practicing cw using the keyer without transmitting

Gene - K3GC

With my Yaesu DX5000 I could disengage breakin and use mon to hear what I was sending in order to practice CW sending.
Can I do  this with my 6700 and, if so, how?  It appears that MON is disabled when selecting CW mode.
Thanks,
Gene K3GC

George KF2T

Just turn the power to zero and operate normally. Sidetone works, but no RF is generated.

Gene - K3GC

Thanks

DH2ID

That would be the complicated way, it's easier to just click off the
Breakin button, no RF generated then and a nice sidetone.
Main advantage is: as soon as you want not only to practice CW but
to send some, click Breakin again and - bingo, there you are ;-) 

Robert -- N5IKD

I have been switching to the 4 meter band where I can't transmit, then I mute the slice and listen to the side tone. I like Alex's solution of unchecking the break-in better.

DH2ID

Well, it's what I do to practice with my good old IC-756PRO, still IMHO
the best full-QSK CW machine, it has exactly the same Breakin button as
SSDR, albeit mechanical, hi...

Ken - NM9P

Alex is correct, unless you want to practice sending in the presence of receiver noise as it would be heard in actual transmitting. In that case, George's answer works. I prefer turning odd the breakin button.

Steve W6SDM

Sending CW is a good way to practice sending CW.  The best way to learn how to copy CW is to listen to someone/something else sending.  Recognizing the characters that you hear without expecting them is part of the skill.  Sending is a good way to memorize the characters but in order to learn you need to listen to someone sending.  Listen around the band for some CW rag chewers and copy them.  You will not only increase your code skills, you will lean a lot of interesting tidbits of information.

Code doesn't have to be slow in order for you to learn. If you only listen to code that's 5 WPM you will develop a 5 WPM ceiling that's hard to break.   When you hear a character sent at 10 words per minute, you will freeze from panic, a natural reaction, and miss the character.

Also, the speed BETWEEN characters is more important as it gives your brain time to decipher the dits and dahs and assign them to a letter.  You don't have to slow a song down to recognize the melody after you've heard it a few times.  It's the same with code.  The additional space between characters that makes it easier to copy is the principal behind Farnsworth spacing.  There are a few articles out there on that subject.

I spent years teaching Marines, who hated the fact that they were listening to "ditties" instead of out in the field firing their M-16, how to copy Morse.  Some were easier than others to teach but none of them was as willing as a ham operator wanting to expand his enjoyment of the hobby.

Keep going and good luck.  Learning CW will get you more DX and a better score in contests.  I am really glad that after all these years and tons of technological evolution Morse code is still alive and well in our hobby.

73,

Steve

DrTeeth

Doesn't the 6 series generate 1W when set to zero power? I'm sure I read that somewhere on this forum.

Ken - NM9P

There is zero output at zero, and about one Watt at a setting of 1. IIRC.

Jay Nation

Guy

Nope, it doesn't generate 1W when set to zero power. As you have now read on this forum. You are now faced with having to unread something. Be careful when you read, Don't rely on things you read on the internet. That's the problem with information, a lot of it is wrong.
Trust, but verify, especially when dealing with fictional accounts of factual reality. Or, just sit back and enjoy the show.  

DrTeeth

I *knew* I read it somewhere. I took Tim's comment to mean when the slider is at 0, power output is 1W.

Jay Nation

Guy
Tim's statement is true. 0 puts out 0w 1 puts out @1w depending on how you obtain the measurement, trying to select a value between 0 and 1 with the slider is fun, and deserves further experimentation, I assume you only need to position the slider between 0 and 1, my mouse doesn't seem to be accurate enough. Maybe, you have a better mouse. Can you tell us which model your using? The one I have has problems with auto selecting and auto clicking things when I'm neither look at it or touching it. I just don't know which one to try next.  

DrTeeth

I'm not having a problem or trying to do anything in particular, it is just that I took Tim's post (obviously wrongly) to mean that one could not tx at less than 1W (at all) rather than that one could not transmit at a fraction of a watt.

Too much **** as a student is now taking its toll possibly.

Jay Nation

**** goggles used to do the same to me at around the same time. If your ever in my neighborhood, I'll buy you a new set or at least the first round.

n4mcc

I find it hard to practice sending even with Breakin off and power at zero since there is a constant background noise from my 6300 even with the antenna disconnected. Still think I am doing something wrong because of the background noise.

KD0RC

Try muting the receiver. You will still hear the sidetone.