Palstar R30A Owner's Manual page 8

8 Front Panel Functions
pressing the MEM button once will place the receiver in Memory
Mode, and the digital display will show memory channel informa-
tion. The display will be "CH {number}", where {number} is the
number of the active memory channel. To display the frequency of
the active
memory channel, press once on the Tuning Knob until it clicks. To
return to the channel number, press on the Tuning Knob again.
To step through the memory channels, either press the UP or
DOWN buttons or turn the Tuning Knob. If you have pressed the
Tuning Knob to display memory channel frequency, then the fre-
quency of the stored channels will be displayed instead of the
channel numbers as you step through.
Only memory channels that have information stored in them will be
displayed. For example, if only memory channels 1 through 10
have information stored in them, continuing to step past memory
channel 10 will loop back to memory channel 1 and start over.
Likewise, if channels 1 through 10 and 15 through 20 have infor-
mation stored, while channels 11 through 14 are empty, stepping
past 10 will skip over 11 through 14 and resume at 15.
To return to Normal Mode, press the MEM button again. Upon the
return to Normal Mode, the unit will be tuned to the station stored
in the memory channel selected while in Memory Mode. If the
R30A is turned off while in memory Mode, it will be in Memory
Mode when it is powered up again.
b. To store memory information: In Normal Mode, tune in the
station you wish to store in memory. All associated settings (i.e.
AM, LSB, or USB; Bandwidth; AGC; and Attenuation) will be
stored along with the frequency. Be certain that everything is cor-
rect before entering Memory Store Mode, because once Memory
Store Mode is enabled, you will not be able to view or change the
frequency or to view or change the associated settings.
c. To enter Memory Store Mode: First tune in the station you
desire to store, then press and hold the MEM button for 2 sec-
onds. The digital display will show "CH {number}." The default
{number} displayed will be the lowest available empty memory
channel number, and {number} will be flashing.
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21 Single Sideband (SSB) Reception
ates a signal that is mixed with the received signal with just
enough frequency offset to result in the audio tone.
In the Palstar R30A, the BFO is engaged by choosing the Upper
Sideband (USB) or Lower Sideband (LSB) modes. As you tune
across a CW signal, its pitch will change, and you tune until the
pitch is most pleasing to your ear.
Single Sideband (SSB) Reception
Single Sideband (SSB) is a mode that provides the benefits of re-
duced bandwidth (thereby taking up less room on the radio dial)
and greater efficiency in the use of transmitted power (thereby
allowing the signal to effectively reach further without increasing
transmitter power). The cost of these improvements is the require-
ment that the receiver have a Beat Frequency Oscillator (BFO),
and tuning is somewhat more difficult. SSB is widely used by
Hams, Utility stations, the military, and even some shortwave
broadcasters.
Here is a brief explanation of what SSB is: a radio transmitter is
tuned to the frequency it is to transmit on, called the carrier fre-
quency. The desired signal (voice or music) is mixed with the car-
rier frequency in a process called modulation. The result is three
frequencies: 1) the original carrier frequency, 2) an upper side-
band consisting of the carrier frequency with the modulating signal
added to it, and 3) a lower sideband consisting of the carrier fre-
quency with the modulating signal subtracted from it.
All of the information to be transmitted is contained in each side-
band. Once sidebands are generated, the only purpose the carrier
serves is to provide a reference for the receiver to use in recover-
ing the audio from the signal. If you strip away one of the side-
bands and the carrier, what is left is a Single Sideband signal.
Feed it to an antenna, and it will go out over the air just like any
other radio frequency signal. (As you can see, the term "carrier" is
a bit of a misnomer; it really doesn't "carry" anything) Either the
upper or the lower sideband can be used.
A regular AM receiver cannot properly process an SSB signal
without the carrier to use as a reference. If you try to listen to an
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