A 102' dipole should be about a dB below an 80m 1/2-wave dipole on 80m, and very good on 60m, 30m, and 20m if you can achieve good matches on those bands.

It would normally be a difficult antenna on 10/12m because it's so long it will be directional off the ends of the antenna, with some long, narrow (skinny) lobes that have gain, and there will be substantial "negative gain" (loss, or nulls) in lots of directions that might be more useful for you.

I'd expect a N-S oriented long dipole like that to mostly work north and south on 10/12m, while it would mostly work east and west on the lower bands.

I like a good coax-fed parallel dipole better, for covering multiple bands.  Can provide real, predictable 1/2-wave performance on several bands using a single transmission line, and provide a good match to that line on all of them.

There aren't many.  The AL-82 is a much better (and more powerful) amp than the Ten Tec; the Acoms and Emcoms and such are nice but imported and quite pricey; Alphas are American made and also very pricey; Commanders have had a spotty history; QRO makes some nice stuff but is a very small company who is "on vacation" right now ;etc.  Ameritron is the only amateur radio tube amplifier manufacturer I can think of who is in continuous production, in business many years, is "local," and has an excellent distributor/reseller system -- so for many it's possible to just drive to a local store and pick one up (like I did, at HRO).

Probably due to these reasons, I'm sure they outsell all the others combined.

As I've found after 40 years in business, the way to sell stuff is to have it readily available for those who make spot decisions to buy.  The ham who received a tax refund on May 1st and feels like spending it on May 2nd can have an Ameritron amp on May 3rd.  Not many other options for impulse buyers.

Can't knock success.

Here's my tip:

If you don't have a key connected to a tone oscillator and haven't tried sending along with the letters as they pop up, try that.

Sending is "half" of being able to work CW, and a very important half.  Doesn't help if you can "copy solid" at 60 wpm if you can't send.

Sending also helps with "copy."  A lot.

For what band(s)?

I agree, "predictions" aren't bad but "actuals" are better.

Even the real-time m.u.f. maps updated every few minutes by NOAA only show what the ionosphere is doing, but not what hams are actually working.

The Hy-Gain CD-45 II or Yaesu G-450A are about the "minimum" rotators you can use with that beam.

The Hy-Gain HAM-IV or Yaesu G-800 are a "step up" from those and are really better choices.

If you shop "used/reconditioned," the old Alliance HD-73 would work okay also.

I've installed several MA5B beams and although they are smaller than "full sized," they're still quite a load on a rotator, especially in a strong wind.

That's not quite right.  Pin 2 of the 8-pin BAND DATA plug goes to "RY" on the FL-2100B and pin 3 of the BAND DATA plug (ground) goes to "E" on the FL-2100B.  Pin 8 is for TX ENABLE when controlled by a QSK amplifier, which the FL-2100B is not.  So for use with the FL-2100B, you don't use pin 8 of the BAND DATA plug for anything.

I wouldn't want anything with 811As or 572Bs in it nowadays...they're ticking time bombs.

An AL-1500's a good amp, but so's it's little brother the AL-80B.

Looks to me like Brewster, NY has very reasonable code with respect to amateur radio antennas and towers; but you can review it all here: http://ecode360.com/9138134?highlight=amateur%20radio,radios,radio#9138134

Looks like about 40 hams live there (I never have), you might try contacting a few of them.

You can see what's open and who is working where here: http://www.dxmaps.com/spots/map.php?Lan=E&Frec=14&ML=M&Map=W2L&DXC=N&HF=S&GL=N

Click on the band of interest.

Predictions don't do anything for me; real-time activity plots do.

HA is very ham-friendly and does stipulate amateur radio operations are allowed.

I believe the ships are all of Netherlands registry.

I've operated from cruise ships before and best "success" was always achieved by clamping a loaded whip to a long railing around the upper deck (often, the sports deck), the highest point on the ship other than the stacks.  Up there it can be windy, but there are usually thick plexiglass "window" like walls to help block the wind.  The advantage, obviously, is that you're very high up above the sea and also above the rest of the ship!

I did try operating using essentially the same technique from a cabin balcony but obviously from there you're 100% blocked in one direction, towards the ship -- so the only "open shot" you have is towards the open sea on that side of the ship.  Better than nothing, but being "up top" is much better.

The Captain advised to keep all wires very controlled and short, and out of the way of everyone; that was easy for me to do as I used a SCOUT with headphones and a keyer paddle, a short coax feedline to the whip, and a 14AH gel-cell for power.  No wires ever reached the floor, so there was nothing to trip over.  I also did my operating very early in the morning before 90% of the passengers were even awake, so there was very little "traffic" up there.

They don't provide a schematic on line; is there a schematic in the manual they ship (hard copy)?

It should be pointed out the BLA-350 has a built-in AC power supply.

The ALS-600 Ameritron (600W PEP output) with its "standard" but separate power supply is $1279.

So on a "per Watt" basis, they're about the same cost.

For routine contacts (not contesting) I keep a "paper" log also...the old ARRL spiral-bound books, 1200 QSOs per book.

I have my original ones from my Novice days 47 years ago, and every one in between.  I'm on ARRL Log #371 at this time; #372 is blank and waiting.

I like the feel and smell of it, and observing the changes in my handwriting (and printing) over the years.  I'm amazed what great penmanship I had when I was 13 years old...better than now, for sure.

Every accidental spill, every "coffee ring stain," it's all there in or on the logs.

Just can't do that with a computer.

For contesting, of course I use computers.  I've never even remotely considered loading all my manual logs into a logging program for any reason, and doubt I ever will.

Now, regarding QSL'ing members of a net: Of course you can.  Some nets are specifically for that (they are County Hunter Nets, State Hunter Nets, Grid Hunter Nets, DX Nets and all sorts of nets whose main purpose is to help people get together and work new stuff they hadn't worked before).  Some nets aren't.  But it doesn't really matter.

[/quote]
Do you agree that location of the arrestor should be as close to the grounding electrode (same as used for electric service) as possible, as well as immediately before the coax enters the building?
This is the info I have been reading over and over at every website I visit.

KE2KB
[/quote]

I think the only place an arrestor needs to be installed is right where the cable comes into the house; and even then, simply grounding the cable (without the arrestor) pretty much serves the same purpose.  A bulkhead feedthrough panel which is grounded, and tied back to the utility service ground, is usually all that's needed with respect to "transmission line" grounding.

This is a good treatise on the subject, I think: http://www.w8ji.com/station_ground.htm