Yes, it has a legitimate use. It indicates when one person stops talking during informal use of a radio channel such as when the astronauts are talking.
It replaces the spoken word "over" that is standard in professional, military and Amateur use. So there are very few situations where it has any value in Amateur work. VHF FM repeaters, for example, sometimes use the "beep" to signal when the repeater drops the carrier, since that happens after a delay following the last transmission. That is, two or more people might be talking through the repeater for a while, then when the conversation ends, a few seconds later the repeater will drop its carrier with a "beep" to signify that has happened, since there's no background noise to indicate the carrier is gone. It might be helpful in an SSB round table, except that it'd be darn irritating. There'd be a beep every few seconds! Short transmissions with brief pauses to be sure the frequency is clear are a much better way to avoid "doubling" transmissions with someone. After all, it only means the individual has stopped talking and nothing more. Ron AC7AC -----Original Message----- Nasa uses it, so it must have some purpose... I have a 10 meter rig that has it built in, along with echo and robot voice! The beep is ok but to loud, with no way to adjust it. Brett N2DTS _______________________________________________ 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
