I worked him on 40 last evening as well.  Ran the call on QRZ and didn't get a good answer where he was.  Is there a web reference?  I'm too new to have worked Peter I and this would be my first Q with Antarica if this qualifies.
Tim

hit f4
takes you out of full screen mode.
Tim

Alan,
Your web page was the first place I checked.  A great resource, but not much Jeep specific information.  I also searched the forum archive here and got a few ideas, but I have a convertable top...  I agree the front cowl area likely the best and will probably just put an NMO mount in there, was just hoping for a better idea that wouldn't be the first thing hit by low hanging branches on grouse hunting expeditions.

Doug,
I registered at the forum page, but still cannot view images.  If you can, and it isn't too much of a PIA, could you e-mail me the images?  Mycall@ARRL.net

Thanks,
Tim

I traded in my old Dodge pickup over the weekend on a Jeep Wrangler.  I had drilled the roof of the p/u for an NMO mount for VHF.  Have been looking over the jeep for a couple of days now and have a bunch of options (none of which is "center of roof" due to the soft top) and can't decide where is the best place to mount an antenna.  I have a number of antennas ranging from 19" quarter wave to 1/2 wave to multi band 2m/440/220, all NMO mounts.  I am not opposed to drilling a hole for an NMO mount (had the previous truck just over 10 years), just can't decide where to put it.  How about it Jeep guys... What works, what doesn't?  I do occasionally go offroad on hunting/fishing/camping expeditions, but this is really a daily driver.
Thanks,
Tim

I made contact with the packet station.  Was easy with 5 watts from a Kenwwod TM-D7a when the packet station was up. Got a really cool QSL too.  
See:
http://www.issfanclub.com/
Lots of good information about pass prediction, what mode has been used recently and even has links to recorded QSO's
Tim

Thanks again for all the suggestions.  ALC is now connected and set per the manual.  Seems to work as it should.  Will look into a tuning pulsar, but am impressed with the repeatability of settings from band to band and back.  It pretty much tunes to the same place each time for each band without a whole lot of fuss.
Tim

Thanks all,
Have now tuned the thing up on all but 17m and found it to be quite easy once the basics are in place.  Will connect the ALC line this weekend.  Need a longer piece of wire with RCA plugs than I have and will have to find either a suitable piece or the RCA connectors at rat shack and make one.  The length from radio to amp is too long with the tuner in the middle for the wire I have to reach.  I will likely use it infrequently, just got it at too good a price to pass up, and it's a neat little toy to boot.  Again, Thanks for all the advice, will keep the grid current as low as practical and try the ALC out tonight.
Tim

Steve and Phil,
Thanks.  I did as suggested and can turn the load control quite a bit farther clockwise without an appreciable drop in output.  It seems to be more pronounced on 80m than on 40m or 20m.  On 80, can quite easily make legal limit with a grid current of 150mA or so.  Now the next question, while I've got your attention...
ALC or no ALC?  I've read well thought out and reasoned arguments both ways.  The manual says "observe on an external PEP meter or oscilloscope" to set the ALC...  I have neither.  I'm sure this can be accomplished using the multimeter set to the power position and just matching max output with the ALC on.  Do I risk anything by not having the ALC circuitry in line with a modern exciter of 100W max output?  Sorry to be such a newbie, I read the ARRL handbook chapters on amps, and have a good idea about what I'm doing, but I'm a surgeon not an electrical engineer and I've exhausted my library.
Tim

I recently purchased a used AL-1200 amp and finished running the 240V line to my shack today.  I tuned it up on 40m and had a nice QSO with a gent in Indiana.  Have a few questions though, specifically:
When I tuned it through my antenna (multi band fan dipole with swr 1:1 where I tuned), the load setting was quite a bit off from the manual's recommended starting position and from where it tuned into a 50 ohm dummy.  The manual says to start at a setting of "4" and I wound up with a setting of about "1 1/2" to tune for max output.  The manual also says the final tune settings should yield a grid current of 250mA and a plate current less than 900mA.  After my tuning, the grid was just over 200mA and the plate was just over 1000mA.  Nothing sparked, arced or hissed and the guy on the other end gave me a good audio report.  If it make a difference in anyone's assessment, the line voltage measures 247V, the transformer reads 3600V on the HV setting and the exciter is an FT-2000 driving just about 75W.  I just don't know if this is a poorly written manual with some "wiggle room" in the numbers or if I need to make some changes.  Certainly don't want to damage the new toy and have no one local I can ask.
Thanks in advance,
Tim

Mark,
Congratulations.
I have a VX-7R in my pickup and it does just fine for local repeaters.  I had a mag mount antenna until last weekend when I bit the bullet and drilled a hole in the roof to install an NMO mount for the antenna.  This is a second vehicle for me and I'll probably put a "real" radio  in it at some point.  I had the same problem with mounting this tiny ht.  What I did was to put a normal suction cup based flex mount into a coffee cup and filled the cup with plaster of paris.  When the plaster dried, I painted it black to match the cup.  The cup fits right down into the cup holder and is heavy enough that it won't roll around (but not so heavy it will kill me if I'm in a wreck).  I have an accessory speaker/mic, so this is kinda like a real vhf/uhf rig in that I use a separate mic, but the whole deal can be removed quite easily.  Actually works very well and was easy to do.  The key to making this work out is the speaker mic, though, as you can't pick up the ht to talk into the mic with it hard mounted to a coffee cup.
Good luck
Tim

I just bought a matched pair of Taylor 572B's from RF parts.  Cost was $89.90 a pair.  The RF parts catalog lists Taylors, generic chinese at $39.00 each and Svetlana at $119.00 a matched pair.  I was told not to use the svetlana ones for my sb-200.  I forget why now but I'm sure someone will chyme in.  See:
http://www.rfparts.com/
Tim
KC9JCH

Would like to do mobile APRS and not spend a ton of money until I have some experience.

I have:
Yaesu 8800
USB to serial interface to hook the radio to computer, used now for programming radio
Good dual band antenna
Older IBM ThinkPad that runs XP (600Mhz PIII, 512 RAM)
DeLorme Mapping program
Serial GPS antenna (Delorme also, came as a package to run GPS on the laptop moons ago, takes 4 AAA batteries)

Could someone who has done it give me some pointers on what TNC emulator program and what hardware would be needed to make this a functional mobile APRS setup?

Thanks,
Tim

Thanks all,  At least now I have a place to start and hopefully have this rig sorted out and ready to use when I get my general in a couple of week.
Tim

This is probably a long shot, but here goes.  I bought a yaesu FT-987 second hand.  It came with a Yaesu FC-30 auto tuner.  I'd like to run this rig with computer interface and ham radio deluxe.  Is there a way to "clone" the CAT port on the radio to allow both functions?  I'm still a tech license, but expect to have my general in a few weeks.  Been having great fun with this radio on 6 meters, worked 5 states last evening during a nice band opening, but will need to tune a non resonant antenna (G5RV...  listens great!) in a few weeks and this will not allow me to interface with the computer.  My 6 meter antenna is resonant at less than 2:1 across the lower end of the band, so for now it doesn't matter much.  I don't need to tune.  Surely someone else has asked this same question before.  Any ideas?  Other than buying the LDG tuner and scrapping the FC-30, which I will do as a last resort.
Tim Phillips
KC9JCH