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 _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
