Visit WalMart or Target and look at their modular closet shelving kits. GL

There is such a thing as an International Amateur Radio Permit for the Central and South Americas, but I don't think the U.S. permits reciprocal operating with Cuba...unless, however, you're going to the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station. It's U.S. territory, but you may need permission from the installation commander before keying up a transmitter, and paperwork may take a while to complete. GL

Sure, it could happen. Remember when Kirk, Spock and McCoy traveled to the 1920s, and Spock had to rig up a communicator using...vacuum tubes?

I'm not sure what you mean by "the electrical signal that influences the FM carrier...," but in most cases you are correct. The signal delivered by the microphone amplifier is typically an AM signal, with voltage peaks and valleys. This AM signal can be used to change the capacitance of a varicap diode in the RF oscillator circuit. The change in capacitance changes the oscillator's frequency in step with the AM audio input. The oscillator's output is very nearly linear in amplitude, but varies in frequency. Is this what you were asking?

The varicap method is just one of several ways to apply audio to an FM carrier; but it is one of the simplest to understand.

Welcome back to the hobby. Perhaps you'll get a radio this time around, and have some fun. GL

It won't affect it enough to notice. Two feet of RG6 hardly makes a hill of beans on 40-meters, or any of the HF bands. Go ahead and use it, and have fun. GL.

Calm down, Little Grasshopper. There's no need to scream in all-caps. So you made a faux pas; no big deal. There are plenty of SPICE models around for you to test your circuit, so why not learn from what is available?

Yes, the headings you see are the headings from the UK to your QTH, or from Hawaii to you. Check the "to" and "from" options to reset the program to show your bearings to the DX stations. GL

Can you send me a QSL card right away? If I have to wait for the actual QSO, it may be too late!

Sorry to see that you won't be with us for a while. I think that your posts and comments helped contribute to these forums' successes. Goodbye es GL, but hope to CUL too.

Stew

A good test would be to buy or build a new battery, put it on the charger for up to 24 hours and see what happens with the LEDs. If any LEDs are lit without the battery attached, but with the unit plugged in, it is probably a "power on" indication. If a LED illuminates when a dead or weak battery is attached, it's probably a "charging in progress" LED. At some point within 16 to 24 hours, the battery should reach full charge, at which time any "fully charged" LED should illuminate.  Of course, a lot depends on the type of battery the charger was designed for; NiCd, NiMH, lithium, etc, and the battery's voltage and amp-hour or charge rating. GL

There are plenty of 2-meter foxhunting devices around, from portable Yagis, and coffee can antennas to doppler and phased antenna circuits. Three or four club members could triangulate on the offender's location and confront him/her/it about it.

While the FCC might not do anything, some municipal ordinances might make the activity illegal. It might not stand up in court, but a complaint to the police department might scare the culprit enough to restore peace and harmony. GL

Ramseykits.com, QRPkits.com, Vectronics, KangaUSA, Walford Electronics and Howe in England also come to mind. For non-radio kits, look at Canakits.com, and pick up an issue of Nuts&Volts magazine (nutsvolts.com) and peruse the ads. GL

Here's what I did for a flagpole vertical in a small yard; I used insulated AWG18 wire, ran it straight out to the house, did a 90° or so bend, went out two feet or so, then straight back to the radial ring. Then back out to two feet from where its last bend was, did another 90° turn, then back to the ring, and so on until I had gone completely around the yard. Of course, at the radial ring I stripped the insulation and soldered each pass-through. When done, I sealed each solder junction with fingernail polish, then RTV silicone, and buried everything about an inch or so underground. In other words, the radial field is made of one continuous strand of #18 wire (I didn't cut the ends).

The ARRL Antenna Book lists a table that purports to give optimum radial numbers and lengths for anywhere from 16 radials up to 120. If you have the real estate to lay 120 radials at least 0.4 wavelength long, it will deliver the most power to the antenna. If you can stand a 3dB loss, then 16 radials 0.1 wavelengths long will suffice. It also says, "Using radials considerably longer...while not adverse to performance, does not yield significant improvement either," and "...the more total wire installed, the better the performance...."

Have fun.

Many laptops and a lot of the recent desktop models have a video jack for a second monitor. Assuming you're using Windows or MAC OS, you can find the setup options either in control panel or preferences.

http://www.ehow.com/how_4809482_hook-up-second-monitor-laptop.html gives quick-and-dirty instructions. GL

Fred's idea about tracking down QRM with a portable receiver is good advice. Other sources of QRM are nearby computers, plasma screen TVs, defective doorbell transformers, touch lights, aquarium heaters, wall warts, electric motors, defective ballasts in home and street lighting, electric fences, etc., and the noise could be coming from a neighbor's house, or from neighborhoods away that is radiated through the utility lines. If you can shut off the main circuit breaker in the house, and the noise goes away, then you can assume the source is somewhere on your own property.

A good reference for identifying and tracking down noise is The ARRL RFI Book. Let us know what you find. GL