Steve_Wardley_G6JEF]

Great video, I'm hoping to get into CW and this has de-mystified some of the knobs on my rig, will save this for future ref.

[@gertkok2113]

Awesome video Kevin, CW I feel is an essential skill as when the crap hits the fan and you need to get comms working with alot QRM or at very low power.

[@prestonshute7243]

Good video. You might want to cover zero beating your QCX rig, some kit or other older radios that don’t have auto or spot functions. Maybe zero beating in SSB and then switching to certain too. Then there is a great app that will generate the pitch you want. Keep your super videos coming. 73 wd4dda

[@loughkb]

I seem to remember from the QCX I built, that there was a way to key it and get a sidetone, without transmitting. But I think the receiver went quiet when the tone was generated. Can't quite remember. But if that was the case, you could still key and release, tune, key, release, tune, comparing the tones.

[@Scott-K7sce]

hmmmm i wonder if that home button trick with 817 would work with my 857 or 897d gonna have to try it... great demo kevin, i been looking for cw qso's lately so i can start learning & using my ww2 era strait key

[@RajaramSrinivasan59]

Excellent clarity as usual OM Kevin! Thanks a ton. 73.

[@JohnBr1234]

Thank you Kevin you have cleared up the things I had questions about when operating CW, Very informative. 73

[@TrystansWorkbench]

Wow - you have so many comments! Brilliant stuff. Back when I used a homebrew Direct Conversion transceiver, I would zero-beat (to no tone heard) then just flick the RIT switch and choose the pitch to listen to. It was really very easy. I've been using an IC-7300 too, and I've made a resonant speaker for 700Hz so that also helps to get the right frequency. Great vid. Thanks.

[@jeffreyeide7512]

Yo Kevin!: Great video! Reminds me of my novice days, plus when I built my vfo (hg-10), the complex gearing had me wanting to toss it out the window MULTIPLE times! Hi Hi! 73's de seeker/Jeff WA7LFP

[@Se7en49]

Thanks for the video Kevin, learned a lot 🎉

[@MrTPF1]

Excellent discussion and demo. Thank you!

[@bobbell6730]

Well done. As a longtime cw-only operator I knew this already but this is an excellent explanation for just about anyone. Bob VE3NZQ

[@tonytiger75]

That math cheat would have failed in my Uncle's math class. He's been a Ham since the 1930s.

[@loughkb]

That would have been hilarious!

[@tonyatnb]

Good video Most modern rigs display Xmit frequency, many give you choice to display receive frequency. Personally, I prefer Xmit frequency being displayed. Also... the receive offset on modern rigs are set for normal SSB receive... ie- below 10mHz LSB above 10mHz USB.Some older rigs do not. For instance, my Ten Tec Paragon shifts receive in the direction of USB

[@richardnday]

Great explanation. Thanks

[@andrewneil8060]

Excellent video! Thanks!

[@spqa2004]

I had always assumed that both operators were tuned to receive and transmit on the same frequency. And i had figured that the receiver simply generated an audible tone *locally* when it detected the other operator's carrier wave. But, alas, it is a little more complex than that.

[@lindsayhicks8152]

Good video that will help when I get my general and start my journey into cw learning by the way what ever happened to the hard luck heath kit. Keep up the good work

[@ChannelMaster720]

You do know that you don't need to be a General to operate most of the HF CW subbands.

[@lindsayhicks8152]

@@ChannelMaster720 yep I know that just want the general out of the way before I start that focus.

[@everydaypatriot1083]

Very informative... Thanks.

[@GeezerDust]

Thank you. You clarified something I thought I understood, but didn't. So, the transmitter is transmitting an exact frequency, same as the readout on his radio. You receive that carrier frequency that he sent, but what you hear is an offset tone generated in your receiver (say 600hz). If you were to listen to the exact frequency transmitted (without an offset), you would not hear anything (just as you demonstrated). Is that right, or am I still a grasshopper?

[@richardtwyning]

Excellent, very informative. Can't wait to get a 7300! Next summer hopefully. :-)

[@kylefreemason]

Excellent video! I am not sure how to ask my question. How do you know what speed to set yoyr rigs key speed to? Lets say I set the radio keyer speed to 10wpm but I start sending at 13wpm? Does the radio key speed dictate how fast the radio sends no matter how fast I key?

[@galileo_rs]

Pipe the audio to a sound analyzer and measure the pitch frequency. Baudline (for linux) is pretty nice software for that.

[@loughkb]

Now that would be a seriously nerdy approach! Ha. I played around with Baudline once a few years ago. Seriously odd UI. But I could see the potential. I wanted to use the sound card as an input for looking at VLF below 96Khz. Didn't quite get it to work back then. Baudline kept crashing on me. I might revisit the idea sometime.

[@galileo_rs]

@@loughkb Kind of figured you would appreciate the nerdiness factor ;) It is quite strange UI but once you get used to it, it's ok. Then again I use linrad on regular basis (and that thing is even weirder) so ... It does crash on startup, it hasn't been updated in ages and it is mostly used to analyze recordings of meteors and other strange stuff so the support for audio subsystem is lacking. I usually use it with Jackd, so once it starts (there is a trick how to do it) it is fine, newer had a crash. Seriously useful tool. All kinds of weird and wonderful things can be done with it. I have used it dozens of times to zero beat to a frequency standard and to align oscillators for example.

[@skinnyflea2628]

I thought the sweep was a ionosnode or sweep radar used for propagation testing

[@mysteryham4065]

Excellent video.

[@astrorad2000]

Another way to pitch match would be to use your smartphone or tablet with an audio generator app set to your preferred cw pitch, thus eliminating the need to disable the vox or breakin keying.

[@mjinabnit4481]

vry much enjoyed the vid om. Odd your rig's TX indicator stayed on the whole time, threw me off a bit. Tnx agn, 73! j

[@SuburbanDon]

This was a good review for me.

[@RckyMtneer]

Wow, finally makes sense to me. Tnx!

[@pietrogazzera5733]

Vy informative! Funny your adventure with your classmate! 😂😂

[@TianarTruegard]

Learned a new trick, didn't know how to "zero beat" my frequency when listening to CW. I have always just played it by ear so far. My Icom 718's break-in setting is buried in a menu sadly, no convenient button on the front panel.

[@jerryrobillard890]

Try using the cw reverse function. Get the same tone on cw and cw reverse and your good to go.

[@johnrees44..G4EIJ]

Great video.. Many thanks Kevin..John..G4EIJ..

[@johng7rwf419]

Many thanks Kevin A suggestion, FT4 has been announced (the contest version of FT8) Perhaps a future video? Regards John

[@donreid358]

You might look at JS8CALL too if you have not covered that already. Or FSQ mode or more on Fldigi.

[@loughkb]

I think I did. My catalog is getting big. Search my call and either topic to see if a video pops up. :-)

[@johnrees44..G4EIJ]

Hi Kevin..Great video, as always.. Regarding CW, especially when the bands are busy, what would you consider to be a reasonable space to leave between you and an adjacent station, when deciding on a frequency to call CQ? How close in frequency can I be to the ‘next guy’ without being guilty of intruding on his QSO?..Hope that’s clear.. Thanks.. John.. G4EIJ

[@loughkb]

I don't know if there is an official recommended distance. I usually think along the lines of filters. Many radios can take their IF filter down to 500 Hz these days, when in CW mode. So I try to stay at least 250 Hz away from other stations. Further if possible. Not everyone has a 500 Hz filter. On my 705, when I'm doing CW, I take the filter down to 100 Hz, centered on the station I'm working. Someone could be right next to him and I won't hear them at all.

[@johnrees6071]

@@loughkb As always, many thanks for your advice..73..John..G4EIJ

[@garyjohnson4608]

Thanx for the info !

[@paulhastings3109]

Well Morris code could be considered a second language. Thanks for the video 73KQ4CD

[@bentleys5059]

Great video! Thank you.

[@urbanbushcraft3018]

Hi Kevin. Isn't the sweep you spotted around 10:40 an en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionosonde ?

[@loughkb]

Possibly. I'm going to investigate the power the 7300 uses when it does the swr test. Could be a video in that.

[@DeeegerD]

I can't find those controls on my Pixie :)

[@f5rlwfab607]

Tnx for good vidéo 73's Fab F5RLW

[@MauriatOttolink]

Same thing happens watching a MARK on the spectrum scope.They just KNOW that you have seen them and are tuning towards them. They wait exactly to moment when you arrive and then stop sending...Grrrrrr!

[@nigelwright5172]

The running signals are often what i call running birdys , ie weather heaps of things can cause it ,vk2pha

[@instrobm8570]

great job !!!

[@Alan2E0KVRKing]

Very interesting, I'm CW deaf but I listen and decode with my mobile, maybe I'll learn as I go. Learnt something from this video! 73 2E0KVR

[@sandraabarca6029]

Ty very much I just Learned something.73😁

[@OM7AHU]

Good to know.

[@jeepnypitpits]

Thank you so much!!!

[@sundownsigns]

I've known the morse code for nearly sixty years. I've told my wife if ever I am unable to talk and I'm blinking or otherwise indicating I'm sending a message, get out the code book, I may be trying to communicate.

[@easydogeasydog3225]

excellent

[@radioactive8772]

Thanks for the video. It was a big help. KG7CQG

[@adrongarretson6195]

Nice this is KE0UEF 73 I'm in the process of learning Morse code myself so I appreciate the advice can't wait for some videos on how to program a G40 IBM IBM g44 Ubuntu I just want an operating system in there that I can use and not you know pay the man as that would say

[@garyjohnson4608]

Where can I buy a straight key so I can start learning cw ?

[@loughkb]

Search Amazon.com for straight key. Go to a hamfest. Or make your own. They are basically just a switch.

[@NamasenITN]

Kevin, could that chirp be a ionosonde - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionosonde ?

[@hzilla5550]

Please don’t hurl tomatoes at me but, is there any device like a modem /SDR which allows you to type a message on computer and encode it into CW and transmit it? There are devices that decode CW , like on an Elecraft KX3. I am wanting to encode typed messages into CW and transmit. Anyone?

[@loughkb]

Yes, there's software for most computer OS's. FLdigi comes to mind. It does many modes, including CW. There are two ways to interface the computer to the radio. One is to use a serial port, if it's an older machine, or a USB serial adapter on a newer machine. The software can pulse one or two of the pins high to key the radio with a simple transistor interface. The other way is with an audio interface like the signalink or my own DuinoVOX. FLdigi can do MCW or Modulated CW where it will simply use a tone into the transmitter in USB mode. There are many programs out there that can use the serial port method to key the radio and allow you to keyboard CW.

[@sandynewman5533]

Those sweeps you are seeing are super heterodyne signals. Most likely an over the horizon radar, or depending on where you are currently located, a CODAR. Russia has no qualms about using ITU frequencies for their long range radar systems.

[@loughkb]

"Super hetrodyne" is a term for a receiver architecture where a local oscillator is mixed with the incoming RF to produce an intermediate frequency signal for amplification and filtering. Not a form of transmitted signal. F.Y.I. And it was not OTH radar. Over the horizon radar can produce sweeps, but over a much smaller frequency range. You can hear the entire sweep within the pass band of your audio usually. There are samples of the different types on this page, along with audio samples and waterfall images. www.sigidwiki.com/wiki/Category:Radar

[@sandynewman5533]

@@loughkb sorry, I have been watching N4HNH, and he is in the Atlanta area, and I am in the Shenandoah Valley. We both see the same signals and that is what he was calling them. He's a sound engineer, so I think that is where I picked it up.

[@MauriatOttolink]

What do you think of WW2 stories about POWs communicating with each other by"tapping on the pipes"? My thoughts are always that the story came from somebody who hasn't the faintest idea about Morse Code and just made it up without realising that he was showing himself up. How do you send short and long taps? E is 1 dot, T is one dash. And the difference is? S is three dots...O is 3 dashes. SOS would just come out as 9 equal taps in groups of 3!

[@loughkb]

Early telegraph sounders only clicked when they were energized, and clicked when released. The delay between clicks was the 'sounding'. They could have used that rhythm. Or, they could have dragged the stone along the pipe to make the sound.

[@Py1axRADIOAMADORISMOSEMSTRESS]

Very good video and the trick but some times no time for that i like 600hz 700hz is good most of the time i do by my ear some times in pill up when i was in the island of abrolhos zy6v i always prefere people come in 800hz or more all rigs come with automatic tune so evry body come on same frequenci now when a broak the pill up is because im going 800 850 900 make this test is spot on fast tks for your video we need this material in portugues ok i will do for a friends in my channel 73 im sbscrible ..

[@jeromegrzelak8236]

Does the 7300 have a light that changes color like the ft857 mn

[@loughkb]

Can you be more specific?

[@dougsmith6896]

I find that if yur in a multi qso no one seems to be on the same freq. I guess it depends on what tone you have set your side tone to.. eg 600, 650,700 etc.. you are constantly adjusting rit.. it's worse if the band is noisy and your filter is set to 200 or narrower.. I could be wrong here..

[@DeeegerD]

I think those sweeps are not being created by HAMs. There are some transmission modes that sweep (the receiver also sweeps in sync). Could be military (no yours or mine) ;)

[@loughkb]

I sense a video in the making. Put the 7300 through a meter and dummy load and do the set test mode. See how much power it pumps.

[@loughkb]

Set should be swr

[@KC6CNN]

Military freq scan. Happens all the time on all freq.

[@neotoxo54]

I've almost quit 'zero-beating'...instead I use a tuned speaker made of a pvc tube enclosure for a 2" 8 ohm speaker. the enclosure is tuned so it resonates louder at 700 hz which is my preferred sidetone. when I hear a station I simply adjust my freq until the signal is loudest. Bottom line is I tune for max volume & that put me just a few hertz +/- of the transmitted freq. Diy vid here kzbin.info/www/bejne/apqxdn-rmsaIbK8

[@AndrejaKostic]

The sweeps are actually ionosondes, which are measring propagation, usually across the whole HF band. Quite interesting, and results from them are very interestig for short-term HF frequency planing. Look up Australian space weather office. They have maps with hourly measurements.

[@chuckcrizer]

"The missing manual..."

[@charlesschindler1971]

Heh...Kevin! You look like a coppertone commercial. No...no...I’m just kidding don’t pull your pants down and expose your butt cheeks!

[@TheNoCodeTech]

I must have a terrible ear for pitch. All sounds the same to me

[@loughkb]

Tone deafness is a real thing. Some people simply can't discern subtle shift in pitch. Some modern radios will do it for you. The Icoms have an "auto tune" button that will shift to lock on to the other station automatically.

[@telugulifefacts369]

How to repair cw 111 series

[@jeromegrzelak8236]

My FT991 asks me cw usb cw lsb if that helps kg6mn

[@loughkb]

Yeah. Some rigs call it CW and CWR for CW reversed. It just means which way do things get offset, up or down in frequency.

[@mabuhaydxstitchamateurradi9908]

That is right OM Kevin..you must have Good Ears... can be developed tru times of more practice and listening :) cool share very 73 MABUHAY de ThReeZa DW3TRZ Philippines CU down the log

[@jeromegrzelak8236]

i forogot abt the ft817 cw home thing i c u did ur homework om kg6mn