[Elecraft] alternate method for finding zero beat with WWV

[Oliver Johns]

Dear group,

Wayne Burdick and others have given us methods for aligning the 4kHz  
reference oscillator of the K2 using zero beat with WWV.  The only  
problem is that it is sometimes hard to recognize zero beat.   
Counting the beats of the S meter works sometimes, but sometimes is  
fairly ambiguous.  Here is a wrinkle on Wayne's method that I haven't  
seen mentioned.

WWV not only emits a standard carrier, but also emits standard audio  
tones.  If you tune your K2 to WWV using, say LSB, you find that the  
received pitch of the tone varies as you approach zero beat.  When  
the K2's BFO is exactly zero beat with the WWV carrier, the received  
tone should be exactly of the correct pitch.  But how to recognize  
that correct pitch?  The answer is that the received audio pitch of  
the WWV modulation is independent of exact tuning WHEN YOU RECEIVE IT  
ON AN AM RECEIVER.  So, take any AM receiver capable of tuning WWV  
and listen to the pitch of the WWV tone on it.  When the pitch from  
the K2 speaker matches the pitch from the AM receiver speaker, you  
have zero beat.  You can even put the two radios close together and  
hear the beats between the two pitches.

73,

Oliver Johns
W6ODJ