The “Rock-bound” portion of me needs a little help with the “Digital Radio" world. In the old days (FT-101E), if we were communicating in the AM mode on 3885 MHz and, we wanted to communicate on LSB then, I would have to switch my mode to “LSB” and QSY with the VFO to 3883.5 MHz to talk. On CW, I tuned the VFO until the receive signal had a certain tone and then, I knew I could communicate with the other station.

Today, my solid state radio (IC-706MKIII) (does or does not?) automatically offset for the different sidebands. This is important to know because of the layout of the “Channelized” 60 meter band; there is a carrier frequency and a allotted USB bandwidth; in simple theory if I can zero-beat him on receive I should be legally on “the channel”(?).

About the “Sound Card Modes” , I have them and, they work but, how and why? I’m on USB using a popular Ham Software program that comes with HRD and, I see a station on the Waterfall using PSK so I line up with him and we communicate -- no brainer. Next I hear see a station using RTTY , I switch the software to the RTTY mode but leave the radio in USB mode(?) to communicate with him?

There’s a station in the CW mode, I’m still on USB; if I change the mode on the radio the station disappears from the waterfall, take it back to USB and the signal is there.

To sum it all up, in the old days, I had to physically change frequency to transmit in different modes, today with the Sound card modes I don’t but, it is hard for me to grasp how I can leave my VFO set and, communicate on different modes but still be "on the channel”.

When you communicate a Net Frequency, are you using the carrier frequency or the sideband / cw / RTTY offset.