[TenTec] rcw

[Dr. Gerald N. Johnson]

On Mon, 2008-09-15 at 18:43 -1000, Ken Brown wrote:
> > Reverse CW (on the Orion this is UCW) uses the upper sideband side of zero 
> > beat.  In reverse CW, as you tune up in frequency, the pitch of CW signals 
> > goes down.  In LCW mode, as you tune up in frequency, the pitch of the CW 
> > signal also goes up.
> >   
> True....and.... which one, USB or LSB, would most correctly be called 
> "reverse" is a matter for discussion.
> 
> Before I bought a Ten-Tec Omni VI, I had used a Kenwood TS-440, which 
> operates CW using upper sideband. I was used to that, and a bit annoyed 
> that the Omni VI could only operate CW LSB. I think that most rigs these 
> day give you a choice. My preference would be USB, though there is no 
> really good reason to have a strong preference for on over the other, I 
> suppose.

That LSB preference was copied from ICOM (as are the radio digital
control codes).

But there is an application that makes the use of LSB for CW obnoxious.
Because of that I have a Corsair II (which doesn't do that bad thing)
instead of an Omni V or VI. On VHF (with transverters) under weak signal
conditions mixed mode contacts are not unusual and all SSB is USB. If
not mixed (CW/SSB) mode, mode changes are often made rapidly. Some
dedicated VHF/UHF radios (Yaesu 726 and 736) didn't do that well but at
least they stayed on USB, though they kept the frequency display the
same and shifted the receiver which was confusing and annoying. I really
enjoyed the capabilities of my FT-857D this last weekend of VHF QSO
Party. It will run SSB if I pick up the microphone and will run CW with
NO mode switching if I send from the key. If I did do the mode switch
from SSB to CW it doesn't change the receiver frequency but only the
display to show the offset transmit frequency. It also changes the DSP
from SSB LP/HP filter to a narrow bandpass that I don't appreciate if
the DSP is enabled. But I get along good with it otherwise. I might
solve that with an outboard passive low pass filter on the speaker. On
HF where CW and SSB don't mix it matters far less which sideband is used
for CW though some of us learned to tune up the band and expect signals
to fall in pitch when doing that and so prefer CW on USB though we get
the same effect by tuning down and the occasional rig has had a reversed
knob rotation to make that automatic.

> With USB as the standard for many commercial and military SSB 
> operations, even below 9 MHz where hams switch from USB to LSB, I would 
> think that USB would tend to be the default. I have got used to the Omni 
> VI LSB CW operation. If it wasn't such a good CW rig, I would not have 
> got used to LSB CW.
> 
> DE N6KB
> 
73, Jerry, K0CQ