[1000mp] Inrad 1 kHz filter?

[Bill Tippett]

PA1HR wrote:

>When I join a CW contest I use the 400 Hz filters now. But I must say that
some stations are just beside the passband of the 400 Hz filter. 1 kHz
bandwidth for normal use would be excellent!

        Hans, there is another way to accomplish this without the
1 kHz filter.  If you have dual 1.8/2.0/2.4 kHz filters, turn both
Shift and Width knobs fully CW (for LSB CW) or fully CCW (for USB CW).
This gives you a very wide skirted filter which is around 500 Hz at
the top and much wider at the bottom.  This will allow you to easily
hear guys that call 500 Hz off frequency once you learn to use it.
I normally set Pitch to about 450 Hz, A=B, and then tune the RX VFO A
to ~200 Hz above TX VFO B (for LSB CW).  For USB CW you would set VFO
A below VFO B.  I use VFO A's large knob for tuning the RX instead
of the very tiny RIT knob.

        I have dual 2.4's, dual 2.0's, dual 400/500 and dual 250's in
my MP (original).  My normal contest mode in CW is dual 2.0's as described
above.  Only under extreme conditions do I ever need to go to the 400/500
position, and I never use the 250's in a contest.  I do use the 250's
rarely on 160 for extremely weak DX signals.

        One problem with the above...if you are using the shifted 2.0 
mode and need to go to the 400/500 pair, you must reset Shift and Width
back to their normal center positions.  

        Anyway, if you have dual SSB filters (even stock), you might 
give the above a try and see if you like it.  K3ZO is the guy who 
first described this BTW.

                                                73,  Bill  W4ZV

P.S.  I hold current USA SOSB records on 10 CW for CQ WW, ARRL DX and 
WPX, so it does work!