I used an SB-104A for most of my first 100 countries, and I had a WORLD of fun with that radio. :-)  (And it's now in the hands of another ham, still functioning.)  I'd suggest what I've used for most of my contacts: simple doublet antenna fed by twinlead, with a tuner.  Works great, easy and inexpensive to build.   Make it as high and as long as you can fit on your lot; if you can get two legs of 33 feet each, it'll work on 40m and higher.   Have fun with that 104!  :-)

I drive to work early in the mornings; 06:30 local, 10:30 GMT.  I often listen around 20m phone as I'm driving in.  Lately 20 has been pretty dead when I leave in the mornings, but I know the band is opening, as I'm driving along and tuning around, when I hear those guys on 14.250, and a few minutes later I'm hearing the SSTV guys around 14230. 

Take a look in the "Reviews" forum here on eHam--I'm pretty sure I've seen a lot of discussion of them. 

I got an FT897D a month ago; I really like the radio overall.  I'm using it mostly for portable use, either with my riding mower's battery or with a regular power supply and an extension cord.

Since I'm often using the radio outside, I'm mildly interested in buying the FNB-78 internal battery pack for this radio.  At $100, the battery pack is a bit expensive but not too bad.  But what I've read suggests that, in addition to the battery, I would also need the proprietary charger, another $100+, either from Yaesu or from W4RT.

Are there any other (cheaper) options for charging the FNB-78 packs?  Has anybody homebrewed a charger for the packs, or modified it so the battery pack is charged when the radio is connected to 13.8VDC? 

Thanks!  --ken ac4rd

One thing I'm sure of:  When the DX is working split, the guys who forget to hit the <split> button and call on the DX frequency--that's a little nuisance.  Not a big deal, most of 'em (like me) notice it soon.  But what IS a big annoyance is those guys who can't keep quiet, who just have to yell "UP, you lid!" at the guy.   The "frequency cops" are a lot more bother than the guys who make a little mistake and call as it's simplex.

A few years ago I placed a "WTB" ad on a well-known website with local classified ads; I got a BUNCH of would-be scammers, including several that said:

"I want to purchase your 'WTB Les Paul DC' please give me your final price and I will send a money order ..."

ROFL!   (I never got back to any of those people because I got busy with this nice Nigerian bank director who wants to give me a lot of money ...)   ;-)

I'm still irked that the ARRL still won't count my spark-gap QSOs separately from the CW QSOs.     ;-)

Simon, I recall the DXE people had a chart of some kind on their website, showing how to mix-and-match for a given design frequency.  But I've always just put the antenna together, measured to see where it was resonant, and then started modifying to get the resonance where I wanted it.   I've used an RM-10 on 15 meters, but not much--I've got bad noise on 15 and higher frequencies so I rarely operate on 15 from the car.   

I'm using an RM-12 on 17m, and an RM-15 on 20.  The RM-15 on 20meters required 38-40 inches (around 100 cm) of whip without a cap hat, and only around 9-10" (25cm) with a homemade cap hat.    I'd say, put it together and see where it's resonant!  Good luck!   --ken

CONGRATULATIONS!  :-)  That's ALWAYS good advice:  work it first, worry about it later.  If "Slim" QSL'd, I'd have a whole bucket of his cards.  :-)

Absolutely!   A job very very well done.   They've given A New One to a whole lot of people, and managed the pileups very well! 

Hi, David!  I was just wondering where you were these days, not more than a week ago.  email me some time, ac4rd at yahoo or at arrl.net, and we can catch up a bit.  I'm working in the program you used to be in, these days!  :-) 

I've got to hand it to them--great ops.   I finally got them this afternoon on 20m phone, and I did it from THIS setup:

  http://www.duke.edu/~kuzen001/lawnmower.htm

(I've also had several good tries at them from the car on my drive home in the afternoons, but the lawnmower rig appears to outperform the car rig.)   :-)

Anyway, THANK YOU to the ST0R people! 

Ron, one other thing you probably noticed from this discussion:  lots of hams just LOVE experimenting with antennas for shortwave!  You don't need much space, you don't need much equipment, you sure don't need much money (if you're like me!)   There are tons of magazine articles and websites about making HF antennas, and a million people on eham.net willing to offer advice.  :-)  HAVE FUN!  73!  --ken ac4rd

Ron, a simple loop around the perimeter of your roof overhang is not a bad place to start.  Consider feeding it with balanced line (450ohm window line or 300ohm twinlead) and route that in via a window to a tuner.  If you are an ARRL member (and can access articles on the ARRL website), there are lots of old QST articles about small-space or low-visibility HF antennas--and it's a GREAT area for experimentation!

Tons o' fun to be had on HF--put some wire in the air and get started!  ;-)  73!
  --ken

Stan, I agree with you 100 percent!   The ARRL is a fantastic resource for all of us!