Ugh, spent a good chunk of last weekend trying to get the data-mode front panel display on a new ham radio to line up with what the actual receiver was doing. I'm sure that there are excellent historical reasons for this display offset from reality (probably involving a 1940's standard held over to the "new" ASR 33 tty), but when crossed up with a Yaesu user interface, well, let's say there's a reason some of these new transceivers are going at fire sale prices.
WWV and the NIST to the rescue. They pump out time signals in AM on 5 & 10 MHz and a few other frequencies. From there, it was just a matter of setting offsets down in the menus so that the time interval signals all lined up on a waterfall display in AM (reference), then USB, and finally data modes – kind of like balancing your checkbook while hanging upside down from a doorframe while having a neighbor practice keeping a steady beat on his new drum set. Just keep a clear head, take a few notes, and it all works out fine. Aspirin afterwards.
Anyway, it's a useful trick in the unlikely even you need to sort out display frequency alignment. Couldn't have taken more than two hours total time, though I was sacked out by 9:30 Sunday night.
Until Sunday evening, there was every chance I was going to flip that radio after less than a month and move on. Really would have been a shame, since it is otherwise excellent equipment and (as mentioned above) it came new at a fire sale price. However it does perform, once the UI idiocy was sorted out.
What is the new radio? Make/Model? You left us hanging!
ReplyDeletePfft, you're right! It's a Yaesu FTdx-1200. No FFT board, may get one eventually, but not just yet. I'll review it in a few months, but the best part so far is that it filters out noise from the lift station down the street better than anything else I've seen.
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