I look forward to seeing a post from you about passing your Extra test Sam

73
Bob

I don't spend any of my time thinking about CB; don't spend any of my time thinking about business radio either.

I had fun with CB radio back in the era when one got a CB license and there were only 23 xtal controlled channels.  It was through CB that I learned about ham radio.

When i got my first ticket I was limited to CW only.  Every night I'd get on 10 meters and chat, practise sending and copying CW, with friends that also got their ticket around the same time I did. Once everyone's fist became sloppy, we'd go back to CB and chat for a bit.

After I got my General ticket, I never went back to CB.

73
Bob

While many hams have TONS! of FUN on VHF and UHF I've stayed with HF.  It might be because I started on HF and devoted just about all of my "playin radio" funds to improving my HF station.  For me, funds into VHF and or UHF was funds better spent on improving my HF station.

At one time I had a mobile 2 meter rig, DC power supply so that I could use it in my house, and a 12 element beam and rotator.  I also had an 2 meter HT.

They were fun for a while because they were new play toys, in a short while I sold the mobile rig and kept the HT for occasional use.  The occasional use turned into using it on a packet cluster that a contest club in New England set up for spotting DX,

Once internet sites with DX spotting started my HT went into a closet.

Since I rapidly became board with VHF and UHF I suggest you consider valuing rigs with better performance on HF more than rigs with HF, VHF and UHF, even to the point of choosing a first rig without VHF and UHF.

While having a good performing rig is important, remember that to enjoy it you need a good "stiff" power supply--one that easily provides enough current for 100 watt HF rigs.  Plus, you need an antenna, or antennas so that you can get on the air and enjoy your rig.

My first station was an entry level rig, a hand me down straight key, SWR/watt meter, an antenna switch box, coax, a trap inverted Vee for 40 and 80 that I could also use on 15 and an omnidirectional CB antenna that I used on 10 meters.

I had TONS!!! of FUN.

I didn't own a home, so when I rented a house I was limited to wire antennas.  When I moved to another place it had quite a few trees near the house.  I made wire ground plane antennas for 15, 20, and 40 meters.  I pulled each of those antennas up into different trees.  Those antennas, along with my inverted 40/80 meter inverted Vee and my CB ground plane, got me onto every HF band at the time with the exception of 160.

My first rig, along with every rig I've owned, could run as low as 5 watts, but I was having FUN with my rigs' max output of 90-100 watts.  In fact, the next upgrade to my station was a modest used HF amplifier.  My guess is that I would have become very frustrated if I had started out with a QRP rig, simply because I wanted to be able to make contacts.  Making contacts with 100 watts, when many of the stations I tried to contact were 800-1500 watts, was challenging at the time.

Congrats on getting your General ticket.

My Very Best from Tucson AZ
Bob

Consider looking at receiver performance, especially if you like chasing DX.

Since many, most RARE!! countries get on the air via DXpedetions, and they typically run split, having dual receive might give you and advantage over people using single receivers.

To vastly simplify, you can't work 'em if you don't know where they are listening; and, if you can't hear the station the Dx just worked, you don not know where to transmit.

Also, my perception is that the receiver performance that benefits reception on the higher bands is not the best for the low bands?

At one time, Sherwood Engineering would publish the performance of receivers they had tested.

If I was looking for another rig, I would also be looking at ones with very clean transmitted signals.

73
Bob

You can directly ask The League since you want to submit it to them.

73
Bob

I just got in a kit to build a simple software defined receiver.

There are a few places selling a variety of kits to build software defined radios. 

But, basically, physics for ham radio hasn't changed.

Oh; pile-ups build extremely fast now.

73
Bob

“But who out there IS running a totally by the book, absolutely no adjustments made, pure stock CB anymore?”

Dunno.  You'd have to ask someone involved in CB.

“How high COULD I go on a 520 safely -just out of curiosity?”

Dunno.  You'd have to ask someone who plays around with 520s.

“Could it be the radio was only set at 2 or 3 watts originally?”

Not likely.

Maybe there is more going on than CB mythology encompasses?

73
Bob

You might get some ideas from W4RNL's site.  He had a nice article "verticals with out vertigo".

I met a ham once that lived in a HOA area that forbid outside antennas.  He would set up a 40 meter delta loop on a fiber glass mast after the sun went down, play around an then take it back down.

What is nice about self-contained antennas is that you don't have to run radials.

73
Bob

I avoid having to memorize details that do not have a relationship with how something works. 

I lumped a few questions together that seemed to be related that I just did not understand.

I inventoried what letter the correct answer was and found the letter that was more likely to be correct than incorrect for all of those questions.

One thing that has helped me to understand more of my hobby was to buy an ARRL HandBook from the late 50s, when circuits were based upon tubes.  For me, the subject content in most of the book was easier to understand than any of the recent handbooks.

Having to memorize 750 answers and questions seems like a daunting task.  Perhaps someone who has recently passed the Extra exam can offer suggestions, based upon what they did, on how to break this task into more manageable segments?

Best Wishes from Tucson
Bob

Consider that companies may not be pushed out of business.  Some simply cannot survive because their market segment changes, customers change.  As a result of market changes, the business can not generate enough cash flow (more funds coming in than go out).

Some other business thinks that if they can buy that business at a “reasonable” price they can get a positive cash flow from the acquisition.

At it's simplest, consumers vote with their $$$$.  When they vote for one company over another the company that doesn't get the votes isn't pushed out of business by the company getting the votes.  If anything, customers pushed the company out of business.

73
Bob

Whenever I see an add in QST i see companies that used to make ham radio gear that have ceased to exist.  As far as I know the only reason that one can buy replacement parts is because MFJ bought them.

If one takes the time to notice, MFJ is not only still in business, but also it has/had the ability to buy out other companies.

One could speculate that it's ability to buy out other companies is testament that MFJ is better at running their business than hams on eHam are at running MFJ's business.

As an aside, within three weeks of putting my new Alpha on the air it failed to pass signals through it. 

I called Alpha; I got out my multitester and checked circuits as they talked me through doing it; they sent a new relay to me; I unsoldered the broken one and then installed the new one.

Oh.  The MFJ Grandmaster memory keyer I bought in the early 80s still works.  I pulled it out of a closet when I wanted to use it with a Drake C-line.  I could find the wall wart for it.  I went to MFJ's web site and was able to look up the information I needed to use a substitute.
73
Bob

Here you go OM:
ww2.isys.ca/lberta/qcode1.html
ac6v.com/morseaids.htm
www.radioing.com/hamstart/q-signal.html

Have FUN
Bob

I think I studied for 3 or 4 months Sam, a half hour each day.

If you are having any problems understanding what you are studying just ask.

There are quite a few people on eHam who know the material because in it part of the profession they are in.  As always, someone will probably post something derogatory.  But, as a Nobel Prize winning Physicist said "What do you care about other people think?"

When I studied the Extra material I finally learned a lot that explained how antennas worked.  I especially remember learning about how current and voltage are inseparable and looking at a graph of voltage and current on the same axis.

There was stuff I had to learn just because there were hurdles I had to jump over.

Many years ago, I'm on my third sunspot cycle, the percentage of Extras to the population of all hams was quite small.

Over the years the study guides became better, finally being replaced by the published question pools, and without the necessity of proving code proficiency.  As those changes were made the percentage of Extra started increasing to today's percentage.

Lest you think I judge the "quality of a ham" by the tests one takes, that is irrelevant to me--one can only take the tests that are offered.

I look forward to seeing a post from you about passing your Extra.

My Best Wishes Sam
Bob

Look at how much companies are charging for their dipoles.

Watch the eHam adds to see if someone is selling a used 40 meter dipole.  HI hi.

Or on eBay with the description "Worked last time it was used."

73
Bob

I see posts all of the time from people complaining that some op does not operate the way they should to enjoy "playing radio".

14.160 attracted a lot of interesting DX.  Many times the DX ops just did not want to deal with pile ups and did not want to deal with list after list after lists in nets.  I remember quite a few DX ops mentioning that they did not like checking into other nets.

Phineas used the phonetics of Bull Frog for his call.

73
Bob