The first sentence of W7AAZ's personal-correspondence, if correctly quoted, is not true.
Perhaps, W7AAZ means to limit discussion to "ladder-filters", in which case, the ending part of that sentence about "holder" capacitance can give wrong impressions to a reader.
73 Jerry KM3K

Regretfully and with all due respect, the above statements are incorrect.
SSB-filters are quite easy to make and I can not recall that the "small frequency difference between series and parallel resonances" ever entered into any of my design-engineering decisions.
73 Jerry KM3K

Don, the schematic has nothing there about shields.
The schematic of immediate concern has only unbalanced circuits, so I believe it is prudent to stay on topic.
No comment other than I winced when I read it; I'd have to try out the idea. Actually, if there'd be a RF concern, I'd rather put RF-bypass-caps on the audio-lines to chassis-ground.
I think note# 2 on the drawing is significant.

Mike, there is one item that I'd do automatically that has not been mentioned.
I'd put a twist in your two-wire cable before putting it into the shield.
I'd go with a twist per inch (therefore 12 twists per foot); others may have different ideas on the amount of twists per foot.

73 Jerry KM3K

Don,
The reason for grounding the shield is to drain off to ground any charge induced onto that conductor by RFI.
Mike,
Had I not been interrupted by taking the XYL to lunch, I would have suggested that you really need an isolation-transformer to prevent ground-loops. I just went to the site that explains your kit and I see you will be well isolated with transformers on the audio lines.
Here is why those transformers are needed and why any shield should be grounded only at one end:
1. I assume your computer has a three-wire AC-cord, so its chassis is "grounded".
2. I assume the same for your transceiver.
3. Theoretically, both pieces of gear are at ground potential; but in the real world, this is not often the case, especially so if the two items are not plugged into the same power-strip.
4. Since it is likely there is some difference in potential on those "grounded" chassis, if you connect your shield to each chassis-ground, you'll get a current thru that shield and "that ain't good". That current can couple into the wires inside your shield and "that ain't good" because it will move right along with your desired signal to cause you grief.
5. Lets say that you did not have the shield and had no transformers. That same current would be right on your ground lead and "that ain't good". The transformers break that current.
Hope this makes sense; if not, I can elaborate some more at whatever sticky point there is.
73 Jerry KM3K

Seems to me that Mike already has his circuit completed.
His next step is to only ground the shield at one end.
73 Jerry KM3K

I've not had any real experience in this area but I do recall reading in many places that only one side of the shield should be connected to ground so as to avoid ground-loop currents.
If it were my set-up, I'd ground just one side and try the cable; then flip the assembled-cable around the other way and see if things got better or worse.
73 Jerry KM3K

Hello,
I've three computers...one for ham-radio and two for family use.
Also, I have a Seagate external 2Tbyte hard-drive Model# STAC2000103 for backup and I used it once for just one computer about a year ago with Memeo software.
The "how and why" Memeo software came to be used I no longer remember (I guess it just showed up) but I have since looked at ratings on the web for their backup software and it all seems to be bad; no ratings found here in eham.
I know that I should backup more often, especially the family photos; I also have lots of ham-radio material that I'd not want to lose.
So my problem is, "What software should I use to backup all three computers with the Seagate hard-drive?"
Any help here is appreciated.
73 Jerry KM3K

I'd suggest posting the problem to the DXLab group on Yahoo; I predict you'll get the fix quite promptly.
I'm interested in your situation because I'm in the process of getting DXKeeper started here (Commander works fine) and hope to have it in place for CQ-WPX-SSB next month.
Zack W1VT's suggestion of N1MM is well taken; after all, based on my reading, it seems to be the premier software for serious contesters.
But for me, who intend to do contests casually, N1MM would be another layer of complexity; hopefully DXKeeper will be sufficient for my contest needs.
73 Jerry KM3K

Based on this string of postings, it seems to me that W8JX has been blessed with supervision.
No way could I, a mere mortal with my bifocals, be 30" away from my laptop; 15" is more like it for me using either a laptop or monitor.
So then whether to use a single large monitor or multiple monitors may truly be driven by what works best for each individual's comfort.
73 Jerry KM3K

John, that's good news; at least it means the system does not get confused.
But are they both wireless?
I did think about connecting in a wired-mouse, which I have in my shack, but then reasoned that would still not tell me if two wireless devices would work without getting "crosstalk"; I have no idea about the technology that makes a wireless-mouse work.
Anyway, I just decided to buy the Logtech M570 (it's wireless); if it won't work with the wireless-mouse on the home-computer, I'll use it in the shack.
73 Jerry KM3K

My XYL likes the wireless-mouse and wants nothing to do with a trackball.
But I'd like to have one (Logitech wireless M570) rather than use a mouse.
Thirty+ years of heavy mouse use doing engineering design work has taken its toll on my right hand.
Can a computer (Win-XP) handle having a wireless-mouse and wireless-trackball connected into its system at the same time or would it get hopelessly confused?
Only one would be in use at any given time.
73 Jerry KM3K

http://www.bessernet.com/Ereflecto/tutorialFrameset.htm
I tried out this website but don't understand the fifth box labeled "eR".
"eR" is a new term for me; is it perhaps a microwave term?
"eR" remains unchanged when any of the other boxes is changed, so it seems to be an input value.
I tried various values to see if I could discern the meaning but that didn't work, so I'm stuck.
Also experimented with clicking the box "Show two interfaces" and that didn't help either.
73 Jerry KM3K

Yes, N4CR, you got it right; it is about PTT.
73 Jerry KM3K

Hello,
I've searched my FT-950 manual and also the Internet for specs on what voltage levels are expected on a PTT-line.
Unfortunately, all I could find out for sure is the FT-950 normally has the line at +5 VDC in a standby case.
So I presume that the line must go near 0 volts to activate the transmitter.
I'm thinking now that there must be specs that are just simply understood to be in effect.
Do all modern day transceivers follow the same convention?
If so, could someone detail what the specs are?
Thanks in advance for any comments.
BTW, I just ordered an ARRL book "Get on the Air with HF Digital" to see what I can find out from there.
73 Jerry KM3K

Perfect; exactly what I wanted. Thanks.
I'm thinking that I'm going to find that DXLab is a real classy piece of work and I made the right choice in picking it.
73 Jerry KM3K