I strongly recommend a band that's open at the time you want to get on the air.

Both.

The manual seems to cover this.  The only two pin jack I see in the picture is labelled VOX RELAY.

If you don't have a copy of the manual, you might get one via Google.  There are a lot of sources, and most of them are free.

"Legend and Wikipedia tell us ...".   - Seymour Skinner

A typical "12 volt" power supply actually produces more like 13.8 volts.  Most ham gear designed to be used with an outboard power supply will be happy with anything within 10-15 per cent of that value.  Note the word "most".

Did it hurt the rig?  Probably not, but that's no guarantee.

Thought I asked that on Post #2...?

Have fun with the rig!

Every Christmas I notice a humming sound from my key collection.  I seem to have acquired a "hum-bug" somewhere along the way...  .

Check page 31 of the manual...did you set the break-in to semi or full?  Or is it turned off?

If you run your volume control full up and control the audio output of the rig with the RF gain (as many do), the S-meter isn't going to be functioning anyway.  S-meters only started becoming standard equipment on receivers in the 1950s.  Whatever did we do without having this precise, ultra-accurate source of wisdom?

Put the right-handed bug on the left side of your position, with the paddles AWAY from you.

Carefully reach across the top of the bug and operate the paddles the usual way (dits with thumb, dahs with fingers).  It's awkward, but I've done it when my right arm was laid up for rotator cuff surgery.

Some southpaws in the Navy made small wrist and forearm supports to be able to stand a regular 6-hour at-sea watch.  Beats the price of a Vibroplex!

If you're in an area in which you can't make contacts on 2M (no repeaters around), there just MIGHT be a 70cm repeater.  Now, without 70cm capability, you can't talk on 70cm, right?  Like you MIGHT be able to if you'd bought the dual bander?

Friend of mine here locally was wounded in Vietnam.  He wears the purple heart for a piece of shrapnel that just nicked his hip and drew a bit of blood. 

Although he's met Washington State auto licensing requirements for permanent free vehicle registration and distinctive license plate with a picture of the Purple Heart and the license number beginning with PH (e.g. "PH0001"), he prefers his ham radio plates.

Receiving only?  It shouldn't make any difference whether you're using a Flex or a 1945-era Hallicrafters or National receiver.  A piece of copper wire, as long and up as high as you can make it.

The key is to experiment and learn what works and what doesn't, in your particular environment.  No two antenna installations are the same.

I certainly wouldn't spend a bunch of money on something with a high-tech word like "pixel" in its name!

My apologies; I was going by the cover of the manual, which calls the VX-7R a "50/144/430 Triple Band" transceiver and doesn't mention 220.  I see that VUQ correctly points this out.  However, at 330mw, this seems more of a curiosity than a selling feature, which is probably why they didn't advertise it as being a "Four Band" transceiver.  If you're not having success with using this radio on 220, maybe the power level is the reason.

Page 7 of the manual covers all the information I could glean about the antenna.  Like most antennas supplied with HTs, I suspect it's more of a dummy load than an actual radiator.

Page 7 of the manual covers the clarifier....