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!

CHAPTER 2 PAGE 11
To transmit Morse code, connect a s ielded cable between t e CWR6850 SW.OUT - CW jack and
t e CW KEY connection on t e transmitter and set t e CW level to t e desired transmitter power
output. Now, transmit Morse code in t e same manner as explained above for RTTY, using t e
SEND or AUTO switc positions and "CTRL-A" or "CTRL-X" commands to turn t e transmitted data
on or off. T e "CTRL-D" command may also be used w en transmitting Morse code to give 25 %
extension of t e das lengt , effectively decreasing t e "weig t" (and speed) of t e transmitted
signal. Set t e CWID A / CWID B switc to "A" (button out) for CW identification.
Now t at t e basic operations of t e CWR6850 ave been explored, sit back and read t e rest of
t is manual.

CHAPTER 3 PAGE 12
CHAPTER 3
RECEIVING WITH THE CWR 850
3.1 Connecting the CWR 850 to your receiver
Connecting t e CWR6850 to your receiver can be extremely simple – just ook a cable between
t e receiver audio output (external speaker or p one patc output jacks) and t e "AF IN - RX"
connector on t e CWR6850 rear panel. Most receivers can be connected wit a standard " ig -fi-
delity" p ono-to-p ono cable, available at all "HI-FI" s ops (some receiver external speaker jacks
may require an adapter, so c eck out your receiver before you buy t e cable). Or, if you like to
make cables, use t e p ono plugs supplied in t e CWR6850 accessories. By all means, use
s ielded cables – t is will reduce t e c ances of RFI from t e linear w en you start transmitting!
T e CWR6850 as been designed to work well directly from t e low-impedance speaker output.
Refer to Figure 2 in t e previous c apter for t ese simple CWR6850 connections; full connections
are found in Figure 5 in C apter 5.
T e CWR6850 includes its own monitor speaker so t at you may continue to listen to t e receiver
output even if t e receiver's internal speaker is disconnected w en you connect t e CWR6850. T e
left- and vertical slide control (INPUT) on t e front panel controls t is monitor volume level. If you
wis , an external speaker may also be connected to t e "EXT SP" jack on t e CWR685 rear panel.
Even t oug we are just t inking about receiving at t e present, t is is a good time to put in a
good ground between t e receiver and CWR6850. Use a s ort, low-inductance wire, preferably a
¼" or wider piece of s ield braid. Make t e ground lead as s ort as convenient, direct from t e
CWR6850 cabinet to t e receiver (or transceiver) ground terminal. Again, t is is most important for
transmitter RFI protection, but it may also prevent receive RFI problems. By all means, if you are
using an AC power supply, USE GROUNDING TYPE AC OUTLETS – or add a ground wire between
t e power supply cabinet and good water-pipe ground – t is is a safety measure t at does not re-
place t e need for a good RF ground.
Finally, connect power to t e receiver and CWR6850 and turn-on t e power switc es to eac .
Proper settings for t e CWR6880 front panel switc es will discussed in t e next section. You may
also wis to refer to APPENDIX B at t e rear of t is manual for explanation of t e display page ar-
rangement of t e CWR6850.

CHAPTER 3 PAGE 13
3.2 Receiving RTTY signals
As a first step, preset t e CWR6850 front panel 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 = 850 (rig t 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. Blank upper section of screen except for receive cursor on left side approximately 8
lines up from bottom. T e cursor is a solid green square, indicating t e position at
w ic received text will be first displayed.
2. T ree rows of dots at t e bottom of t e screen representing part of t e transmit buffer
storage area. Transmit features are discussed in more detail in C apter 4.
3. A reverse video number "1" in t e lower rig t section of t e screen, indicating display
of page 1. Display pages will be discussed in greater detail in t e following sections.
4. A letter "P" to t e left of t e reverse video page number. T e "P" signifies t at t e
printer output is enabled. Ot er status indicator letters will be displayed in t is line as
various options are invoked.

CHAPTER 3 PAGE 14
If all t ese indicators are as described, your CWR6850 is functioning properly; if not, re-c eck your
front panel switc settings.
Now, preset your receiver for t e following conditions:
FREQUENCY: 14.075 to 14.100 MHz
ANTENNA: Antenna for above frequency range
MODE: LSB (lower sideband) *
PASSBAND TUNING: LSB
AGC: ON – SLOW
SELECTIVITY: 2 kHz – normal SSB voice bandwidt
RF GAIN: Maximum
AUDIO GAIN: Comfortable listening level – see following discussion
* Use RTTY on Drake TR7; LSB on all ot er transceivers
Turn up t e volume control of t e receiver for a comfortable listening level from t e CWR6850 in-
ternal monitor speaker. Leave t e receiver set for t is volume and use t e INPUT slide control for
furt er speaker volume adjustments.
If your receiver as an internal crystal calibrator, turn it on and tune t e receiver to it so t at you
get a 1 – 3 kHz audio beat note. If you do not ave a crystal calibrator, tune t e frequency until
you get a beat note on t e carrier signal. T ere are two different types of tuning indicators you
may use w en tuning RTTY signals on t e CWR860:
1. T e MARK and SPACE LEDs on t e front panel.
2. A crossed-ellipse indication on an external X-Y oscilloscope (connected to t e OSCILLO
- MARK and SPACE rear panel connectors).
We will experiment wit t e first tec nique at t is time; t e external scope can be tried at a later
time (see C apter 5).
Tune your receiver frequency and notice t at, as t e beat note frequency c anges, t e MARK and
SPACE LEDs will alternately turn on as you tune t roug t eir filters. You will need to tune slowly
and carefully since t e mark and space filters differ in frequency by only 850 Hz. Note t at t e
lower frequency audio tone (at 1275 Hz) turns on t e MARK lig t; t e ig er frequency tone (2125
Hz) turns on t e SPACE lig t. T erefore, a correctly tuned RTTY signal will be indicated by alter-
nate flickering of MARK and SPACE LEDs.
Next, turn-off t e receiver calibrator (or tune away from t e carrier) and select 170 s ift (170
SHIFT button in). Tune t e receiver w ile listening t roug t e CWR6850 monitor speaker until
you find a moderately strong amateur RTTY signal (identified by t e c aracteristic "deedle-deedle"
tones). Wit careful tuning you s ould be able to tune so t at t e MARK and SPACE lig t flicker al-
ternately. You s ould now see understandable text on t e screen. If you don't, try t e NORM / RE-
VERSE switc – if t is corrects t e reception, double c eck your receiver settings to be sure you
are really are receiving LSB and not USB. If t is doesn't give you a good "print", try increasing t e
CWR6850 speed, trying bot NORM and REV polarities for eac speed. If you still can't make
sense out of t e display, try t e ASCII code at 110 baud, eit er polarity. If all t e combinations of
MODE, SPEED and NORM / REV fail, tune to anot er station, you ave probably tuned-in an en-
crypted signal! Tune around t e 20 meter amateur band and get used to tuning-in RTTY signals.
It's difficult at first, but becomes muc easier wit some practice.

CHAPTER 3 PAGE 15
If you ave a general coverage receiver, you may now wis to try receiving s ort-wave press RTTY
signals. Commercial press RTTY stations can often be found on frequencies around: 5.2 MHz, 5.4
MHz, 5.8 MHz, 6.8 MHz, 7.5 MHz, 7.8 MHz, 8.0 MHz, 9.0 MHz, 9.4 MHz, 9.8 MHz, 10.2 MHz, 10.5
MHz, 10.8 MHz, 11.1 MHz, 11.5 MHz, 12.2 MHz, 13.5 MHz, 14.5 MHz, 14.9 MHz, 15.5 MHz, 15.9
MHz, 16,2 MHz, 16.4 MHz, 17.3 MHz, 17.5 MHz, 18.2 MHz, 18.4 MHz, 18.7 MHz and 19.0 to 20.5
MHz (plus ot ers!). Commercial RTTY stations will operate wit eit er 850 or 425 Hz s ift and may
ave speeds of 45 (60 wpm), 50 (67 wpm), 57 (75 wpm) or 74 (100 wpm) baud Baudot code. T e
signals may be of eit er signal polarity, so try bot NORM and REV conditions. T ere may be a few
commercial press stations operating at 110 baud ASCII also. Tuning t ese commercial stations will
require some patience due to t e wide variety of s ifts, speeds and polarities used.
T e receive non-overprint feature will automatically place c aracters on t e next line of t e screen
if more t an 32 c aracters are received between line feed c aracters. To furt er prevent overprint,
t e receive section ignores all received carriage return (CR) c aracters and always executes a car-
riage return and line feed (LF) w enever a LF c aracter is received. A space may be displayed
w en t e CR c aracter only is received.
3.3 Low tones or high tones?
So far we ave only used one of t e two possible CWR6850 demodulator combinations. You may
wis to switc to t e RTTY " ig -tone" option – pus t e HIGH / LOW button in. T e " ig tones"
(for ig er-frequency audio tones) are really t e traditional standard U.S. RTTY tones, used since
t e early days of amateur RTTY. T e "low tones" are t e IARU international standard and are used
extensively in most ot er countries of t e world. W en receiving (or transmitting) on t e HF bands
(3–30 MHz), eit er set of tones will work since you tune t e receiver to produce t e desired beat
note frequency. However, w en AFSK modulation is added to an FM or AM signal, you must be
prepared to receive t e same tone frequencies as t ose used by t e transmitting station (t e AM
or FM receiver does not use a BFO to produce t e audio tone). In t e United States, t e long-
standing VHF AFSK tone standard as been to use t e " ig tones" (2125 Hz mark and 2295,
2550 or 2975 Hz space); you must use a ig -tone demodulator to be compatible! In Europe, in
particular, t e reverse standard is developing – t e IARU "low tone" (1275 Hz mark and 1445,
1700 or 2125 Hz space) is t e standard to be observed. T e two system are basically incompatible
for VHF AFSK operation! Due to low-pass filter parameters, use of data rates greater t an 110
BAUD is not recommended w en " ig " or "low" tone demodulator combinations are used; an ex-
ternal modem s ould be used for transmissions at 300 baud.
Eac tone set as its advantages and disadvantages – t e CWR6850 lets you c oose t e optimum
combination for your station. Some of t e considerations for eac tone set are as follows:
HIGH TONES (Mark = 2125 Hz, Space = 2295, 2550 or 2975 Hz):
Advantages:
1. Hig tones are t e U.S. VHF AFSK standard – t eir use is required for compatibi-
lity w en operating VHF AFSK in t e U.S. A ig tone demodulator may be used
for bot VHF and HF use in t e United States.
2. W en ig tones are used on HF, using tones into a LSB transmitter audio input
(microp one or p one patc input – see C apter 4), t ere may be fewer prob-
lems wit spurious signals (usually due to overdriving t e transmitter audio
stages). Since t e tone frequencies are ig , t e armonics and most distortion
products occur at audio frequencies beyond t e audio passband of t e transmit-
ter and s ould t erefore not be transmitted.

CHAPTER 3 PAGE 16
Disadvantages:
1. T e relatively ig audio frequencies used in t e ig tone set may not fall wit -
in t e audio frequency response of t e receiver or transmitter. In general, t e
standard amateur s ift, 170 Hz, will pass most current receivers and transmit-
ters (t e Collins S-Line is an exception). However, few pieces of equipment will
pass t e tones for bot receiving and transmitting 425 or 850 s ift wit ig
tones (t e Drake TR-7 is an exception). T e use of ig tone demodulators for
HF RTTY is t erefore restricted to transmission of just 170 s ift and only re-
ceivers incorporating eit er a variable BFO or passband tuning will receive all
t ree s ifts.
2. Hig tones are not t e IARU standard and will not be compatible wit VHF AFSK
in many countries of t e world.
LOW TONES (Mark = 1275 Hz, Space = 1445, 1700 or 2125 Hz):
Advantages:
1. Low tones are t e IARU international standard and t eir use assures compatibil-
ity wit VHF AFSK operations in many areas of t e world.
2. Low tones can be used wit virtually all SSB receivers and transmitters for all
t ree standard s ifts. Variable BFO or passband tuning features are not required
to assure good reception of 425 and 850 Hz s ift stations.
Disadvantages:
1. Low tones are not compatible wit existing U.S. VHF AFSK operations. Since
t ere is a great deal of ig tone AFSK equipment already in use in t e United
States and neig boring countries, it is unreasonable to expect t at t e U.S.
standard will s ift to low tones.
2. W en low tones are used wit a LSB transmitter to generate F1 RTTY emission
(see C apter 4), t ere is a strong probability t at over-driving t e transmitter
audio and modulator stages will result in spurious armonics and t e mixer
products t at will be radiated. Of course, t ese problems will not occur if t e
audio drive level is properly set.
Alt oug you may develop your own personal preferences, we recommend t at you consider t e
following operating conditions as a starting point:
In t e United States:
Use HIGH tones for all VHF AFSK amateur communications and for normal 170 Hz s ift HF
operation; use LOW tones w en receiving HF commercial RTTY stations unless you ave a
receiver wit a variable pitc BFO or wit IF passband tuning. T e exception applies to use
of t e older Collins S-Line equipment – use LOW tones for all HF operations, amateur or
commercial.
In Europe (and all ot er areas w ere IARU standards apply):
Use LOW tones exclusively for bot VHF AFSK and HF operations. T e only exception would
be w en you communicate wit anot er VHF AFSK station w o is using HIGH tones.

CHAPTER 3 PAGE 17
3.4 Receiving Morse Code
Morse Code reception wit t e CWR6850 requires very little c ange in switc settings from t ose
used for RTTY in section 3.2; just c ange t e CW / RTTY to CW from RTTY and retune t e receiver
to a CW (Morse code) signal. Refer to t e tables in section 3.2 for t e rest of t e switc settings.
Use USB or LSB for CW reception now and do NOT select t e narrow CW filter at t is time. Tune
t e receiver to t e CW segment of t e 14 MHz band, 14.000 to 14.080 MHz.
T ere are two tuning monitors available to indicate correct receiver tuning for Morse reception –
t e CW LED on t e CWR6850 front panel and audio tone frequency comparison using t e internal
audio monitor. T e CWR6850 receive circuit is designed to lock onto an 800 Hz tone, so tune your
receiver until t e CW LED flas es in sync wit t e CW signal (key down = tone on = LED on).
W en t e CWR6850 is receiving CW signals, t e filtered and detected Morse data is connected to
bot t e microprocessor for decoding and to t e CW side-tone oscillator. T us t e received CW
signal is regenerated in t e CWR6850 and you may listen to t e processed signal simply by adjust-
ing t e VOLUME slide control. Also, since t e CW side-tone is set to 800 Hz, t e desired receive
CW tone, you can do a very accurate frequency comparison between t e receiver signal and t e
regenerated signal by varying t e two slide controls INPUT and VOLUME. Try t is on a few signals
– you will soon find out t at Morse tuning can be very easy.
T e CWR6850 includes two internal filtering systems t at may be used for reception on Morse
code. T e first filter is an active bandpass filter, centered at 800 Hz wit a -6 dB bandwidt of 150
Hz. Normally, t is is all t e filtering you will need to receive Morse code. A second PLL (p ase-
locked-loop) filter may be used t at as a lock-range of ± 80 Hz, a "bandwidt " similar to t at of
t e active filter. However, due to t e fact t e PLL will abruptly cease tracking a signal w ose fre-
quency exceeds t e tracking range, t e effective "skirts" of t e CWR6850 wit PLL in use are very
steep; t e PLL filter will provide any response to a signal frequency beyond its tracking range.
T erefore, tuning a CW signal may be considerably more difficult w en t e PLL filter is used. T e
PLL filter does, owever, offer a considerable improvement in received S/N (signal to noise) dis-
crimination and will track t e frequency of a drifting CW signal (wit in t e lock range). T e PLL fil-
er may give false reproduction in t e face of a strong interference since it will lock on t e stron-
gest signal wit in its lock frequency range. On t e ot er and, t e PLL filter may provide a consid-
erable improvement in t e "copy" of a weak, noisy signal. T e active CW filter stage is always used
for CW reception; t e PLL filter may be selected by pressing t e SPACE FILTER button in. If a re-
ceiver wit a narrow CW filter and passband IF tuning is used, a great number of signal selection
and rejection tec niques can be used to isolate your desired receive signal. Tuning indicators t at
are used for RTTY are not used in Morse reception; only t e CW LED is used for CW tuning,
alt oug you may "matc " t e incoming signal tone wit t at of t e CWR6850's internal sidetone
monitor as explained above.
After you ave mastered tuning of Morse code signal, you may notice t at w at s ows up on t e
screen doesn't always make t e best of sense at first glance! T is is usually due to t e fact t at
uman operators often send imperfect code! W en we copy Morse code wit our ears and decode
in our brains, we can be adaptive and translate w at t e sending operator "meant to send" instead
of w at actually was sent. T e most blatant examples of t is are run-toget er c aracters and in-
correct spacing between letters an words. It is very easy for t e transmitting operator to get in a
urry and run some letters toget er - particularly on somet ing e's transmitted often like "CQ" or
is own call. Since we are also good Morse operators w o ave sent "CQ" and call letters often, we
adapt w en receiving by ear and interpret w at was intended. T e microprocessor, on t e ot er
and, is looking for some long CW c aracter ( like –·–·––·– for CQ) t at doesn't exist: it t erefore
displays t e underline c aracter ( _ ) to s ow t at an unintelligible Morse combination as been
received. T e CWR6850 SPACE NARROW button may be depressed in suc a case to attempt to
recover t e run-toget er code. W en SPACE NARROW is used, t e basis for judging c aracter and
word space is s orted to 1½ dot units, rat er t an 3. T is feature may improve t e "copy" of and

CHAPTER 3 PAGE 18
sent CW but may also distort or garble copy of properly sent CW. W en SPACE NARROW is se-
lected, t e CWR6850 also may not track sudden c anges in received CW WPM rates, particularly if
a decrease in speed of more t an 12 % is encountered. Use t e SPACE NARROW feature only if
run-toget er c aracters are suspected as t e cause of distorted reception.
Similarly, it is a very common t ing to insert longer t an normal pauses between letters, especially
w en using a and key to send Morse. T e computer interprets t ese pauses as spaces between
words and puts a space on t e screen. W en receiving by ear, we tend to group t e letters re-
ceived into recognizable words, ignoring irregularities in spacing.
In t ese two cases in particular, t e computer is a severe critic and "prints 'em as it ears 'em"! On
t e ot er and, t e Morse decoding programs are very tolerant of weig t variations and will usu-
ally correctly decip er a eavy "swing fist" (sometimes called a "Lake Erie swing"), T is type of "in-
terface timing" problem will occur wit all computer decoding of and-sent Morse code, muc as it
will on RTTY if improper or irregular timing is used.
You may notice t at sometimes t e Morse reception appears to stop or be "locked-up". T is is usu-
ally caused by reception of a carrier for some period of time. T e automatic speed tracking pro-
gram of t e CWR6850 interprets t e long carrier as very slow CW and adjust t e speed tracking
system for very very slow Morse code. T e CWR6850 will readjust t e speed tracking back up to
t e correct signal speed. You will now receive a few "T" and "E" c aracters as t e speed readjusts.
Also, Morse code reception is particularly susceptible to interference w en t e transmitting sta-
tion's key is up (between dots or between letters and words). comparing RTTY and Morse tec ni-
ques for t e moment, recall t at t e RTTY signal is sent by frequency s ifting a signal (t e RF sig-
nal for HF and audio tone for VHF AFSK), for eit er mark or space RTTY data conditions, t ere is a
definite signal transmitted. On Morse code, t e transmitter carrier is turned on w en t e key is
down (mark), but w en t e key is up (space), t ere is no signal to be received; your receiver and
particularly t e automatic Morse detection circuits are now "wide-open" to reception of noise, ot -
er signals etc. T is is a basic disadvantage of t e on-off A1 type emission we use for Morse versus
t e F1 or F3 emission we use for RTTY. If we used F1, frequency s ift keying, for Morse transmis-
sion (as do many commercial networks), automatic CW reception would be muc improved. Here
again, w en we copy CW by ear, we are adaptive and "tune-out" interference and noise in t e
pauses between dots and das es; t e computer looks at all signals!
T erefore, it is not realistic to assume t at t e computer will do all t e work of Morse reception for
you, especially w en receiving less t an perfect CW! On t e ot er and, if you tune to anot er
station using a keyboard or a professional CW operator (suc as on t e s ip-to-s ore frequencies),
t e CWR6850 will display received Morse wit close to RTTY-like perfection.
If your receiver as a narrow-bandwidt CW filter, you may now wis to try it for CW reception.
Tuning t e signal will be a lot more critical, but you may improve t e "copy" noticeably if interfer-
ence as been a problem. Conversely, t e narrow filter may actually degrade t e copy, especially if
t e narrow filter "rings" on noise! T e degree of problem caused by filter ringing varies wit t e fil-
ter, receiver and noise conditions, so you will want to experiment wit your own equipment. Often,
t e effects of noise, bot wit or wit out a narrow filter, can be minimized be reducing t e RF gain
control until t e AGS no longer controls t e receiver gain, increasing t e receiver volume control as
required to maintain copy. T is tec nique, of course, makes t e receiver system more active par-
ticipation on your part in adjustment of t e RF gain control. Good Morse reception will require
some patience and practice until you "get t e ang of it".

CHAPTER 4 PAGE 19
CHAPTER 4
TRANSMITTING WITH THE CWR 850
T is section of t e manual will discuss t e transmitting feature of t e CWR6850. Extensive use will
be made of transmitting using t e Morse mode and t e CWR6850's internal side-tone monitor to il-
lustrate various transmit actions. Unless ot erwise noted, all actions demonstrated w ile in Morse
mode also apply to RTTY modes.
4.1 The Keyboard
T e keyboard for t e CWR6850 is a small separate unit, attac ed to t e CWR6850 t roug a flexi-
ble cord. T is keyboard can be placed on t e operating table, or you may prefer to try t e "easy
c air" approac , olding t e keyboard in your lap.
Figure 3 T e CWR6850 Keyboard
As s own in Figure 3, t e keyboard as 55 keys, arranged similar to t ose of a standard typewriter
wit "extra" control keys to t e left and rig t of t e alp anumeric group. Two, t ree or four differ-
ent c aracters may be typed by using t e SHIFT, CTRL (control) or SHIFT wit CTRL keys in con-
junction wit t e gray keys. T e actual c aracters of functions generated wit eac combination
varies to some degree wit t e code selected (ASCII, BAUDOT or MORSE); details of t ese special
combinations will be explained more fully in later sections of t is manual.
In general, use t e keyboard as you would a typewriter, making use of t e SHIFT key w en re-
quired. For example, typing on just t e "1" key will enter a number 1 for transmitting; SHIFT-"1"
would enter an exclamation point "!". As on a typewriter, old t e SHIFT down w ile striking t e
second key. Similarly, w en ASCII is used, striking "G" will enter a lower case "g", SHIFT-"G" an
upper case "G" and CTRL-"G" will transmit t e code for t e bell signal. T e double combination
SHIFT- CTRL-"G" produces t e same output as "CTRL-G" (bell). Note: upper and lower case letter
are only available in ASCII code w en t e LOCK U.O.S. / ON button is OUT; only upper case let-
ters are available in Baudot and CW.
T e standard alp abet, numbers and punctuation symbols are all located on gray colored keytops;
t e blue keys are for control or special uses. T e BS (Back Space) allows you to edit any errors
you may ave made w ile typing. Eac operation of t e BS key will back-up t e keyboard cursor
one space, removing any c aracters previously occupying t at position. Note t at t e function of
t e BS key and t e RUB OUT key is different. Use BS for editing; t e RUB OUT key generates t e
ASCII RUB OUT (DELETE) command. Use of t e RUB OUT key is discussed in more detail in sec-
tion 4.3.

CHAPTER 4 PAGE 20
4.2 Transmit Features
In addition to t e features discussed above wit regard to t e keyboard, t e CWR6850 wit key-
board offers many transmit features, giving a great deal of operational flexibility. T ese features
will be discussed in detail t roug out t is c apter, but ere is a summary of t e most important
ones.
Text typed on t e keyboard can be entered into t e CWR6850 in a form of "split-screen" mode.
T ree lines of transmit text are s own on page 1 and all fifteen lines are s own on display page 2.
Any or all of t ese lines of transmit "buffer" may be typed w ile receiving.
An automatic transmit-receive control circuit is provided so t at t e CWR6850 can control t e
transmit-receive operation of t e station, turning t e transmitter on w en text is to be transmitted
and off w en transmission is complete. T e KOS feature (for Keyboard Operated Switc ) is dis-
cussed in Section 4.13.
T e CWR6850 can Transmit (and receive) from various I/O (Input/Output) devices using several
different I/O interfaces. For example, data can be interfaced from audio sources (receiver, trans-
mitter, tape recorder) or wit TTL data connections (computer, some mac ine and modems). Use
t ese I/O connections is discussed in C apter 5.
To demonstrate use of t e transmit features, we will use t e CW (Morse code) mode, listening to
t e CWR6850 sidetone monitor. For t e present, a transmitter connection will not be required.
Please set-up t e CWR6850 front panel switc es as s own on t e following page.
You may notice t at a switc setting is given for all switc es, even t oug many ave no effect in
CW mode; t ese switc settings will be used for t e RTTY explanations t at follow t is section.
Press and release t e RESET button on t e CWR6850 to clear-out any text t at may remain on t e
screen. Now, type a line of text on t e keyboard – suc as "Now is t e time for all good men" (do
not use t e RETURN or LF keys at t is time). Notice ow t e text you've typed is displayed on t e
top lines of dots at t e bottom of t e screen. Also note t at all t e letters typed are capitalized –
t is is because t ere is no upper/lower case in Morse code; Baudot is t e same. ASCII code, ow-
ever, does ave valid codes for bot upper and lower case letters and eit er may be typed (LOCK
button out). You may find it useful to refer to APPENDIX A and APPENDIX B at t e end of t is
manual for a discussion of control commands and screen formats.