[CQ-Contest] Zero Beat ? Not everybody does !

[Steve Dyer W1SRD]

N1MM set a random offset amount for clicked spots to try and help avoid 
the zero beat pile up phenom.
Also a good reason to add {CLEARRIT} to a RUN and S&P macro to make sure 
RX/TX RIT are reset to zero.

73,
Steve
W1SRD

On 12/9/2025 12:17, K9MA wrote:
> I noticed the same thing a few times. Unless one changes frequency 
> while running, the spots shouldn't be all that far off. I notice that 
> sometimes they are when I click on them, but that may be because of a 
> QSY. That's pretty common when running, when an adjacent station moves 
> in.  I suspect some callers are using wider bandwidths, but don't have 
> a sense of matching the beat notes. Musicians call that "tone 
> deafness", and some operators no doubt have it.
>
> A more frequent problem is when everyone is exactly zero beat with 
> each other. Sometimes the spots are TOO accurate!
>
> BTW, Bob's experience illustrates the dramatic difference in skirt 
> selectivity between the IC-7610 and the K4. The K4 has such poor 
> skirts that you can hear stations several hundred Hz from the center, 
> even with a 300-400 Hz bandwidth. At 400 Hz BW, the IC-7610 is 60 dB 
> down 270 Hz from the center, while the K4 is only 18 dB down. I know, 
> some prefer the softer skirts, but I don't. Anyway, the IC-7610 has a 
> softer option. Alas, for other reasons I prefer the K4, but I sure 
> wish it had filtering like the IC-7610.
>
> 73,
> Scott K9MA
>
>
> On 12/9/2025 12:25 PM, w2xl at twc.com wrote:
>>
>>     I participated in the ARRL 160 this past weekend. Conditions were
>> pretty bad and I didn't hit it real hard, mostly I ran. 25% or more of
>> my contacts were far (really far!) from zero beat. This seems to be
>> getting worse and some of the offenders are well known calls. Many
>> times the calls were far off my Freq. , some more than 500 - 1000 Hz.
>> and out of my passband. Some of these callers were strong enuf that I
>> would have got them on the first call if they were a little closer
>> close to zero beat. The only way I found some of them was I noticed
>> pips on my IC-7610 band scope that were out of my passband, but in
>> sync with my calling CQ or QRZ and I used the RIT to tune way off
>> Freq. to pull them in. I normally run 200 - 300 Hz bandwidth but I had
>> to open it to 450 Hz to hear a lot of these calls.
>>   I think there are several reasons for this: 1. Stations click on
>> packet spots that are not exactly the frequency that I am on , they
>> hear me OK but don't bother to tune me in better. 2. Listening to a
>> beat note that is not what their RX is set for. (which sets the exact
>> TX freq.) 3. Wide CW Filter or CW filter setting (which can cause 1 &
>> 2) 4. Using the logging software to set a TX offset to break pile ups
>> that is too far from normal for S & P use. (I think 100 - 200Hz should
>> be more that enuf for S & P)
>>   So I would ask that everyone check out the factors I have mentioned
>> and try to get close to zero beat when doing S & P  73 MX & HNY Bob
>> W2XL
>>   PS: This is my first post to CQ Contest after abt 57 years of
>> Contesting ! MX & HNY !
>>
>>
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>
>