[Elecraft] 6m off-frequency

[Mike Rhodes]

...would certainly be interesting to set those operators who tune for 
the "zeros" down in front of a vintage rig with a tuning dial - although 
I think Erik alluded to that a bit in his post. Better yet, how about a 
stint in the crystal controlled Novice band where you tuned from one end 
of the band to the other in search of an answer to your call.

Mike / W8DN
Yes, a crusty OT

On 6/11/2017 5:41 PM, Erik Basilier wrote:
> Ian,
>
> I don't have any suggestions for a solution beyond what others have already
> mentioned, but as a side note I would like to discuss the concept of "off
> frequency".
>
> It seems to me that these days, on the HF bands that I frequent, more and
> more people tune SSB to where the displayed frequency is on an 500 Hz
> boundary, and their rigs have sufficient frequency accuracy that excellent
> copyability results without any further adjustment. This approach is much
> faster than tuning by listening for most natural voice, which for me takes a
> few moments. When I look over the shoulder of operators at Field Day, a
> surprising percentage of people take a long time trying to tune for natural
> voice, and still don't end up even close to correct tuning, so they should
> be helped even more by just "going for the zeroes". While I haven't used 6m
> recently, I would guess that the "zeroes" approach has become common there,
> although the average rig may not be as frequency-accurate there as it would
> be on the lower bands. Further to how to tune in other stations quickly, I
> just found another way to minimize SSB tuning time when scanning the bands.
> I configured the K3 to use the RIT knob to act as a coarse tuning knob
> (CONFIG: VFO OFS), with 500 Hz steps (CONFIG: VFO CRS). I also set the main
> tuning knob to a 500 Hz boundary. After setting things up this way, I use
> the P3 with a span of +- 25 kHz to identify the next SSB station up or down
> the band, then turn the RIT knob to put the passband over it. That puts me
> close enough that only one more 500 Hz step will tune to perfect voice
> clarity, and many times I will be tuned perfectly with no adjustment at all.
> Much, much faster than cranking the VFO knob, first to approximate frequency
> and then fine adjustment by listening. Occasionally it happens that the
> station is not on a 500 Hz boundary, and I have to turn on RIT and fine
> adjust by the RIT knob. Then I will usually soon hear that the station
> saying that he is using an older rig. That is becoming rather rare, though.
> After I am finished listening to the "off frequency" station, I just turn
> off the RIT, and the RIT knob lets me tune in the next station quickly using
> 500 Hz steps, while leaving the main tuning knob alone. Now tuning SSB
> stations is a bit like tuning FM "channels". I am not advocating
> "channelizing" the HF bands, as we should have the freedom to select our
> frequenciy according to the situation, but a lot of times, using a frequency
> ending in zeroes saves time and effort.
>
> 73,
> Erik K7TV
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net
> [mailto:elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Ian Kahn
> Sent: Sunday, June 11, 2017 8:46 AM
> To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: [Elecraft] 6m off-frequency
>
> All,
>
> I've been operating a little in the ARRL VHF contest this weekend, on 6m,
> and I'm having an interesting, and not good, experience. Everyone I try to
> work is reporting that I'm off frequency by about 500 Hz. I don't have
> RIT/XIT enabled. My K3, s/n 281, went to Elecraft earlier this year for some
> upgrades and a tune-up, and came back with a clean bill of health and
> meets/exceeds specs.
>
> I admit, I am new to 6m operation, but this constant report of being
> off-frequency concerns me. Is there some calibration step, specific to 6m,
> that I missed? I don't get this report on any other band, and have never
> gotten it in over 6 years of operating this rig. My assumption is that if it
> came back from the Mother Ship clean, and I've never used 6m before, that it
> should be properly calibrated.
>
> Any guidance/advice is greatly appreciated.
>
> Thanks and 73,
>
> --Ian
> Ian Kahn, KM4IK
> Roswell, GA  EM74ua
> km4ik.ian at gmail.com
> 10-10 #74624  North Georgia Chapter #2038 PODXS 070 #1962
> K3 #281, P3 #688 KAT500 #860, KPA500 #1468
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