Spot Tone

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Spot Tone

SHEAJOHNW
Try holding down PRE/ATT in CW mode to start the spot tone.  Tapping PRE/ATT will stop the tone.  You tune the CW signal back and forth until the CW tone pitch matches the spot tone. You should then be tuned to the CW signal frequency when you transmit.
 
You were selecting the PF1 function which is giving you the setting for changing tone volume.  Pressing and holding RIT gives you SSE L 143, turning the dial will change tone volume only.  143 is very loud!  Reduce your volume and try tuning a signal again.
 
Holding XIT (PF2) usually will start the tone and allow you to change tone pitch.  Many CW operators use a 600 to 800 hz pitch. A 600 pitch is ST P 0.60.
 
If you have Spectrogram or a digital program with a waterfall display such as MixW, you can see the tones on the computer screen.  In CW mode, press and hold PRE/ATT, Tune until the spot tone and CW signal tone overlap, tap PRE/ATT to stop the spot tone.
 
73 de KB1IKD
 
If you are not hearing a tone, something is wrong.  
 
<<I guess I don't understand at all how to use the spot feature. For all I
know my K2 may not even have it. I just listened to N0SS 2 different wav
files and still can't figure out what I'm doing.  When I hit the Spot
button, same as Rit only held longer I get SE L  143. The number changes as
I turn the main tuning dial but the tone completly wipes out the signal I'm
listening to, no matter how loud it is. Maybe I need one of those LED Tuners
I've been reading about. What am I doing wrong??

Jerry - NR5A - South Dakota>>
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RE: Spot Tone

Craig Rairdin
> Maybe I need one of those LED Tuners
> I've been reading about. What am I doing wrong??

Others have made good comments about how to use SPOT. Lately I've been
running my audio into my laptop and running CWGet. It has a nice little
spectrum display where the CW signals show up as sharp peaks on the waveform
display. I tune until the signal I want is right at 600 Hz on the display
then I don't have to try to match the tone.

You can set CWGet up so it will sit looking at one frequency (in my case,
600 Hz) so when I get the peak over the hash mark for 600 Hz is also when it
starts copying the code.

I have a pretty good sense of pitch and some musical talent, but for some
reason I find it easier to put the peak over the 600 mark than to "hear" 600
Hz reliably.

I sure think some kind of graphical display for the K2 would be nice. I'm
not familiar with what all the "fancy" rigs do with their color displays. I
kinda skipped a few generations of equipment when I dropped out of ham radio
in the early 80's then woke up like Rip Van Winkle in 2005 to build a K1 and
K2. But it seems like some kind of graphical display would come in handy for
lots of things.

Maybe the K3...

Craig
NZ0R
K1 #1966
K2/100 #4941

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Re: Spot Tone

Ian Stirling, G4ICV, AB2GR
On Wednesday 05 October 2005 03:34, Craig Rairdin wrote:
> > Maybe I need one of those LED Tuners

  The only real way to ensure spotting is to
receive while transmitting.
  Even the K2 can't do that.

Ian, G4ICV, AB2GR, K2 4962
--

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RE: Spot Tone

Ron D'Eau Claire-2
In reply to this post by Craig Rairdin
Craig, NZ0R wrote:

I have a pretty good sense of pitch and some musical talent, but for some
reason I find it easier to put the peak over the 600 mark than to "hear" 600
Hz reliably.

=========================
The "spot" function does not require any sense of musical pitch or tone. It
does not require one to detect a particular frequency. Perhaps that's the
confusion. Finding "zero beat" is the method FOR those with no musical
talent or sense of frequency.

When the levels are set correctly - the level of the sidetone and the
received signal are close to the same - one hears a very clear 'beat'.
That's what "zero beat" means. As you bring the frequencies together you
hear a tone that keeps dropping in frequency toward zero. As you get close,
you  hear a 'whop, whop, whop..." that finally drops to a very slow rate or
stops altogether. That's zero beat.

But, to hear the beat, it's important that the levels be fairly well
matched. If one is stronger than the other, it's hard to hear.

I recommend people practice on WWV or some other steady carrier because it
can be tricky to hear on a keyed CW signal until one knows what one is
listening for.

Bottom line, do NOT pay attention to the frequency of the side tone or the
frequency of the received signal. Instead, listen for the THIRD tone that
appears when they are well matched in level, and then tune until that third
tone goes to zero Hz...

Ron AC7AC

 

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RE: Spot Tone

Ron D'Eau Claire-2
In reply to this post by Ian Stirling, G4ICV, AB2GR
  The only real way to ensure spotting is to
receive while transmitting.
  Even the K2 can't do that.

Ian, G4ICV, AB2GR, K2 4962
---------------------------

Sure it can, Ian! The oscillators in the K2 are those that produce the tones
you zero beat to in receiver are the same oscillators that make RF in
transmit. The only difference is that the power level is increased
tremendously in  xmit. The frequencies are unchanged.

Ron AC7AC

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RE: Spot Tone

Craig Rairdin
In reply to this post by Ron D'Eau Claire-2
Most of my CW work is contests. I don't have time to adjust the level. Most
of the time I can hear that the two tones are the same frequency. But
sometimes my ear tricks me and I'm off by some happy sounding interval, like
a whole octave or a fifth or a third. All I was saying in my post is that
the visual trick works great if you have trouble hearing it.

Craig

-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email]
[mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Ron D'Eau Claire
Sent: Wednesday, October 05, 2005 12:42 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: RE: [Elecraft] Spot Tone


Craig, NZ0R wrote:

I have a pretty good sense of pitch and some musical talent, but for some
reason I find it easier to put the peak over the 600 mark than to "hear" 600
Hz reliably.

=========================
The "spot" function does not require any sense of musical pitch or tone. It
does not require one to detect a particular frequency. Perhaps that's the
confusion. Finding "zero beat" is the method FOR those with no musical
talent or sense of frequency.

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RE: Spot Tone

Ron D'Eau Claire-2
Craig wrote:

Most of my CW work is contests. I don't have time to adjust the level. Most
of the time I can hear that the two tones are the same frequency. But
sometimes my ear tricks me and I'm off by some happy sounding interval, like
a whole octave or a fifth or a third. All I was saying in my post is that
the visual trick works great if you have trouble hearing it.

-----------------

I never adjust the level either. Once it's close, you'll automatically have
the level FB by simply having the gain set for comfortable listening,
especially if you have the AGC enabled.

Ron AC7AC

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