Topband: 160 mtr low signal - CW Pitch

[EP Swynar]

On 27th November Bob wrote...

> Is there one pitch better than another for this? Note: I like a very low
CW pitch of 270 Hz for very weak signal DX-ing. Please tell me what you
think on this. I have an IC-775 es hit has pitch control so it can be
changed.

Bob,

I'm hardly an expert on this, but for what it's worth, I find that a high
pitch becomes VERY fatiguing after awhile...I personally prefer a nice, LOW
pitch: not only is it FAR easier on my tinitus-plagued ears, but it's also a
WHOLE lot easier to separate close-in signals  "...in my head, by ear", if
you follow me...

I use an Icom 751A here: whenever I'm digging for weak signals, I switch in
all of the IF filters (including the optional 250-Hz unit), adjust the IF
shift control up to about the 9:00 o'clock position, and then set the RIT
control DOWN by 400-Hz...in addition to all this, I listen with headphones
through an old Autek QF-1 active audio filter set in the low-pass position,
with the selectivity set to the lowest possible setting.

The result is near-perfect single signal selectivity --- it's so tight, in
fact, that an interfering signal has to be practically right on top of what
I'm listening to. Indeed, when I call CQ, fast callers who are even 100-Hz
away can be missed!

I personally think that this is the absolute best way dig out the really
weak ones in the noise, bar none...but again, like callsigns, each operator
is different, & no doubt has different preferences!

~73~ Eddy VE3CUI - VE3XZ