It didn't start in the 1950's: you can find similar examples from earlier decades.  The industrial films of the 30's  and 40's often conveyed complex ideas in very imaginative ways.  In particular, an outfit called the Jam Handy Organization made great films.  For example, if you ever wanted to learn how an car's differential worked, you'd have a hard time doing better than watching this film:

http://archive.org/details/Aroundth1937

My W7/x64 laptop installed a driver for the SignaLink USB's sound card automatically; no special driver was needed.

Because you're able to receive, I suspect there's something wrong in your setup.  In particular:

 - Check your digital modes program to confirm that it's using the USB sound card in the SignaLink for both transmitting and receiving.

 - Check the playback volume control for the USB sound card to make sure you're actually outputting sufficient audio to the SignaLink USB (if the volume's not high enough, the PTT line won't be actuated).

I assume your SignaLink's front-panel tx volume pot setting is OK, but check it anyway.

 

Already do, thanks.  That's why I mentioned it.

I think we're at the point where I put you on "ignore" and move on.  Feel free to do the same with me.

I commend to you something called The First Rule of Holes, to wit: when you're in one, stop digging.

This reminds me of the time I was on a jury a few years back, listening to a case in which one party pointed out that the other had falsely claimed to have earned a master's degree.  When asked about this, the second party answered, "I said I had a master's, not a master's degree."

He didn't win the case.

Sure, I can understand that.

By the way, since I failed to say it before, congrats on passing the Extra!

Just curious - is there a particular reason you're in a hurry?  If you've upgraded, you can use your new privileges immediately, by appending the appropriate suffix to your call when you're operating in the new class's sub-bands.

I was talking to a candidate today who was anxious to let everyone know he'd just passed the Extra.  He wanted to use /AE !

It all depends on how quickly the VE group submits the data to the VEC, and how quickly the VEC enters the information into the FCC database.  Our ARRL VE group in northern California submits the results of Saturday exams to the ARRL via FedEx.  The new licenses and license upgrade info usually appear in the FCC database by the following Friday at the latest, and often as early as Wednesday or Thursday.

Your words: "There is nothing wrong with ads, but when you have to wade through them to find the real tidbits of information in a "journal" like QST, things are going too far."

"Them" refers to the ads, I presume.

When's the last time you had to wade through ads to read the articles?  Years ago, many articles were continued in the back of the magazine, in among the ads.  But these days the center-of-the-magazine articles are presented in whole, with no interspersion of ads.  Yes, in the front of the magazine there are some ads mixed with the editorial, the letters to the editor, and such, but it's hardly a burden to turn an extra page or two to find what you want.

Ads and dues are not independent variables: demanding fewer ads is tantamount to saying you're willing to pay higher dues to cover the shortfall in revenue.

Just to be clear: it's true that 64-bit Windows will run 64-bit and (most) 32-bit Windows applications.  However, a 64-bit Windows system can't run 32-bit drivers.

Dale, I love your antennas; in fact, one of your 20M models has a place of honor above my roof.  But I have to take issue with your defense of this abysmal piece of equipment.  Let's get one thing out of the way--all of my Eico 753 knowledge comes first-hand.  Unfortunately.  When I was about 15, I built one of these things, complete with the solid-state VFO, and wrestled it onto the air.  It was, in a word, awful.   


This is a little like the tale of Grandpa's axe: it's had two heads and three handles but, somehow, it's the same ax.  A modified 753 is not a 753.

As for the claim that any competent ham of that era could have made the changes to fix it, well, there's the problem.  Many of the kits were built by relative newcomers to ham radio, who could not have been expected to re-engineer the rig to fix those things that the engineers at Eico couldn't manage.  As an engineer, I could now undertake a restoration/redesign of a 753, but it was a different matter for a 15-year-old in 1967, living in a small town with no access to test equipment or help.

There's an implicit representation from seller to buyer, that the seller has done a competent job of designing their product.  Occasionally a seller may tell the buyer otherwise, and then all's fair.  (Remember Poly-Paks and their "no time to test 'em!" disclaimer?)  But in the absence of such a disclaimer, the seller has an obligation to finish the design work before shipping the product.

When I got my Par end-fed, all I had to do was a little length-tweaking (as explained in the instructions), and I was on the air.  I didn't have to redesign the matchbox, or add a balun, or do anything else out of the ordinary.  That's good design, and that's why I recommend your products to others.  I can't remember ever recommending the Eico 753 to anyone, except scrap haulers. 

The Eico 753 - it's the standard against which all bad gear is measured.

Yes, exactly.  PSK31 operators need to differentiate between a transmitter that's overdriven (i.e., too high a transmit audio level) and a clean signal that happens to be loud for any of a number of reasons: high power, great antenna, good propagation, etc.  The former is a problem that should be solved by the person transmitting (turn down the audio gain!), while the latter should be solved by the person on the receiving end (by using a narrow IF filter).

Confusing the two types of signal--overdriven vs. loud--just leads to a lot of pointless discussions.

While an ARRL-affiliated VE group can confirm your accreditation by looking at the ARRL sessions-count web page, I suspect many groups will ask to see your badge.  If you haven't received it yet, you might want to give the ARRL VEC a call and ask where it is.