[Elecraft] Thoughts on split VFO's

[Ron D' Eau Claire]

Bob wrote:
> I personally dislike blinking lights.  They are very distracting,
> especially
> when spending long hours in front of the radio.  Blinking lights should be
> reserved for those functions that require operator attention ...
> after which
> the blinking stops!

ABSOLUTELY!


>, I might prefer
> to enable a state where my transmit frequency is locked and the main VFO
> knob becomes the RIT.  (idea compliments of N5KO)

That's already in the software.

You just press and hold SPLIT to put the rig in "Split" mode. Now the main
tuning only affects the Receive frequency. It has no affect on the transmit
frequency. The only way you can change the TX frequency is to either 1) Hit
A=B to put the TX VFO on your current receive frequency or 2) Hit A/B to
switch to the other VFO and set it where you want to TX then hit A/B again
to move back to the one you are using for receive. I find it easiest to just
tune to the frequency where I want to transmit and tap A=B, then go on
tuning the receiver knowing that my transmitter is all set where I want it.

Bob wrote:

> > Also, I think it would be good to have the radio set up so that in split
> > mode, the user can only transmit on VFO "B". In other words VFO A has to
> > be the primary receive frequency. You could still press the "A/B" button
> > to have a listen on the other side of course. What would this do - it
> > would prevent us from transmitting on a DX station's frequency when the
> > operator is listening up.

I can't see how you can accidentally transmit on top of the DX station
unless you were NOT listening to him. That is, if you have your rig in
SPLIT, it jumps to the other VFO frequency when you key the transmitter, so
unless you have both VFO's set on top of the DX station's frequency, you
can't transmit on top of him.

I HAVE accidentally transmitted on top of the DX station by forgetting that
I was NOT in split, so transmitter didn't automatically jump to the other
VFO frequency when I keyed. That's why I am interested in having a more
obvious SPLIT ON indicator.

Ron AC7AC
K2 # 1289