A well reasoned answer and the one I hoped to receive. Thank you. As you lay it out, it makes perfect sense.

I have contacted ARRL section manager and ARCA mgr with a question, which was not directly answered. My club wants to do a special event station. We are a very rural area and many of the ops in the county are elderly and some disabled (county is 200 miles from top to bottom). Many would like to participate, but it is prohibitive if they have to all go to one location. Question is, (1) can we schedule ops to work a sked from their own QTH using club call-sign during the special events date, and (2) if so, would club call-sign custodian have to be present at those remote QTHs when the club call-sign is being used?

I work in the 7.110 to 7.120 area of 40 meters after 0300Z (8:00p.m. Arizona time). There is no shortage of ops working 10 wpm or less, and always one or two working along at 5 wpm or less. We all take great pleasure in working with anyone new to, or coming back to, CW and you will find you are received quite warmly. On 40 meters, the 7.100 - 7.125 segment is one of the old "novice" bands from much earlier years. Good luck, hang in there and we'll see you soon, I hope.

I have to second the fellow's comments about PVC exposure in the desert. I'm near the painted desert in Arizona, at 6000 ft. + elevation. Exposed PVC here does turn brown in places, becomes brittle and fragile, and the typical PVC glued joints give way in a year, or two at the most when exposed. We contend with extremes of temperature and high UV exposure. I'm not a chemist, but I attribute the deterioration to the sun and temperature. Whatever the actual agent, it does happen.

Don't forget on the 718, the power output level is menu driven and could be set to zero. I don't know anything about the 735, but learned that the hard way with a 718. You can key it every way imaginable, but if the power is turned down to zero, there will be no output. Just a thought.

Thank you Nelson. I am going to bite the bullet this weekend, take the thing apart and put the good advice received here to use.
73,
Marque

Thank you, Greg. The band selector switch kinda worries me too. On the one I had back in the 80s, the stops at each band was very precise and distinct. You changed bands by turning the switch and at each band there was a heavy and distinct "clunk" as it engaged.  On this one, as you rotate the switch, it seems to slip a lot before engaging the stop, almost as though the switch itself was loose or something. Have you ever encountered anything like that with one of these?

Thank you, Dick. My concern is that I am not a technician and I generally screw up anything mechanical that I touch. This sounds almost fool proof though (meaning me-proof), so I will give it a try.

I have recently acquired an old Millen 92200 which is in excellent cosmetic shape. The switches need to be cleaned and perhaps need some adjustment and the knobs turn rather tightly and could probably also use some cleaning and a little TLC. Does anyone know of a competent shop or technician with whom I could make contact and have the work done? Is there such a thing as a "tuner technician" in this age of auto tuners?? Thanks for any info.
W7ARE

If the microphone is hooked up, check to see if the VOX is activating from the speaker sound tripping it through the mike. I've had troubles with the VOX on my 430s occasionally sticking,doing some strange things etc. With it set on SSB or AM and the vox on, with the stock little hand held mike, it can activate itself even without you holding down the push-to-talk button.

What is the difference between resistance and impededence?

What is the difference between resistance and impededence?

Hi Paul. Like you, I returned to the hobby after a long hiatus. At one time, I was copying at more than 20 wpm (slow code for some). When I got back into it this past January, I found I had forgotten most and could copy at the old 5 wpm and no more. Well, I've been trying to maintain a schedule of one QSO a night since January 1. My code speed has picked up to about 18 under perfect circumstances but I can't wait to jump in and answer a CQ at 5 wpm. When I get my sending speed up(I'm still attached mentally to a straight key and panic every time I touch a bug or paddle), as well as my receiving speed, I look forward to being able to carry off a QSO with some of the real pros that we hear on the lower HF bands, but I will always be eager to chat with someone operating at slower speeds as well. There are lots of good, and very interesting, people out there who work at 5- 13 wpm, including some people who were fast as can be during the earlier years of HAM radio, but have slowed down a bit in their later years.
I'm also meeting quite a number of Extra class types who came in under no code, or reduced code, but are beginning to take interest in the code for the first time now. There seems to be no shortage of slow code types on the air. I'm grateful for that and want to say thank you for all the patient HAMS who had to slow down to work me. You are a great bunch.

Hey Justin:
I worked a DX-pedition on Ducie Island, running an IC-718 at about 90 watts into a 40 meter wire dipole up 30 feet, which was oriented directionally north and south. It should have been radiating north and south, but take a look at Ducie Island, down in the Pacific near Pitcairn Island. It is east and south of my location which is in northern Arizona. So, if I can do that with a 718 into an LDG AT-7000 tuner and 66 feet of wire, so can you. Ducie Island is, by the way, half way around the world from me.
W7ARE

Hi Lindy and thank you for your response. I'm not actually afraid of opening the rig, it's what happens once I start to touch the inside that has me quaking in my boots. The manual shows soldering to be done once the filter is properly placed. I have no skill at that sort of thing and would rather pay someone who knows what they are doing for doing it right, than muck about myself and risk screwing something up. Thank you though for the suggestion.
73,
Marque