Topband: Zero Beat

[Rick Karlquist]

Jim Bennett wrote:
> Just my two cents worth on the zero beat issue. My station is one of the
> little guns / squirt guns. I operated in the weekend's contest with a

I'm not a little gun, but you are absolutely correct.  The thing to
do is answer about 50 Hz above or below zero beat.  I have been
doing this for years.  Just enough to allow the running station to
distinguish the callers, but within a 200 Hz filter bandwidth (remember
that means +/- 100 Hz.  "Just off zero beat".

It isn't easy to get this right.  You have to accurately zero beat
your receiver, but select XIT = +/- 50.  My FT1000 have a "CW tune"
light for zero beating.  I don't know what people with other rigs
do.

The worst case is where you have a guy sending at 10 WPM with a
straight key who is way off frequency.  Obviously, not an experienced
contest operator, he is quite capable of being way off frequency.
Or maybe he's not off frequency, just isn't good at CW.

Rick N6RK