How to use the BFO and PITCH

[Eric Sinn]

I got an old Panasonic RF2900. Thanks to those on this newsgroup, I got it at
a good price. It did not come with a manual.

There is a switch, BFO on or off. I figure this must be a "beat frequency
oscillator." I've heard the term but don't know what it is. Next to it is a
dial that allows me to adjust the pitch. One side says LSB, the other says
USB. So I figure this must have something to do with listening on single side
band.

My question is, how do I listen to something on SSB. I tried to locate signals
on the broadcast bands at 60 meters and 31 meters. I got some frequencies that
are just signal with no voice and some that sound like Morse Code. Problem is,
when I turn on the BFO and adjust the Pitch, everything goes away. Can't hear
a thing. Am I following the proper procedure? Where can I hear some SSB
broadcast or Morse Code?

I tried scanning with the BFO on all the time, still hear nothing.

Thanks.

It is so much fun, I think I'll upgrade to a Sony ICF 2010 and get a better
antenna for dxing.

[Bill Meacham]

Eric Sinn wrote:

> There is a switch, BFO on or off. I figure this must be a "beat frequency
> oscillator." I've heard the term but don't know what it is. Next to it is a
> dial that allows me to adjust the pitch. One side says LSB, the other says
> USB. So I figure this must have something to do with listening on single side
> band.
>
> My question is, how do I listen to something on SSB. I tried to locate signals
> on the broadcast bands at 60 meters and 31 meters. I got some frequencies that
> are just signal with no voice and some that sound like Morse Code. Problem is,
> when I turn on the BFO and adjust the Pitch, everything goes away. Can't hear
> a thing. Am I following the proper procedure? Where can I hear some SSB
> broadcast or Morse Code?
>
> I tried scanning with the BFO on all the time, still hear nothing.
>
> Thanks.
>

Normally for general broadcast SWLing where SSB is the exception,
you would stay with the BFO off. When you hear one of those
"Donald Duck" sounding stations, then flip on the BFO and tune
side to side with the pitch until the station comes in clearly.
It's be better to practice in the ham phone bands where SSB is the
norm. For example, most everything from 3.8 to 4.0 MHz would be
lower sideband, 14.15 to 14.35 would be upper. You could leave
the BFO switched on and tune freely with little adjustment to the
pitch knob once you find the sweet spot.
You'll find also plenty of code transmissions 7.0 to 7.1 and 14.0
to 14.1.
There's a remote possibility that something is wrong with the
BFO...to check it, tune in any AM station and switch the BFO
on...you should hear a "beat note" carrier. Then you'll see the
effect as you rotate the pitch control. If the dial tuning is
accurate and the BFO is in proper alignment, you should be able to
get a "zero-beat" in the middle of the range of the Pitch control,
and an increasing pitch to either side of that center.
---
Bill Meacham
Vieques, PR