BTW, "Palomar" has been used by many companies in some form or another.  But the "reputation" for amps and the like is for illegal equipment INTENDED for the bootlegger and illegal CB frequency market.  REGARDLESS of how it's "marketed" or labeled.
    Reputable companies do not manufacture amps that are illegal to use or are not in compliance with FCC regulations and restrictions.

It's too bad you have such an attitude.  You were given honest answers to your question; and reasons behind those answers, they just weren't what you wanted to hear.    

Previously unused or improperly stored Hg vapor tubes DID require a burn-in period to completely vaporize any liquid mercury on the elements, on the order of several hours.  But even properly handled tubes, once installed in equipment required a seriod of time with filament voltage only applied, before the HV could be turned on.  That was to again vaporize any mercury that had condensed on the plave or filament between uses.  I'm afraid I don't have the data any more that describes the recommended times of "preheating." I suspect if we still used Hg vapor tubes, it would be common knowledge.

There's no reason it can't work.  Does the Compaq have RS-232C Serial ports (probably only one) or is it all USB?

    You may not need an external TNC; there is now software that works with most sound cards (including the sound card equivalent found in many laptops)that emulates a TNC.  If that IS the case, all you would need is a couple of audio cables from the radio to the computer sound card, although you might have to do a little tweaking to get levels adjusted properly.  Then a serial cable from computer to radio's PTT circuit, although you can use the VOX control if your radio has that capability.

    Others can suggest the software packages to try, and you might want to post in the "Computers and Software" Forum to get more specific information.

PLEASE disregard PTB's comment.  The amp has NO filtering; so OF COURSE it's broadband.

    With NO bias, it's NOT capable of operating in a linear fashion, so would ONLY be able to properly amplify CW or FM signals.  AM and SSB REQUIRE linear amplification to prevent horrendous (read VERY illegal) amounts of distortion, harmonics, and spurious signals.  (That, of course is of no concern to illegal operators who operate on CB frequencies, not is the manufacturer particularly concerned, since the amp is illegal to be sold in the U.S.)
    In addition, the active device a (single, presumably bipolar) transistor is almost certainly NOT rated for operation at 50 MHz, so you wouldn't get any measurable output from the amp, and might actually destroy the transistor (a blessing in disguise.)  Those amps intended for "CB" frequencies typically use transistors only rated to 30 MHz, since higher frequency rated devices cost more, and co$t cutting is one of the major design criteria for such illegally built and sold amps.

    Save the coax connectors, the front switch, and perhaps a few of the parts than can be easily removed from the PC board, and use them for other projects.  But PLEASE don't try to put that amp on the air on ANY band, and don't try to sell it to a CB'er or even give it away to someone who might try to put it on the air on ANY band.

A Darwin Award is an "honor" bestowed upon those who through their own endeavours, prevent themselves from reproducing.  The HIGHEST (dubious) honor is earned who achieve that  and yet manage to live to talk about it...

    Think of it as a "Bonehead" award for thosw who won't be able to tell of their escapades to the grandchildren they will never have...

    Most Darwin Awards, however are awarded posathumously.

ARRL pinpoints the term as originating with an article written by W9BRD in March 1971.

Rod used it to describe those who will help others with their amateur radio interests. It caught on and has been used ever since.

WB2WIK/6
===========

    And just be glad W9BRD's mentor wasn't named "Ralph."

No offense; just curious.  WHAT did you do that you have to replace the bulbs on a TS-2000?  The radio is NOT that old.  I have 15+ year  old radios, including Kenwood, uses (almost) daily for MANY hours each day, and have never had a bulb burn out, oe even a backup nattery go bad or (thankfully) even leak.  It's hard to believe I've been especially lucky and blessed in this respect.

  (Yeah, I know.  Having said THAT, all the bulbs in all my rigs will burn out tomorrow, and the batteriew will leak and destroy critical circuitry overnight...)

 KC8VWM on August 6, 2007     Your operating authority comes from the fact that you are registered in the FCC ULS database.

73 de Charles - KC8VWM

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Operating authority in the U.S. (and it's posessions.)

    But if you are operating under a recipricol agreement, or CEPT (and I believe even in Camnada) you are required to have an original license document in your posession, not just a photocopy, or even a reference copy.

    Remember, the rules when operating in another country are the rules of THAT country, not the FCC's rules.  And that includes necessary documentation of licensure.  If an original license is required, it's best to provide that.
    And the tFCC rules explain how to go about applying for and receiving a duplicate license, not just a n unofficial reference copy.

Forget the fancy "silver-teflon" PL-259's.  If you shop around, (RF connection, CableXperts) you can get REAL PL-259's from Amphenol, that are amoung the best made.  Even their "Astro-plate" (nickle plating) takes solder as well as some cheap "silver" plugs.  And gold anything on PL-259's is a waste of money and only for cosmetic purposes.

    I'd sooner have an Amphenol nickle-plated PL-259 with the phenolic insulation than one of the cheap (usually imported) silver plated/teflon UHF plugs any day.  (The Amphenol part # for the PL-259 is: 83-1SP.)

 ONAIR on July 29, 2007        If you miss the deadline, the FCC is nice enough to give you 2 more years to renew before you have to go back to square one!
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Yes, there is a 2 year "grace period" to keep your call, but it's NOT legal to operate until a renewal is processed and appears in the FCC database.

    Renewal is fairly easy on-line, and costs nothing unless you have a vanity call fee that will need to be paid.  Unless they've changed policy, the ARRL will process renewals for members without an additional fee (the vanity fee is still required, and goes to the FCC, not the ARRL.)  like W5YI they charge a fee for the service from non-members.

    IMHO, it's no more difficult to renew online directly with the FCC than to use a service; and the results will be faster.  (The last time I renewed, the update took less than 24 hours.  Vanity call renewals may take a little longer.)

What NEEDS to be pointed out, and hasn't been mentioned YET, is that the typical whip, such as a helically wound CB whip, or hamstick, is an electrical 1/4 Wavelength, and meant to function as a 1/4 wave vertical radiator.  (The ground makes up the other "half" of the antenna.)  A Dipole, on the other hand is composed of TWO quarter wavelength elements. equalling a half wavelength total,  (and technically independent of ground.)

Our own FCC rules specify some rules:

1.  For CEPT countries, you must carry your original license, your passport, and a copy of the CEPT Public Notice. (DA99-2344)


    It's best to check the ARRL Website for the exact rules and paperwork needed, as well as the ID requirements, rather than quoting the gory details here.

Or we could let our friend just keep using the radio on full power with a 12 Ampere draw, get back to the forum here when it fails, and just send the repair bill to one of the people that told him it was OK to overtax a power supply.  It probably won't take long.

It's also a question of whether the computer hardware will actually work with XP.

    What is the processor, and processor speed?

    How much memory is installed, and can you add memory?  (A more expensive alternative is whether an addition of memory is possible, or is replacement required?  If three modules of 128 MB are installed, that wouldn't be enough for XP to run very well, but the old memory would probably have to be pulled and different modules installed, if the mo-bo will accept higher capacity modules.)

    Will the video card and monitor support the default XP video modes?

    In short, the computer may not be able to run XP in an acceptable manner and might provide LESS performance than Win98.