Tuning Sidetone

Cy Stanway

Hi

Another newbie question:

Is there a way to turn on the sidetone while tuning?

Mike-VA3MW

There is no sidetone while tuning. You would have to send a solid CW carrier or use a tone from something like WSJTx which has a tune function which sends a carrier on a single tone.

KD0RC

Hi Cy, just curious... Why do you want a tone during tuning?

Cy Stanway

Len, i think it is a holdover from my Drake TR-4 days. Somehow reassuring.

KD0RC

Ah, understood! Well, moving to an SDR rig like the Flex really makes you re-think some things that you have known your whole ham life. Tuning around the bands with a tuning knob is suddenly very tedious compared with seeing a signal and clicking on it. My first inclination was to reach for a knob when I first got my 6400, but now I can hardly operate a radio that does not have a panadapter!

Probably the biggest epiphany for me was the operation of the AGC-T control. If you try to use it like an RF gain control, you are not likely to get the most out of your rig. Follow the instructions published by Tim, W4TME and you can really quiet the noise without losing the signal. Took me a while on that one...

Jim KJ3P

Cy,

I usually leave the Break-in button off when I'm tuning to an existing signal (I think this may be what you mean). A quick tap on the key will let you match the signal to your sidetone, and you'll be zero-beated.

Of course, this gets me in trouble if I'm on a net and leave the break-in on <grin>.

But yes, a hot key that gives you a quick sidetone without transmitting anything would be a great addition to CW mode.

--jim KJ3P