Sunday, Aug. 7, 2016, 10 p.m. — Just wrapped up a nice QSO with W4DAN in southeastern Tennessee on 75 meters. I moved my Icom IC-746 from the library to the shack just to make sure it was still operating correctly and hadn’t perhaps been zapped by all of the lightning we’ve had of late.
Made my first CW contact with the rig while checking into the Georgia CW net tonight. It was like getting re-acqainted with an old friend, though it took me a while to remember everything. I was excited to find that (unlike the TS-690S) the rig has adjustable CW tone, so I could set it at my favorite tone. Like butter! Of course I had to set the key on top of the rig, so my keying was not spectacular … I miss my 1937 Mac-Key. Still don’t have a slot to place an “extra” rig, other than on the operating table, so my keying options were limited to whatever straight key I could set on top the rig.
The important thing is confirmation the IC-746 works great on TX and RX. On my end-fed longwire it remains largely deaf. One point I’ve failed to mention is that I have nothing grounded — no ground for the tuner at all. Clearly I’ve thrown all the caveats about end-fed wires to the wind (or in this instance, the ether). I think my next move is to set the wire up as either an end-fed or center-fed Zepp. I can set the two longwires up as the legs of a doublet, though one leg right now is substantially longer than the other. I’m a big believer in balanced feedlines (that’s all I’ve used for HF the past 25-plus years), and that’s clearly the direction I need to take.
I find it interesting how many hams won’t even try a balanced feedline for fear of feedline radiation (at best) or setting their house on fire (at worst). The tales of woe you hear from people who have never used a balanced feedline can be amazing. I’ve been using some form of balanced feedline for my HF antennas for many years — simply because it meets my strict specifications: A. It’s cheap. B. The XYL (begrudgingly) approves. C. It works. D. Both A & B.
KEEN ON KENWOOD. While I need another rig like a hole in the head, I recently saw an Kenwood TS-850S that nearly purchased with a really reasonable Buy It Now. The TS-850S is the big brother of the TS-450S and has additional features the 450 lacks. Chief among those is the ability to change the sidetone in the same manner as the IC-746 and my FT-2000. I have to tell you, the hard-wired 800 Hz sidetone — and the fact you use it to zero beat the station you work — is just a constant reminder of how much different 100 Hz makes in listening comfort. I wind up using the RIT to accomplish this, but I find myself wondering if I’m truly zero beat with the guy I’m working.
The 850 was very tempting; in fact, I was ready to pull the trigger all weekend. Of course, when the water heater blew out Friday night, that settled the debate. And of course, I’ve wanted a TS-450S since I sold mine years ago, and wanting the TS-850 simply because of the sidetone issue seemed a little … well … a little over the top.
73 es CUL de KY4Z SK …. dit dit …
Hi Jim,
First, thanks for your kudos regarding my webpage in your last post. I need to convert it to a true blog format like you have here. Working on it!
Here’s another tip on the TS-450/TS-690. To check for zero-beat, use the CW Reverse (REV) button. The tone of the signal will be the same when zero beat. I don’t think this method works with RIT engaged. However, you can solve that by selecting your desired receive tone between 400 and 800hz in 50hz steps using Program #40. To do so, power on the rig while holding down the M. IN button. Use the M.Ch/VFO CH rotary to select program position 40, then use the Up and Down buttons to step the received audio tone to your favorite. Once set, hit the CLR button to resume operations. That set tone will become the zero-beat tone when switching between CW and CW-REV. Unfortunately, as you’ve found, there’s no way to change the transmit side tone. But at least this method can make your receive more pleasurable, while using the REV button to determine zero-beat.
73 Paul N6EV