Almost all the US stations I see only use PSK31 and surprisingly there only seem to be about 20 regulars who are capable of reaching Europe

Mel G0GQK

With a DX station just send the important bits, forget all about weather and cups of coffee stuff, and do it quickly there are others waiting. You won't get a medal but you won't be PITA

Mel G0GQK

Try winding half a dozen coils in the coax about a foot radius, that should cure it

Mel G0GQK

Try just pushing a piece of wire about 10 ft long into the centre of the appropriate antenna connection

Mel G0GQK

The reason why some PSK users send all the time, date stuff and how many clubs they belong to is they don't have much to say. There is nothing wrong in using macro's if the stuff on them is how you would speak to someone if you were using a microphone.
 I've been operating for years, I keep seeing the same calls each time I operate and seeing the same "All is OK my friend QSL card 100% etc" but almost all my contacts, because of the poor conditions, are in western Europe and many cannot use a keyboard. Even the users in the states are the same ones, when they are able to contact Europe. It would be nice to have contacts with people who are new !

Mel G0GQK

Seventy dollars ! cheap ! If they make your ears sore just use the cheap ones, you won't hear any more morse signals with expensive head phones, The big problem of course is the lousy noisy band conditions, it wasn't always like this.

Mel G0GQK

That's nothing, its been about eight years since the world has had the pleasure of my melliflous tones ! Same here, but from what I hear, I've missed nothing

Mel G0GQK

Do a CPU reset

Mel G0GQK

There are many millions living in the Dark Ages. Join our club !

Mel G0GQK

CC Cleaner is one of the best. But why do you need to mess around with the registry ? Nobody interferes with the registry of a computer unless they know what they're doing. What do you think is a problem in the registry ?

Mel G0GQK

Try using Airlink Express, there are four filters available which will solve some of the problems

Mel G0GQK

I'm curious, are there still people at the FCC sitting around all day watching the misdemeanours of US amateurs every time they fire up their rigs, or is it local hams who regard themselves as "frequency cops" and report everything not to their required standard ?

As you are using lots of macro's for your callsign transmission, perhaps a re-design of the your macro content would solve your problem

Mel G0GQK

I have a 718, use an optocoupler connected to ACC1 then to the compuer and have never experienced any of the problems metioned. The rig is set for no ALC, full power and I can move around from the centre frequency with no loss of power. All my antenna's are 1:1 at the PSK frequencies but I don't think the low SWR has any effect. I suggest you check with a dummy load

Mel G0GQK

Perhaps the simplest thing would be to write your macros on a piece of paper and adjust the wording to your satisfaction, then write them into your macro number and save

Mel G0GQK

A ground rod will not prevent RF affecting equipment in your shack, You need to buy ferrite clamps and ferrite rings to attach to the various cables which are connecting your computer and tranceiver. I have never used a ground rod and the recommendation to use one is a fallacy which has been within the ham fraternity for years !

Mel G0GQK