Seeing as it affects only the 20M band, AC5UP's hint is a good place to start. Relays RL6 and RL13 kick in at 10.5 MHz and out again at 16 MHz. You might check them--they're on the filter unit board, and make sure that you're not hearing relays RL5 and RL12, which kick off at 10.5 MHz, and RL7 and RL14, which kick on at 16 MHz. Relays RL6 and RL13 are controlled through a 100 uH choke at pin E of plug 3. Since you travel with the rig, the problem may be mechanical; i.e. a connection came loose somewhere inside the rig, or one of the filter inductors broke loose. Check all of the connectors going to the filter board, the switch board, and the RF control board (gently pulling each off, the putting it back on should break any intermittent open circuit). Beyond that, you're on your own. Good luck.

Talk about disabilities, my tombstone will read "He came into this world with nothing, and still has most of it left." You can get monthly payments by using a credit card or bank loan, but I'd look around for used equipment first. I saved $400 by buying my first rig used, then I got on 10-meter FM with a $2 used CB radio and $20 worth of parts to convert it. You can also look at kit radios, like the $55 Small Wonder Labs monobanders, as already mentioned--you get half the fun from building them yourself, and the other half operating them.

I unplug all equipment from the wall--radio, computer, wireless router, etc, whenever there's an approaching storm. (I leave the TV plugged in to watch the weather-guessers and radar. Besides, I'll need to get a new TV by next February anyway).

In addition to Alpha-Delta's web information, check the good stuff at www.iceradioproducts.com.

FYI, Stew

   There is not currently a station licensed as WWW in the FCC database. There are nine stations with WWW as part of their call sign; WWW2, WWW3, WWW4, WWW6, WWW7, WWW78, WWW8, WWW80 and WWW9. Most are licensed to operate in the aviation band, but several local governments are also listed. For details, go to http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls/index.htm?job=home to link to the specific information you need.

FYI, Stew

The 20-meter Hamstick has a 2:1 SWR bandwidth of 175 kHz, which is practically the whole voice portion of the band. Assuming 1:1 SWR would get 100% of the power to the antenna, 2:1 would guarantee that at least 88.9% of it gets there, which is still pretty good.

Most hams will tune mobile antennas for the portion of the band they intend to use most. If they have a net they like to keep in touch with, or a "watering hole" frequency, they'll tune for that; otherwise, they just tune for the antenna for the center of the band.

FYI, Stew

There are two sets of DIP switches inside the battery compartment, under a cover marked "quiet." The one on the right is used to program the frequencies, and the other one programs the CTCSS tones. The owner's manual tells how to program the frequencies into each of the two channels, and how to program the CTCSS tones. For those that don't have the manual, it is downloadable as a .pdf file from radioshack.com, by typing 19-1207 in the search window.

FYI, Stew

The VF of aluminum is fairly close to 1. The wavelength-to-diameter tables in antenna books apply the so-called "end effect" to conductors to make them resonant. If that is what you are looking for, search for "dipole K factors."

If you are looking for the velocity factor of aluminum tubing used as a transmission line, it is quite simple to determine its physical length by measuring its actual length, calculating a physical length resonant frequency, and dividing that frequency into the actual resonant frequency.

For example, a 15' length of transmission line is shorted at one end, and its resonant frequency is found to be 13.28 MHz by use of a dip meter, noise bridge or antenna analyzer. The physical length frequency should be 983.6/(4x15')=16.39 MHz, where 983.6 is the velocity of light in free space in feet per second. The velocity factor is then determined by dividing the actual resonant frequency by the line's physical frequency, that is 13.28/16.39, giving a velocity factor of 0.81. (983.6 is the speed of light, in free space, in feet per second).

FYI, Stew

   This may be really off the wall, but find a practitioner of Nambubripod Allergy Elimination Therapy (www.naet.com); he/she may be able to desensitize your reaction to the EM radiation.

   Have you had a dental check-up lately? You may be getting some kind of diode action between a filling and nerve.

   You're right; this is a strange one.

Stew
 

The web site, www.hamstick.com, rates them at 600 watts peak envelope power. I would guess that's for a new antenna; one with dirt and grime around the helix portion, especially if it's wet, may overheat the antenna with somewhat less power.

FYI, Stew
 

I concur with Phillip. The SWR for a theoretical half-wave vertical over a perfect ground, as seen from a 50 ohm system, is 1.388889:1 (1.4:1 is close enough on your meter). This, of course, is the measurement at the antenna feed point. The SWR would be lower if measured at the rig, because the transmission line introduces losses. With a long enough lossy line, you would be able to read close to 1:1 at the rig, but it would still be 1.4:1 at the antenna.

Most of us read the SWR meter at the rig, simply because it is a whole lot more convenient. We can always tune for lowest SWR when we change bands, and if we see an abnormal SWR reading, we know immediately that something is probably amiss.

FYI, Stew
 ---

Congrats on the new installation, and working the DX. That confirms that the antenna is working. Yes, the more realistic SWR indicates that your antenna is working close to where it should. For a typical 20-meter mobile antenna, radiation resistance would be somewhere around 10 to 15 ohms, for a lossless SWR of up to 5:1. However, losses are inevitable, and I would guess you have around 20 ohms of non-radiation losses, and that is what contributes to your 1.5:1 SWR reading. The same antenna, with 1:1 SWR, would have close to 40 ohms of loss resistance. In other words, the 1.5:1 SWR indicates you are radiating about ten watts more power than you did when you had the 1:1 SWR indication.

Stew, W5FYI

When I used to work in Duncan, up until about four years ago, I used to drive by the factory-home all the time. IIRC, it was on Walnut or Oak Ave between about 3rd and 4th Streets, on the south side of the street. I think the owner died some time ago, but the family still had some parts available for antenna repairs. I still may be able to find a contact in Duncan area for you, to resurrect some of the history of the Hornet company.

Stew, W5FYI
 

Okay, I think I understand your problem; the audio from the speaker is low, even if the volume control is all the way up, right? I had the same problem with an old Yaesu.

How is the earphone audio affected? If the earphone is okay, but the speaker isn't, it may just be a bad capacitor at the speaker or the speaker itself. If there's a electrolytic/tantalum capacitor between the audio amplifier and the speaker itself, replace it first. If that doesn't help, check that the speaker is okay. In my case, I had to replace both. Fortunately, I was in Japan at the time, and got the whole radio tweaked up at the factory for under $20.

Stew, W5FYI

I think there are two issues; type of hearing loss and type of hearing aid. It may be that your father cannot hear the c.w. note as well as you. You would need to compare his audiogram with yours to see the differences in hearing thresholds and frequency responses.

Second, some hearing aids' pick-ups are not located in the ear canal, where headphones direct the bulk of their audio. So-called "behind the ear" hearing aids have their microphones totally outside of the ear canal, and the actual hearing dome, from which the audio is emitted into the ear canal, may act as a sound baffle to unamplified audio.

Stew, W5FYI

Turn the volume control counterclockwise?

Stew, W5FYI