CW Mode

[shakaote]

I'm new to amateur radio; still figuring out all the terms...

If I set the radio to "cw mode", do I also have to set (I think) RIT in order to receive CW and be able to hear anything, or does "cw mode" detect the signal digitally and make a tone w/o me having to think about zero beating, etc.

Thanks,
Scott

[Chip]

It receives in cw mode.

[KL7MJ]

Scott,
Putting the rig in CW mode engages the BFO. All you need to do is tune your radio until the tone of the signal you want to hear is about 800hz. If the tone is higher or lower than 800hz, your signal at the other end will be lower or higher.

One way to train you ear to the correct tone is to find a nice strong signal and keep reducing the filter bandwidth (double tap the enter button) and keep adjusting for the loudest signal. At 50hz, the tone should be right around 800hz.

73,
Mike, KL7MJ

[shakaote]

OK. I'm absorbing a lot of new stuff so it gets kinda cluttered and mixed up. So, the 800Hz was an offset to make the continuous wave audible, and that's how things were, when things were analog. Since this is digital, I thought that well, it can do whatever it wants when it detects a continuous rf signal. Maybe I don't understand what it's really doing.

I got confused because I got spotted on reverse beacon at 800Hz higher than I was transmitting. I jumped through some hoops to make sure it wasn't my radio wildly miscalibrated... being a beginner, I assumed it was . But my trusdx transmits on the exact same frequency as my crystal radios, and shows up at the right frequency on my sdr receiver.

I suppose the reverse beacon reported the frequency with some 800Hz offset because... tradition? Or I'm still befuddled.

Anyway, I like this little radio. Just trying not to make a mess of the airwaves.

Thanks,
Scott

[KL7MJ]

Scott, I'm not sure if the BFO is an actual BFO or a shift inside the IC, but the result is the same. You want to tune your rig so that the displayed frequency matches the signal you're receiving/transmitting. I would accept that RBN is accurate, and I don't know why it would show a different value than what you are actually transmitting. I use RBN to check my frequency and it matches my VFO. I also use spots on pota.app to check my VFO.