What's odd is that the Menu A and Menu B information prints out fine, it's just the Memory channels that come out gibberish.  

I just changed the port number.  Do I need to add a printer?  

O.K., I finally got it to print.  I went into device manager and changed the port to LPT2.  So it prints out just fine but now what's printed is just a bunch of gibberish.  Does anyone have any suggestions?


BTW, the printer is not hooked up directly to the laptop but is a network printer (I'm at work).

Thanks.

I've got an HP laptop running the latest version of Windows 2000.  I downloaded and installed the Kenwood programming software for my TH-F6A.  I have the Kenwood PG-4Y cable attached to the serial port on the laptop (no USB converter cable).

The software runs fine.  I was able to connect with the radio and can read the radio memory data and save it to a file on the laptop.  I'd like to print out the data in my memory.  When I click on Print, I get an error message box with a red X and the following error text.

?? 'Mcp_f6f7.exe' ?? 0048CC09 ?? 7C00003C ??

Can anyone help me figure out what's going on and why I can't print?

Thanks.

I'm not asking about cooling issues but more about RFI or EMI/EMC between the radios.

The Kenwood TH-79AKSS does full duplex and cross band repeat (just like Icom W-32A).  You can find these used on e-bay for around $250.  Both the TH-79 and the W-32A are out of production I believe.  There are also aftermarket long-life NiMh batteries available for both that will last quite a long time.

The -F6A performance varies with the antenna.  The stock duck isn't much good (IMHO).  There is the Maldol MH-610 and the Comet HT-224.  Both will improve the performance of the radio.  When using just 2m and 440, I use a Pryme RD-98 SMA, which is a 24 in whip.  Try using the same antenna on the various radios and I think you'll see the performance is pretty much the same.

I've got a small desk in my shack so I have limited space for my radios, tuners, speakers, power supplies, etc.  I have to stack stuff so I'm wondering if stacking one HF radio on top of another will cause any problems (other than making sure there's enough air flow to keep them cool).  

For instance, if I had an FT-1000D on the desktop and an Icom 756Pro sitting on top of the FT-1000, would the radios interfere with one another?  

Thanks,

Ed

I used to have a VX-5.  I also live in Los Angeles and with all the 6m repeaters in the LA basin, (and some of them are pretty high up), I was only able to hit one of them and that was only about 2-3 s-units.  The stock antenna, even with the extension, doesn't do very well on 6m, especially running only 5 watts.  If you really want to use it on 6m, then you'll need to get a much better antenna.  For every day use, I found the VX-5 pretty much useless on 6m so I sold it and bought a Kenwood TH-F6A because of the 220 band.

73,

Ed

I live in a 3 story apartment building on the top floor. I'm also near some overhead power lines. The ground floor of the building is all concrete and there's no way to run a wire to ground rod from the 3rd floor.

I plan to put up a ham stick dipole on a fiberglass mast on my balcony. I know that a dipole doesn't really need an RF ground but I'm wondering if using something like an MFJ artificial ground would help antenna performance. Also, how do I provide an electrical ground for the radio? About all I could do is run a wire to the center screw on the wall socket. Any suggestions on how other apartment-based hams handle electrical grounding?

Thanks,

Ed

I live in a 3 story apartment building on the top floor.  I'm also near some overhead power lines.  The ground floor of the building is all concrete and there's no way to run a wire to ground rod from the 3rd floor.  

I plan to put up a ham stick dipole on a fiberglass mast on my balcony.  I know that a dipole doesn't really need an RF ground but I'm wondering if using something like an MFJ artificial ground would help antenna performance.  Also, how do I provide an electrical ground for the radio?  About all I could do is run a wire to the center screw on the wall socket.  Any suggestions on how other apartment-based hams handle electrical grounding?

Thanks,

Ed

I have an old military commo truck that runs 24V DC.  I'd like to hook up an HF base station like a Yaesu FT-1000MP MkV Field in the truck.  I would, of course, need a 24VDC to 13.8VDC converter that will handle the required current.  My question is would I need some sort of power conditioner between the batteries in the truck and the converter or between the converter and the radio so that the generator on the truck won't damage the radio?

73,

Ed

I've done that.  Lots of places that you can buy them from but I'm trying to find the companies website.  The only site for them I found had a phone number that had been disconnected.  Thanks for the tip though.

Thanks for the help but I already tried that.  The phone number has been disconnected with no new number given.

I'm looking for info (website or phone number) for Pro-Am/Valor HF mobile antennas.  Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks and 73,

Ed