[Elecraft] CW Pitch Resolution

[drewko]

Unless you're using APF, in which case a few Hz might make a
difference.

Like others, I don't buy the musical CW pitch theory either. However,
the pitch of a CW note IS important, and there may be different
optimum pitches for various different reception conditions (assuming
your hearing response is not limited to a single narrow range). 

It would be very useful to be able to adjust this pitch in an
interactive way. That is a feature I wish the K3 had... Say if you
have tweaked a signal to optimum in a narrow filter: it would be nice
to then simply adjust its pitch for optimum readability. 

Unfortunatey. if you do this by changing the VFO/RIT, the signal is
moved off  center or out of the passband entirely. You could use the
PITCH control: however, when it is engaged you can't actually hear the
particular signal you are trying to optimize, only the loud sidetone.
It is a bit of a guessing game, switching PITCH on and off to find the
best tone for the signal. It would be a bit like having the signal
muted every time you try to adjust the af gain. Not very useful.

73,
Drew
AF2Z


On Sat, 19 Oct 2013 14:36:37 -0700 (PDT), Al  W6LX wrote:

>A few Hertz either way in the CW pitch not only doesn't make a lot of psychoacoustical difference, but is hardly perceptible unless you have near-perfect pitch, and even then isn't necessarily a problem.
> 
>Changing the pitch probably has more to do with the self-resonant frequencies of your speaker enclosures or headphones, and room. Choose a Spot pitch that you like and be done with it.
> 
>When I was a kid 750 Hz was the most popular sidetone frequency. I have noticed a steady decrease in the consensus spot frequency over these 40 years. I don't know why. Maybe it has to do with hearing loss. Too many 'The Who' concerts.
> 
>The letter published in QST about this was bordering on junk science. To single out "432 Hz" as some magical sidetone frequency is very like the New Age videos on YouTube claiming that listening to certain magical frequencies can heal your mind and give you holistic peace. It's simply nonsense.
> 
>Al  W6LX
> 
>