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WB2WIK/6

The glass mounts are the easiest solution by far.  However, if you'd like improved performance in exchange for a bit of work, I've installed conventional, higher performance VHF-UHF whip antennas on Corvettes by simply gluing copper wire radials under the trunk lid (remove the insulation there first, it's easy to put back) and soldering them to the Larsen NMO mount inside the trunk, and using the NMO mount in the center of the trunk lid.  Absolutely better performance than the glass mount -- kind of night and day.  But it does involve work!  

The low-profile NMO mount, when the antenna is unscrewed from it, is so "not noticeable" that I've never had any trouble selling a used car for top dollar, with the mount still installed.  Nobody even notices it, or if they do, they think it's a feature for a cell phone antenna.

WB2WIK/6

At least the H7 is only Nicaragua, although its a cool prefix and if you collect PX's it might be a good one.

Chalk it up to experience!

Hmmm, now will my P5/4L4FN ever count for anything...?

WB2WIK/6

I worked VP6DI yesterday on 15 CW and was highly unimpressed with whoever was operating.  I've been on every end of a pileup and know what 20 kHz of S9+60 signals sounds like but it's never taken me a minute per contact to complete CW QSOs; whoever was operating was not up to the task.

(Of course, then I have no idea who it was, or what they went through to get there.  Maybe they're all just dog-tired and will get better.)

But funnier was the XR0X operator on 28.450 yesterday.  Sounded like a good ol' boy who just jumped out of the General Lee for a pit stop and egads, what horrible operating.  "WFWL" is my motto, and I live by it, but that operation would have made a lot more folks (if they needed San Felix) happy by changing to almost any other operator.  I clocked his Q rate as 47 an hour around noontime Sunday...pitiful, considering the size (and width) of the pileup calling.

WB2WIK/6

I've had no run-ins with the "Specific Plan" department, however I have encountered the California Coastal Commission, which has its own regulations regarding what property owners may and may not do when they live on the coastline, or have property visible from the beach...and since some of L.A. City is indeed beachfront, the Coastal Commission regs override the City Zoning Ordinances -- which sounds ridiculous, but it's true.

I'd still recommend looking up the hams in Venice to see if any has a tower.  Hard to believe nobody does, but maybe.

If all else fails, perhaps a roof tower, as opposed to a free-standing or guyed structure, would be a solution.  I know after reading the specific wording of many "Plans," some which completely rule out ground-mounted towers say nothing at all about roof-mounted ones...

WB2WIK/6

WB6UQA: A quick search of the FCC data base reveals there are 93 licensed hams in Venice, CA.

You might look some of them up, or take drives by, to verify if the city employee claim is accurate or not.  I live in the Valley and figure I could probably drive to all 93 addresses in a few hours, Venice isn't very big.

If you find any hams there with towers, that would be a great start...

Good luck!

Steve, WB2WIK/6

Interesting question, and problem.

First, there is indeed life in the Novice/Tech+ CW subband on 10m.  What or who you hear is highly dependant upon your antenna, and when you're listening.  Obviously, you'd want to operate when the band is "open" in your area; that's typically during "daylight" hours and not much after dark, unless you have a terrific antenna system.  (Note: With great antennas, 10m can appear to be open 24 hours a day...few hams are lucky enough to have such an antenna farm.)

Pick a frequency and call CQ.  And call CQ again!  If you have an antenna that really works, and operate when the band is open, you should be able to raise a reply.  If I tune around between 28.100 and 28.300 on the typical Saturday morning, surely the upper half of that region is dominated by beacons, but the lower half has CW activity, and I've made many contacts there.  An especially wonderful time to operate in this subband is during a major contest, when the band gets so crowded with strong signals, that contesters begin to "spread out" and definitely work above 28.100.  The ARRL 10 meter contest (last December) was a prime example of this -- there was tons of activity, from all over the world, right up through the Novice/Tech+ CW subbands.  Ditto for the ARRL DX CW contest, which was in February, and of course it happens again in November for the ARRL Sweepstakes and in June for Field Day -- and many other "contest" weekends.

73 & hope to catch you on CW!

WB2WIK/6

The 160 degree run won't bother it, nor will painting the antenna and its feedline.  But I wouldn't expect paint to stick to wire very well!  You'd be better off using insulated wire of some dark, not easily noticed color, and just paint the center insulator and ladder line.

Good luck on your exam!

WB2WIK/6

I'd recommend...

1.  Use any method that works for you, including CodeQuick, to memorize the letters, numbers and punctuation, and get your General ticket;

2.  Then, get on HF-CW and actually _use_ it, for a while, as much as you feel comfortable with.  That's learning it.  Memorizing the characters to pass a 5 wpm test isn't learning it.

Learning how to stand up on skis without falling over isn't learning how to ski; learning how to ride a bike, or a skateboard at the same speed as walking isn't learning how to ride.  Learning the notes of the musical scale and playing "chopsticks" isn't learning piano.  Learning requires experience and time.  The "not falling down and hurting yourself" is the first step.  The "getting good at it, enjoying it, and being the envy of your friends, who wish they were as good as you" is the result of many steps.

And using CW to actually make contacts, including contacts that you couldn't possibly make on any "voice" mode, is the fun part.  The more you use it (or ski, or ride a bike, or play piano) the better you get.  It's worth the trip.

All the best in your CW endeavors!  Once you've really _learned_ the code, have the ticket, and use it, I think you'll find the 30 minutes flies by like it was seconds...

73 de Steve, WB2WIK/6

If this is the whole, and accurate, story, I don't think the NY operator was trying to tell you that you were "too strong," or to shut your amplifier off.

59+40 is a good signal report.  Most of that has to do with propagation, and your antennas.  Very, very little has anything to do with whether or not you're using an amplifier.  If you dropped from 1kW to 100W, you'd still be 59+30, which is still a nice, strong signal.

It's likely the NY station was simply complimenting you on a nice signal, and didn't mean anything other than that.  I hear those kind of quick break-in reports all the time -- just one ham letting another one know that he's got a good signal, someplace.

WB2WIK/6

I don't have an Adventurer schematic.  What are the test points (where are they located in the circuit)?

If you clip your VOM (set to Rx1000 Ohm setting) across the Adventurer's panel meter with the rig shut "off", does the Adventurer's meter indicate?  (It should.)

Does the schematic indicate what the Adventurer's panel meter movement actually is??  (That is, 0-50 uA, 100 uA, 1 mA?  What?)

WB2WIK/6

I haven't seen this VFO in about 35 years or more, and never owned one; however, if the designer used a 1/2-wave rectifier for a VFO, that's really a poor design.

Recommend you change to a full-wave bridge instead, and use a LOT of filter capacitance.  You didn't say how much was used, initially, but if the PS output is in the 150V range as I suspect it is, then several hundred uF would not be unreasonable.  You might also check to make sure the tube doesn't have a heater-cathode short, which can make hum difficult to eliminate.

Another trick is to use DC, rather than AC, on the tube filament.  This can be accomplished by simply rectifying and filtering the AC filament winding, and inserting a bit of resistance in series with the filament to adjust for proper operating voltage.

WB2WIK/6

How do you "check" electrolytics?

The 75S1 averages 43 years old and if its electrolytics have not been replaced, I'd be very suspicious of them.  

An h/k short in a tube usually results in more drastic indications than just hum.

I'd grab a scope and measure power supply ripple, first.  If it's more than ~1% of the DC voltage, e.g., 2.5V ripple on a 250V line, I'd start thinking about replacing the filter capacitors.

Of course, you might try swapping out the product detector tube, since that is clearly a differentiating point in CW/SSB use (I believe the 75S1 uses a diode detector for AM).

WB2WIK/6

Yep, they do exist and I use them all the time, for contesting.

http://www.qth.com/dunestar/

Great "transmitting" (and also receiving) bandswitched, bandpass filters.

73 de Steve, WB2WIK/6

I have them, too.  These were used in the original "Ultimate Transmatch" popularized by a QST article 30 years ago or so...

16250 = 250pF/section split stator, 1.5kV

16520A = 200pF, 2.5kV

WB2WIK/6