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Old September 14th 06, 01:54 PM posted to rec.radio.shortwave
Doug Smith W9WI Doug Smith W9WI is offline
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First recorded activity by RadioBanter: Jul 2006
Posts: 82
Default Operating CW on HT Radios

SR wrote:
I was wondering how can one transmit CW on a 6 meters, 2 meters and 440
MHz HT radio?

What kind of CW key is used? Straight or paddle?

Where is it connected on the HT radio?

How do you control things like tone, speed, weight?

HT V/UHF radio seem to not have a CW mode.

Is their a HT model out there for CW?


I don't know of any current HTs that will transmit CW. The Kenwood
TH-F6 will *receive* CW but won't transmit it. (I believe Yaesu makes a
similar radio)

Theory would suggest you could send CW with any HT by using the
push-to-talk button as a Morse key. Or, by connecting a code key to the
external microphone jack, to the PTT terminals. However, in my
experience this works VERY poorly if at all. [0] I don't think the
frequency-setting PLL circuit stabilizes fast enough to allow you to do
this. You might be able to do it at VERY slow code speeds, 5wpm or less.

One good option is to use *tone-modulated* CW. Use one of the
touch-tone buttons on the radio as a code key. Unlike shortwave CW, the
RF carrier would be on all the time, but you'd be keying an audio tone
(actually, two audio tones) on and off. *Any* HT with a tone pad could
transmit this way, and *any* normal HT could receive this kind of CW.

--
Doug Smith W9WI
Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66
http://www.w9wi.com

[0] (I managed to complete a CW contact this way on 2 meters once. I
later contacted the same station on 6 meters, where I had a real radio.
Asked him what my signal was like on 2 meters. He said "if a guy
wants the contact badly enough, he can copy it...")