Woops, wrong link.  Here is the correct link.
http://www.hamcity.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=734

     Al, n7ioh

Hi Al, I have a Kenwood TH-F6A HT with the SMA antenna connector.  I have bought several short 39" coax adapters from Hamcity that have the SMA conector on one end and a UHF female on the other end.  These are very well made and use I think RG-174 coax, very small.  I keep one with my HT, one in my go kit and one in the shack.  These are also available with a BNC to a UHF female cable but a little shorted.  I just remove the antenna from my HT and connect the adapter cable and connect the other end to the antenna on my mag mount or base antenna.  Because the coax is very small and very flexable you can easily use the HT connected to your other antennas.  I offten use it when I want to listen to HF or any other band outside the HT's antenna range.  Here is a link to Hamcity's page showing the adapters.  http://www.zerobeat.net/drakelist/drakefaq.html
I also am using the Diamond SRH320A antenna on my TH-F6A with very good results.  It is very well made.  
     Al, n7ioh

Hi Mike, you might want to join the Drake Mailing list.  Here is a link to a page that will tell you how to join,  http://www.zerobeat.net/drakelist/drakefaq.html
I have been a member for a while and this is a very good group with lots of people who know a lot about the Drake radios and very willing to help.  For the most part, all the Drakes seem to be great radios with some better then others.  I would agree the Drakes you have are worth keeping and fixing up or maybe trading for a different Drake that better suits your needs.  I have the C line and a TR-6, both very good radios.  The old Drakes can give many of the newer radios a run for their money.  Enjoy them and good luck.  

      Al, n7ioh

Hi Doug, I just went to the MFJ web site and looked up the 1261 manual.  My guess would be to try using the settings that match the Heil adaptor that you are using, i.e. Yaesu, Kenwood etc.  If all fails there are two phone numbers listed in the manual on page 20 for help.  They are 662-323-0549 and 662-323-5869.  You did not say what kind of problem you are having.  Is nothing working or just not the way you think it should work.  I have heard that the Heil mics require more drive.  

    Al, n7ioh

Hi Doug, I have a friend that has the Kenwood TS-480SAT and just loves it.  He just did the software or firmware up grade to it and said it made a very big difference.  The price is certenly very good now and I don't think you will find a better radio in it's price range.  Go through and read the different reviews of the current HF radios and see what meets your needs.  But give the 480 a look see.  Oh, and don't worry about putting too many hours on the TR-6, it's a Drake and they were well built.  

       Al, n7ioh

Hi George, yep you will most likely want to invest in an antenna tuner.  I have 3 of the MFJ small 300 watt units and they work very well and tune quickly once you have found the tune possition and write it down for reference.  Quite often you can find them used at ham fests very cheap.  I am currently planning on buying the improved MFJ-993B automatic tuner, about $260.  It has very good reviews in eham on the origional 993 tuner.  You should also read the reviews in eham on the other tuners before you buy a tuner and write the ones down that meet your needs and pocket book.  Carry the list with you and watch for used ones or shop price on a new one.  As far as a good antenna is concerned for your apartment situation you can find some good ideas in the forum on antennarestrictions,  http://www.eham.net/forums/AntennaRestrictions  One thing to think about is the max power the tuner will handle and how much power you expect to use now and in the future.  Many of the tuners out there that give a max power rating are very optimistic in that they won't really handle that much power whem tuning antennas that have a high SWR.  One tuner that has a very good reputation is the Icom AH-4 and might work well for you just using a long wire and some counter poises for each band you will operate on.  The tuner is automatic and is water proof so it can be left on the patio.  Good luck, Al, n7ioh

Just a thought here.  You might try using that black edge dressing that they sell for boots and shoes edges.  This is not the liquid shoe polish but a little more durable and I think no wax or less wax.  It comes in a plastic bottle with an aplicator built in and would be easy to apply or touch up if it should need it and cheap.  It would also be a good idea to test this stuff in the microwave as outlined above just in case.   Al, n7ioh

I have a friend of mine that has the TH-F6A and the Icom R75 receiver.  He says that the TH-F6A hooked up to the same long wire receives about as good as the R75 on short wave broadcasts.  He also says that the TH-F6A receives short wave broadcasts better then his portable SW receiver, I think also while using the long wire.  I just bought the TH-F6A and so far I like it.  I haven't tried it on HF yet so I don't know first hand how it works on HF.  I did buy a 4 foot long adaptor that has a SO239 on one end and a SMA connectot on the other end from Hamstop for about $10.  I will be using it to extend my range.  The TH-F6A has a two antennas, a bar and the whip.  At 10MHz the radio uses the bar and above 10MHz the whip.  You can go into the memu and change the settings so you can use the SMA connection with an external antenna on all frequencies.  I have taken down my antennas in preperation for a move so I have no real way to test the rig on HF.  I did have the Yaesu VX5R and was not over joyed with it's performance  on HF even using my 75 meter inverted V and a tuner.  I would say if you wanted a HT that you could listen to HF, I would opt for the TH-F6A over the other radios.    Just don't expect it's performance to be on par with a full size radio.  Something you might be able to do depending on where you live.  Go to your local ham radio store and see if they will let you try all 3 radios side by side using an external antenna.  If you can't get to a store maybe you can get some local hams to come together for a HT shoot out to see which radio works best in the HF bands.  I hope this helps some.   Al, n7ioh

Hi, I would suggest that you buy a Clearspeech speaker to remove a lot of the noise.  There are other speaker filtering systems out there but I am a happy owner of 2 of these and I know they work.  I bought one new and the other used for $25.  I have the older ones before Heil bought them out.  What you might do is see if a local ham has one you can borrow to give it a try.  I have power lines that cross my lot on two sides (South and East sides) and I get other noise from other sources.  The Clearspeach lets me copy people that I could not even hear before turning on the Clearspeach.  Before you do anything with your antenna system give this a try.  Let me know how everything works out.

Al, n7ioh

 Hi Jim, I want to ask you if you wouldn't mind, to keep me informed as to your progress with your vertical antenna, i.e. what your doing and how it works?  I have a brother in Florida (I live in Arizona) who is about to enter the world of ham radio.  I am providing him with a radio and the 5BTV antenna.  It looks like we are going to be mounting it on the roof also.  I just emailed Steve, WB2WIK/6 and asked him some questions about mounting the antenna on the roof, the radials/counterpoise system, and about lightning protection for the antenna and equipment.  I would be happy to share that info with you when I receive it.  In my reply to you earlier in eham I mentioned the Clearspeach speaker, you can't believe how much noise this little speaker takes out.  I know have two of them, bought one used for $25US.  They also make great mobile speakers because of the noise reduction and bigger speaker.  Please email me directly at, n7ioh@cybertrails.com
      Thanks and 73's, Al, n7ioh

I have a friend who used the same antenna but mounted it to the top of the chain link fence.  His was a temporary installation but he said it work great.  I have looked at the manufacturs directions for this antenna and if you have followed everything you should be doing pretty good.  You can't have too many ground radials.  Try and place some longer ones for 80 and 40 meters out even if you have to snake them around the yard.  As others have said, it needs to be in the clear as much as possible.  As far as the noise is concerned, I would replace the wire used to ground your radio with a 1 inch braided grounding strap and an 8 foot ground rod.  It may not make any difference but it makes me feel better.  You may be in a high noise area.  Ask other hams near by if they have the same niose problem.  If you can roof mount the antenna you should get rid of some of the noise and get much improved performance if this is at all possable.  I use a Clearspeach speaker to remove a lot of the noise here and I'm not in a heavy noise area.  You have not said anything about power lines.  Are there power lines near by or in your yard maybe causing the noise?  I have power lines here on 2 sides on my lot.  I get some noise but not too much, new poles and lines here.  If you are getting noise from the lines, call the power company and good luck.  Al, n7ioh

Hi Tom and welcome to ham radio.  There are several vertical antenna out that could be mounted on the roof of most homes without too much of a problem.  Some are not too expensive and even cheaper if you can find them used.  Most are not real big so mom and dad will most likely approve.  They can sometimes be a little difficult to set up the first time, but once set up correctly work quite well.  You might look for a Hustler 5-BTV they are being sold by R & L Electronics for $139 plus shipping so used around $60-$110.  There are others out there that work very good you might just ask around at one of the local ham clubs and see if someone has something cheap to get you on the air.  Good luck, Al, n7ioh

Dale, just a note on the PC noise.  I bought a new mouse for my computer, the Logitech optical type and it caused noise.  The mouse was causing noise just setting there not moving and when I would move it the noise was really bad.  I ended up going back to my old mouse with the little ball inside.  

      Al, N7IOH

Thanks guys, I was kind of guessing in the 5-10 WPM range.  I had forgotten about having to wait for the filiment to get hot.  I may try and home brew something with some LEDs for the fun of it.  

             Thanks again, Al, N7IOH

Hi all, I came across an old test flashlight that has a 1/4" jack in the back for testing for shorts and open circuits.  I was just wondering if anyone here has played around sending CW using a light and what was a good speed to send at.  I thought it might be fun to play around with maybe using one of those new LED flashlights.  I'm not really into CW but thought I would get my speed up and try a little CW, on the air.  The light for right now is just for playing with.  

          Thanks, Al, N7IOH