Well, so far, just playing around in the dark, sort of speak, I have learned
how to fine tune CW signals with the Icom 7000 down to 12 to 14 Hz, yes, you
heard me correctly, before they drop out of the tuneable passband and
crystal filtering system of the radio.  That's with signals S1 or S2 and
when I discover some big booming signals some night, I'll see what it is
with over S9 signals.  The passband and crystal filtering knob and skirt
behind the knob, when perfectly centered, that is, in their normal listening
positions, beeps softly so you can tell when you are above or below standard
listening frequency which is about 350 Hz.  If that proves to be too narrow,
I just switch to lower or upper sideband and then when I get close enough to
the signal, drop back into the narrow band range to fine tune the signal.  I
am not as impressed with the DSP as I thought I might be but I also haven't
played around with it as much.  I figure if I can't hear the guy and copying
him well enough down to 14 Hz or less, why bother with DSP but what little
playing around I've done with it, I have found it definitely works and
reduces my line noise a lot.  My line noise, on 40 meters for example, runs
any place from 7 to 9 but with the pre amp on, and the noise blanker on, it
drops to S1 or S2 but this varies point by point from one day to the next.
On 40 meters, however, with no blanker and the pre amp on, it is always at
least S9 so the blanker works and works well with my standard line noise,
thank God.  I'm very impressed with the noise blanker, however, compared to
everything I've had in the passed and the tuneable crystal filter and
passband for CW certainly surpasses what I expected.  I like the fact that
the 7000 beeps, as I am sure other icom radios do, when you reach ham band
edges top and bottom.  It's a nice feature so you don't have to keep
punching the speech synthesizer all the time.  I did also talk to Icom
America and got a MSW version of the original manual that comes with the
radio.  How helpful it will be is yet to be decided.  I learn something new
every time I hunt through the manual but it is far from blind friendly, if
you get my meaning.  Steps are being taken with Icom to see if we can do
more than just a MSW version of the manual.  For now, they made me swear on
a stack of King James Versions of the Bible that I would not, under any
circumstances, share the file but they were more than willing to give me
that much.  I have a contact now, and that helps, and I've passed that
contact information on to handi hams which likely will carry a lot more
weight than I can.  Well, not literally pound for pound, you understand, but
as far as establish credibility and proper influence is concerned.  I'm
taking Braille notes of things I learn, so I don't have to go back and
relearn it all again, including button lay out and, of course, most buttons
have dual functionality.  Wonderful.  But I am making notes to reference how
to get in and out of such features and how to take short cuts.  Having the
QSYer from John Hansen, as I have said more than a dozen times now, makes a
huge difference.  No, I haven't, as of yet, but am working on it, gotten
into setting memories, making and receiving audio recordings, and the entire
menu structure but at my age, you can't learn everything in one day unless
you are a novice in 1966 with a DX20, two 80 meter crystals, a BC348
receiver, and a 100 foot long wire with no tuner and 10 watts output.  I
must admit, though, my novice days were about the funnist times I ever had
in ham radio.

Phil.
K0NX