Hal Communications CWR6850 User manual

CWR6850
TELEREADER
INSTRUCTION
MANUAL
QUALITY COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT
April, 1982 Printing

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................... 4
CHAPTER 1 UNPACKING AND INSPECTION ..................................... 5
CHAPTER 2 SIMPLE HOOK-UP AND OPERATION
2.1 Connections to t e CWR6850 ............................. 7
2.2 Presetting CWR6850 controls ............................. 8
2.3 Presetting t e transceiver controls ...................... 9
2.4 RTTY operation ................................................. 9
2.5 Morse operation ................................................ 10
CHAPTER 3 RECEIVING WITH THE CWR6850
3.1 Connecting t e CWR6850 to your Receiver .......... 12
3.2 Receiving RTTY signals ...................................... 13
3.3 Low tones or ig tones? ................................... 15
3.4 Receiving Morse code ........................................ 17
CHAPTER 4 TRANSMITTING WITH THE CWR6850
4.1 T e keyboard ................................................... 19
4.2 Transmitting features ......................................... 20
4.3 Use of t e HERE-IS message .............................. 23
4.4 Special considerations w en transmitting Morse ... 26
4.5 Special considerations w en transmitting Baudot . 28
4.6 Special considerations w en transmitting ASCII ... 30
4.7 HDX / FDX operation ......................................... 33
4.8 T e KOS feature ................................................ 34
CHAPTER 5 CONNECTIONS TO THE CWR6850 ................................. 35
5.1 Normal Amateur Station connections .................. 36
5.2 Use of t e TTL Data connections ........................ 37
5.3 Use of t e SW-OUT FSK connection .................... 37
5.4 Use of a different keyboard ................................ 38
5.5 Connection of an ASCII Printer ........................... 38
5.6 Connection of an Audio Tape Recorder ................ 39
5.7 RTTY tuning Oscilloscope connections ................. 39
5.8 Using a Television Set as a monitor ..................... 40
5.9 RF-Induced Problems ........................................ 42
CHAPTER 6 IN CASE OF DIFFICULTY
6.1 Care and feeding of your CWR6850 .................... 47
6.2 Typical operational problems .............................. 48
6.3 Repair Procedures ............................................. 49
6.4 User adjustments .............................................. 50
CHAPTER 7 SPECIFICATIONS ......................................................... 54
APPENDIX A CWR6850 KEYBOARD CONTROL COMMAND LIST ........... 58
APPENDIX B CWR6850 DISPLAY FORMAT ......................................... 60
ADDENDUM ...................................................................................... 63

ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure 1 T e CWR6850 ............................................................. 4
Figure 2 Simplified CWR6850 Connections .................................. 6
Figure 3 T e CWR6850 keyboard ............................................... 19
Figure 4 Connections to t e CWR6850 ........................................ 35
Figure 5 KOS circuit connections ................................................ 36
Figure 6 Typical Video Detector .................................................. 41
Figure 7 Modified Video Detector ............................................... 41
Figure 8 RFI Reduction tec niques ............................................. 42
Figure 9 PFI Power line filters .................................................... 44
Figure 10 Test points and user-adjustable controls ........................ 51
TABLES
TABLE 1 CONTINENTAL MORSE CODE ........................................ 27
TABLE 2 BAUDOT DATA CODE .................................................... 29
TABLE 3 DISPLAY SYMBOLS FOR THE ASCII CODE ...................... 32
TABLE 4 ASCII DATA CODE ........................................................ 33

PAGE 4
INTRODUCTION
T is manual describes t e installation and operation of t e HAL CWR6850 Telereader Portable
RTTY/CW Terminal. T e tec nical details wit sc ematic diagrams are described in a second publi-
cation, t e CWR6850 Customer Maintenance Manual, available separately from HAL Communica-
tions Corp. or its designated dealers and representatives.
T e features of t e CWR6850 ave been designed for convenient and straig tforward customer
use; many features are self-explanatory from a close examination of t e CWR6850 front panel,
rear panel, screen display or t e keytops. However, like many sop isticated electronic devices,
t ere are some features and operator tec niques w ic you may not understand until you ave
read t is manual. You s ould plan to devote several ours to becoming familiar wit your
CWR6850.
However, t ere are many obbyists, including t e writer, w o are eager to try t e new "gadget"
and lack t e patience to plow t roug c apters of tec nical talk wit out at least turning it on and
trying out somet ing. T erefore, for t e eager and impatient new owners, we offer C apter 2 –
SIMPLE HOOK-UP AND OPERATION. After you ave your CWR6850 running as described in C ap-
ter 2, please t en sit down and read t e rest of t e manual; you'll find t e CWR6850 will do a lot
more t ings t an can be outlined in t e simplified instructions.
Please note t e contents of APPENDIX A and APPENDIX B in particular. You will probably refer
t ese pages often as you study t is manual.
Figure 1 T e CWR6850
(On t is picture a newer keyboard is s own as described in t is manual)

CHAPTER 1 PAGE 5
CHAPTER 1
UNPACKING AND INSPECTION
W en you unpack your CWR6850, carefully inspect t e s ipping carton and eac cabinet for s ip-
ping damage. Any evidence of s ipping damage s ould be immediately reported to your supplying
dealer or s ipping carrier. Be sure to save all packing materials if damage is found – t e s ipping
carrier will want to inspect t em for any insurance claim. Before discarding t e packing materials
c eck t at all parts and accessories are accounted for. C eck t e accessories against t e following
list. If any are found missing, double-c eck t e packing for loose parts and t en notify eit er your
dealer or HAL Communications Corp. of t e s ortage. Please specify t e HAL part number!
Accessory parts:
1 - 333-10000 DC Power Cord
4 - 310-35012 P ono Pin Plug
1 - 770-20009 2 Ampere fuse
1 - 333-00030 Mini-p one Plug
1 - 870-06850 CWR6850 USER MANUAL
In addition to t e furnis ed accessories listed above, you may wis to purc ase t e mating printer
connector, HAL No. 332-12000, for $10.00 eac .

CHAPTER 2 PAGE 6

CHAPTER 2 PAGE 7
CHAPTER 2
SIMPLE HOOK-UP AND OPERATION
Alt oug t ere are many features of t e CWR6850 explained in t is manual, you may wis to first
"plug-it-in" and "try-it-out" wit out reading t e w ole book. T is section of t e manual presents
enoug information to start using t e CWR6850, but you will eventually need to read C apters 3,
4 and 5 to take full advantage of t e many conveniences included in your CWR6850.
2.1 Connections to the CWR 850
Refer to Figure 2 and notice t e various connections you may make to and from t e CWR6850. For
a start, it is recommended t at you make t e following connections at t e present and leave t e
ot er connections until after you ave read C apters 3, 4 and 5.
1. Connect a good ground wire (1/4" s ield braid preferred) between t e CWR6850 cabi-
net, transceiver cabinet and all ot er station equipment cabinets.
2. Connect a s ielded audio cable between t e receiver speaker (audio) output and t e
CWR6850 AF IN - RX connector.
3. Connect a s ielded audio cable between t e transmitter microp one audio input and
t e CWR6850 AFSK OUT - TX connector. C eck your transmitter manual – some trans-
mitters ave +12 VDC on t e mike input lead to run remote controls; use a 1 µF block-
ing capacitor at t e mike connector to prevent damage to suc a transmitter.
4. Connect a s ielded audio cable between t e transmitter pus -to-talk input and t e
CWR6850 SW.OUT - REMOTE connector. (Steps 3 and 4 may be combined in a 2 con-
ductor "stereo" cable wit t e transmitter end connected to a microp one connector;
t ese steps are only necessary if you intend to transmit during t ese preliminary tests.)
5. Connect t e keyboard to t e CWR6850.
6. Connect t e CWR6850 DC power cord to a source of well-filtered DC voltage between
12.0 and 14.5 Volts. T e CWR6850 draws approximately 1.6 Amperes; t e battery or
DC supply s ould be capable of supplying t is current CONTINUOUSLY.
*** CAUTION ***
Be sure t at you connect t e RED wire to t e POSITIVE terminal and t e BLACK wire to t e NEGA-
TIVE terminal of t e power source. Serious damage may be caused to bot t e CWR6850 and t e
power supply if t e proper polarity is not observed! Do not turn on t e power at t is time.

CHAPTER 2 PAGE 8
2.2 Presetting CWR 850 Controls
Before applying any power to t e transceiver or t e CWR6850, preset its switc es as follows:
RESET ON = Press and release
FILTER ON = Off (button out)
SPACE / NARROW = Off (button out)
CWID A / CWID B = CWID B (button in)
DISPLAY: PAGE ON = No action at present (button out)
MODE A / MODE B = MODE A (button out)
CW / RTTY = RTTY (button in)
ASCII / BAUDOT = BAUDOT (button in)
LTR ON = No action at present (button out)
FIG ON = No action at present (button out)
LOCK - U.O.S. ON = ON (button in)
NOR / REV = NOR (button out)
BAUD = 45.5 (left button in; ot ers out)
SHIFT = 170 (left button in; ot ers out)
TONE = LOW (rig t button in)
RX / TAPE = RX (button out)
INPUT (slide control) = 5 (mid-position)
VOLUME (slide control) = 5 (mid position)
SPEED (slide control) = 5 (mid position)
FINE (slide control) = 0 (detent at mid-position)
SEND / AUTO / RECEIVE = RECEIVE (lever down)
ON / POWER = ON (lever up)
FSK DEMOD (rear panel) = INT
AFSK GAIN (rear panel) = Maximum clockwise rotation
BRIGHT (rear panel) = Maximum clockwise rotation
After t e cat ode ray tube (CRT) as "warmed-up" you s ould see t e following features on t e
screen:
1. Top portion of t e screen blank except for a solid green square on t e left side about 8
lines up from t e bottom. T is is t e receive cursor and will indicate w ere t e received
text will be displayed.
2. T ree rows of dots at t e bottom of t e screen. T is is t e "top portion" of t e transmit
buffer. Eac dot represents one c aracter position. Type a few c aracters and notice
ow t ey are displayed; erase t em wit t e BS (Back Space) key.
3. A reverse video number "1" 4 lines up from t e bottom of t e display. T e number "1"
on t e extreme rig t- and side indicates t e page number presently being viewed. T e
page number (0 to 3) is always indicated in reverse video on t e extreme rig t of t e
screen. Try pressing t e DISPLAY - PAGE button on t e CWR6850. T e screen format
will c ange and t e reverse video c aracter will c ange from "1" to "0". Eac press of
t e PAGE button cycles t e display between page 1 and page 0. Next, pus t e MODE

CHAPTER 2 PAGE 9
A/MODE B button in (selecting MODE B) and try cycling t e PAGE button several times.
Now you can see all for pages of t e display in sequence. T e meaning of t e different
formats will be explained as we progress t roug receive and transmit applications of
t e CWR6850. After experimenting wit t e PAGE and MODE buttons, reset to MODE A
(button out) and PAGE "1" on t e screen. T e screen and page format are explained in
APPENDIX B.
4. A letter "P" appears on t e same line as t e reverse video page number. T is letter is a
status indicator, s owing t at t e printer output as been turned on. You may turn t e
printer on and off by typing "CTRL-P" on t e keyboard (press and old CTRL key w ile
pressing and releasing t e P key – just like a SHIFT key on a typewriter). After experi-
menting wit CTRL-P, set t e printer back to t e "ON" condition (letter "P" on screen).
Special control features of t e CWR6850 are indicated by appropriate letters placed on
t is line. T ese features will be explained in detail later in t is manual; t e commands
are listed in APPENDIX A.
2.3 Presetting the Transceiver Controls
Preset your transceiver controls as follows:
FREQUENCY: 14.075 to 14.100 MHz
ANTENNA: Antenna for above frequency range
MODE: LSB (lower sideband) *
PASSBAND TUNING: LSB
RECEIVER AGC: ON – SLOW
RCVR SELECTIVITY: 2 kHz – voice bandwidt
RCVR RF GAIN: Maximum
XMTR MIC. GAIN: Minimum
XMTR VOX: Off
POWER SWITCH: On
RCVR AUDIO VOL: Comfortable Level
* Use RTTY on Drake TR7; LSB on all ot er transceivers
You s ould now be able to tune signals on t e receiver and ear t em eit er on t e receiver
speaker or t roug t e internal speaker of t e CWR6850. If you are using t e internal CWR6850
speaker, use t e INPUT control on t e CWR6850 to control t e volume.
2.4 RTTY Operation
Tune t e receiver for a RTTY signal ("deedle-deedle" noise). RTTY tuning is s own by t e MARK
and SPACE LEDs flas alternately as t e RTTY signal tone c anges back and fort between mark
and space signal conditions. As you tune past t e RTTY signal, you will notice t at first one lig t
and t en t e ot er flas es to t e signal; optimum tuning is t e setting t at causes bot to flas .
Wit some practice, t is is very easy to do. W en t e receiver tuning is correctly set, you s ould
start seeing understandable text on t e screen. If not, c eck t at all CWR6850 and transceiver set-
tings are correct; t en try t e NOR/REV switc and various speeds and s ifts.

CHAPTER 2 PAGE 10
To transmit RTTY, make sure t at t e XMIT AUDIO GAIN control (of t e transmitter) is set to mini-
mum, turn t e transmitter on wit eit er its TX ON control or use t e CWR6850 SEND switc (lev-
er up). Increase t e XMIT AUDIO GAIN until some RF output is obtained, tune t e transmitter if
necessary and set t e XMIT AUDIO GAIN to t e recommended power level for RTTY (see your
transmitter manual). After tuning and adjusting, turn off t e transmitter wit t e transmitter
switc or switc t e CWR6850 to RECEIVE (lever down). Type t e text to be transmitted on t e
CWR6850 keyboard – it will be displayed on t e bottom t ree lines of t e screen (dotted line
area). W en you are ready to transmit, move t e CWR6850 switc to AUTO (lever middle position)
and type "CTRL-A" ("A" c aracter appears on status line wit t e "P" c aracter). T e KOS (Key-
board Operated Switc ) circuit of t e CWR6850 will turn t e transmitter on and t e text will be
transmitted. T e transmitter will turn off automatically w en all of t e text as been transmitted;
additional typing of text will turn t e transmitter back on and t e new text will t en be transmitted
(after a s ort delay to allow transmitter relays to switc ). You may listen to t e output RTTY tones
t roug t e CWR6850 sidetone monitor system, controlled wit t e VOLUME slide control. T e
transmit text may be stopped at any time by switc ing to RECEIVE or by typing "CTRL-A" again (or
wit "CTRL-X").
T e transmit section of t e CWR6850 is placed in "continuous mode" w en it is first turned on;
t at is, c aracters are transmitted one-at-a-time, as t e are typed. Word mode can also be used
by first typing "CTRL-Y" ("Y" c aracter appears on t e status line). Now, text is transmitted a word
at a time, allowing you to back-up and correct spelling errors before t ey are transmitted. T e last
word typed is not released to be transmitted until after you ave typed a space bar c aracter.
Word mode and ot er transmit features are discussed in detail in C apter 4. Programming and use
of t e HERE IS and CWID memory features are discussed in section 4.3 of t is manual.
2.5 Morse Operation
To use t e CWR6850 for Morse code reception, c ange t e CW / RTTY button to CW (button out).
Leave t e transceiver mode in LSB for t e present and tune to a Morse code signal. W en t e re-
ceiver is correctly tuned, t e audio beat note will be approximately 800 Hz and t e CW LED on t e
CWR6850 front panel will flas in sync wit t e key-down condition of t e signal You may monitor
t e code as processed by t e CWR6850 by adjusting t e VOLUME slide control; t e Morse decod-
ing circuit drives t e internal sidetone oscillator. Since t e sidetone oscillator is set to approxi-
mately 800 Hz, you may compare its frequency to t at of t e received signal by adjusting t e two
slide controls INPUT and VOLUME, and tuning t e receiver until t ey matc . T e INPUT control ad-
justs t e volume of t e received signal and VOLUME adjust t e volume of t e regenerated side-
tone output. T is tec nique gives a very accurate way of optimizing t e tuning. You s ould now
see a display of t e received Morse code signal.
If t e CW signal you are listening to is weak or if interference is strong, try using t e CW filter in
t e receiver, if one is available. Most transceivers couple t e mode switc to t e filter selection, so
you may ave to switc now to CW MODE on t e transceiver. W en switc ing to CW from LSB
mode, you will probably ave to return t e receiver to maintain reception of t e desired CW signal.
Be sure t at t e CWR6850 switc is set to RECEIVE before switc ing to CW to avoid inadvertent
operation of t e transmitter. T e CWR6850 itself as a narrow-bandwidt PLL (p ase-lock-loop) fil-
ter t at may be used in addition to t at in t e receiver. To use t e CWR PLL CW filter, pus t e
FILTER ON button in. T is filter considerably narrows t e audio bandwidt of t e CWR6850 (to ap-
proximately 80 Hz) and t e CW detection circuitry will no longer "track" t e frequency of a drifting
Morse code signal. Use t e PLL filter only w en noise and interference are causing poor "copy".
T e CWR6850 [ SPACE / NARROW ] button may be depressed to compensate for signals wit in-
correct letter and word spacing, reducing t e space required between words for display of a space
on t e screen. T is feature may cause interpretation errors in t e display of Morse c aracters and
s ould be used sparingly!