How Do You Tell Exactly What Frequency A CW Station Is On?

[KT4JX]

So if you're spinning the dial and you come across some CW activity, how do you figure the exact frequency they're on? As you tune up or down slightly, all that happens is the pitch of the CW gets higher or lower, but that doesn't tell you if you're getting closer or further away from the exact frequency they're on. So how do you figure it out?

And sometimes you'll hear several CW stations at the same time but they're all different pitches. How do you tell if they're all on the same frequency with different pitches, or if they're all on slightly different frequencies with the same pitch?

[KO6WB]

If the pitch is different then there is no way they are on the same frequency. Likewise if the pitch is exactly the same they are on the same frequency. Your ear is used to tune to a set tone, usually the sidetone of the rig and that's supposed to be the frequency close enough so you can work the other station. In the older days with separate transmitters and receivers the transmitter usually had a spot function. You would turn that on and with the BFO on the receiver off you would tune the VFO on the transmitter to get a zero beat with the received station. You would then turn the BFO back on and adjust it to the tone you want to hear and then you're ready to work the other station.
Some of the modern units have a frequency graph that tells you if you are high, low or exactly on. Other rigs have a button you push and it automatically adjusts the unit to the proper frequency.
Hope this helps
73
Gary

[KJ4VTH]

-.-- .-. / ..-. .-. . --.- ..--..

[KT4JX]

But if 2 stations are on the same frequency and they have their rig setup to use a different pitch (say, 1 station is sending code at 600 Hz and the other at 900 Hz), then you'd hear them both on the same frequency but with different pitches, no? The problem is, there no way to know that they're both on the same frequency using different pitches (and what those pitches are).

[K7MH]

Keep in mind that different pitches may only be very slightly different and it may be hard to tell the difference by an untrained ear but none the less they will be on different frequencies. The difference can be so slight that even some fairly expensive test gear may not be able to tell the difference.

But if 2 stations are on the same frequency and they have their rig setup to use a different pitch (say, 1 station is sending code at 600 Hz and the other at 900 Hz), then you'd hear them both on the same frequency but with different pitches, no? The problem is, there no way to know that they're both on the same frequency using different pitches (and what those pitches are).

They don't send code at a pitch or with a tone. CW (Continuous Wave) has no tone nor information in it's signal like operating phone or other modes does. It is the on/off keying of the carrier that creates the Morse code characters. The pitch is determined by your receiver design or settings. I can vary the CW pitch I want to hear with my rig. My transmit frequency stays the same but I have adjusted my receiver a bit more to my personal liking.

[KT4JX]

So is there a standard common pitch that all CW'ers always use? And if I can ask, what does this word "sidetone" mean? Thanks.

[K7MH]

So is there a standard common pitch that all CW'ers always use? And if I can ask, what does this word "sidetone" mean? Thanks.

More or less there is, probably anywhere from 500Hz to 900Hz is the most common range I'd guess. It depends on how your hearing is and perhaps any difficulty you may have with QRM and such in tuning in a signal. Again, the pitch ( adjusted with a CW Pitch control) you choose to listen to is a product of your receiver settings and nothing to do with what the other guy is sending.

A sidetone is what you hear from your speaker when you send CW so you know what you are sending like. You can often change it's tone and volume these days to your liking.
It is nothing that is sent over the air, just there for you so you can hear something representative of what you are sending. You can use the sidetone for practicing and not send anything over the air at all.

[KO6WB]

Okay, now I get what you're try to tell us. The tones you are hearing from your receiver can be varied by tuning the receiver frequency up or down. The tone you are hearing is the beat note between a circuit in your receiver called the BFO and the incoming signal. The incoming signal has no tone on it at all. The carrier has no intelligence except the presence of the signal. In fact it is turned on and off to make a morse code character. There is no tone on the signal just a signal that has a specific frequency. This frequency is mixed with another frequency that is to the liking of the operator and that can be anywhere from 400-1000Hz difference, sometimes more or less. Again the incoming signal has no tone on it, the receiver generates the tone you hear.
There is one exception and that is a mode of operation called MCW or modulated carrier wave where the tone is on the signal and can be picked up by normal AM or FM receivers.
Your simple question is actually much more complex then you thought isn't it?
Hope this helps
73
Gary

[K7MH]

The tones you are hearing from your receiver can be varied by tuning the receiver frequency up or down.

As opposed to using a CW Pitch Control which is common on newer transceivers. It can change the pitch of the signal for you while NOT changing the receivers frequency. They are two different ways to change the tone of what you hear for doing two different things.

[WB2WIK]

With almost all tranceivers if you tune in the other station to the same pitch as your sidetone frequency is, you'll be exactly on his frequency.

Who cares what that frequency is? Just stay in the band.