We’ve all heard the term “zero-beat”. “Please zero-beat to me”, or “when listening to two stations that are zero-beat, I don’t know who’s who” or “to bust the pile-up, make sure you don’t zero-beat”. In modern parlance, people just mean “exactly match the frequency”. To “zero-beat” however does refer to a specific technique with some interesting physics behind it.
Continue reading Humming, Trains and the Joys of Zero-Beating
There were some peculiarities with my TS-520s CW operation, and not knowing exactly where the issue lay, I have tried to understand the different factors at play. This post will attempt to demystify the CW signal chain’s frequency transformation.
Continue reading Exploring the TS-520s’ CW frequency chain.
In Australia and New Zealand, our parks exchange is a little different to what’s been published online for other parts of the world, so if you’re just starting out chasing or activating with CW, here’s the commonly used script.
Continue reading VK Parks/SOTA CW exchange
Following on from the previous exploration of how receivers convert a CW signal into an audable tone, we will take the next step in our journey to understand why pre-DSP receivers have a fixed pitch CW tone, and the oft overlooked feature there to ease your ears.
Continue reading Making CW your easy listening station of choice.
Needing a paired 49:1 transformer and a common mode choke (CMC) for a permanently installed EFHW, I whipped one of each up and mounted them in some 50 mm PVC pipe.
Continue reading A 49:1 & CMC pair
Small, high performing and cheap, what’s not to love about bifilar wound common mode chokes (CMC). This article will walk through the process of building one (or two).
Continue reading Building bifilar common mode chokes.
Does your amateur radio station comply with EMR safety guidelines? The WIA and RSGB tools enable you to quickly evaluate, mitigate and document your compliance. I expect that in most instances, it would take less than 10 minutes to complete. It really is as easy as a, b, c.
Continue reading EMR Safety Management Book – a, b, c
If I’m listening to a CW signal on 7.025 MHz, what magic transpires such that my receiver outputs a 500 Hz tone for me to listen to?
Continue reading CW Signals – What am I hearing
I received this set with my Diamond X300 vertical -> Kenwood TM-V71 -> MMSSTV. There were of course a lot more decodes, which allowed me to select the best of each image.
Continue reading ISS SSTV Expedition 73 – ARISS Series 27
There was no issue when I had but one radio capable of CW. My straight key and paddles were plugged into their respective ports on the back of my TS-590SG. In time I acquired an all mode 2 m rig, so a second straight key went onto the desk. Then the TS-520S and FT-101E followed over a twelve-month period. Each additional radio increased the number of keys on my desk, and a corresponding decrease of available desk space.
Continue reading CW Key to Radio Switch