[Elecraft] Keying CW in SSB Mode

Bob McGraw K4TAX rmcgraw at blomand.net
Tue Jul 4 09:32:55 EDT 2017


Using audio tones in LSB or USB mode for CW is risky business. Any 
amount of over drive or excessive audio anywhere in the system, 
computer, software, radio and such WILL cause problems. Same for hum or 
distortion of the audio, specially if impacted by a wee bit of RF in the 
audio.

I don't advise using this method unless one is very sure they have the 
system optimized for most any digital mode.  The K3S is ideal in as much 
as one can use DATA A mode and not be concerned with the LSB or USB 
offset.  Plus a single cable between the radio and computer is all that 
is required to be successful for CW or the DATA modes.

If your software provides CW via the KY CMD, as in HRD/DM780, this is 
direct CW and is handled in the CW mode by the K3S. Sweet!

73

Bob, K4TAX


On 7/2/2017 9:32 AM, Dauer, Edward wrote:
> I wonder if this explains something I ran into during FD.  On several occasions – usually late at night – I was able to do some running, all on CW.  Five or six times over several hours I heard stations calling me way off my frequency.  It seemed like a Khz or more, though I didn’t measure it at the time.  They were outside the passband and I heard them only when, after a CQ, I tuned the RIT widely on either side.  I wondered why that would be happening.  I certainly wasn’t the target of a pileup.  One possibility I thought of was that those callers had forgotten to cancel split after the last time they intended to use it.  But this thread about audio tones keying CW on SSB suggests another.  Is it possible that they were using CW keying on USB or LSB which resulted in a frequency offset of, typically, 600 (or, as Don suggests, 1200) Hz?  If so, it seems like it wouldn’t be a great strategy during a contest on a crowded band.
>
> Ted, KN1CBR
>      
>      
>     




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