Got a TH-D72 last week and have it receiving APRS just great. However it rarely transmits and I cannot figure out why. I have both MCP-4A and RT Systems THD72 programmer loaded BTW. Used the instructions on page 17 of the in depth manual and it transmitted once.
http://aprs.fi/?c=raw&call=N8FNR&limit=50&view=normal .
Found that odd so I fiddled with the settings and it transmitted 5 times and stopped.
http://aprs.fi/?c=raw&call=N8FNR-1&limit=50&view=normal
Tried fiddling again with the settings and changed the SSID to N8FNR-7 and cannot get it to transmit.

Another weird thing is that the audio for channels 300-306 is muted. I have the NOAA WX frequencies programmed there as I like to use them to listen for openings but I cannot hear the local station here, KEC-63 but the display says that it is full strength.

Thanks
Zack
N8FNR

Putting up a Directive Systems 4 element yagi for 6M. http://www.directivesystems.com/PDF/DS50-4.PDF Am really looking forward to this new antenna as until recently I only had stacked loops on 6. Had to take them down to put up the yagi and now only have a SteppIR vertical on 6. It "works" but I am glad that I will not be stuck with just that. However I did recently work a new grid on the Pacific coast of California from Detroit but the conditions were great and my Elecraft 500 watt amp helped a bit.

Zack
N8FNR

"The CME launched toward Earth by yesterday's (7/12) X-flare is moving faster than originally thought. Analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab have revised their forecast accordingly, advancing the cloud's expected arrival time to 09:17 UT (5:17 am EDT) on Saturday, July 14th. Weekend auroras are likely." http://www.spaceweather.com/

Perhaps this will be a great weekend on 6m for auroral propagation.

73
Zack
N8FNR

"The CME launched toward Earth by yesterday's (7/12) X-flare is moving faster than originally thought. Analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab have revised their forecast accordingly, advancing the cloud's expected arrival time to 09:17 UT (5:17 am EDT) on Saturday, July 14th. Weekend auroras are likely."

http://www.spaceweather.com/

Perhaps this will be a great weekend on 6m for auroral propagation.

73
Zack
N8FNR

I spoke with the guy who owns Directive Systems yesterday (they make VHF/UHF antennas) and he said that he worked 66 new grids on 6M in EU on Sunday from Maine. Also said that he has 4 stacked yagis and a KW.

Zack
N8FNR

Yeah, yeah, Flex makes the WORST radios in history according to you. In fact I bet that from your point of view that Flex makes MFJ look like mil-spec.

I know that I have been glad to learn the One Great Truth that you posess. Perhaps you could give seminars at TED next year and share your revelations with the world at large?

After reading your missives I have sold my Flex-5000 and replaced it with a Sugiyama F850 rated 1.3 on eham http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/3633.  Are you happy now? Or does everyone need to sell all of their Flex rigs then you will shut up?

It would be nice if this forum could actually be about SDRs including Flex rather than being a forum for your personal vendetta.

Why not just move on with your life? It seems as if that this is all you live for.

Geez, either go back on your meds or resume your electroshock treatments please!

Zack
N8FNR

Yeah, yeah, Flex makes the WORST radios in history according to you. In fact I bet that from your point of view that Flex makes MFJ look like mil-spec.

I know that I have been glad to learn the One Great Truth that you posess. Perhaps you could give seminars at TED next year and share your revelations with the world at large?

After reading your missives I have sold my Flex-5000 and replaced it with a Sugiyama F850 rated 1.3 on eham http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/3633.  Are you happy now? Or does everyone need to sell all of their Flex rigs then you will shut up?

It would be nice if this forum could actually be about SDRs including Flex rather than being a forum for your personal vendetta.

Why not just move on with your life? It seems as if that this is all you live for.

Geez, either go back on your meds or resume your electroshock treatments please!

Zack
N8FNR

I sure hope that it is better than the 5000. After all the 5000 only has the 4th best receiver in any ham rig. That is pretty pitiful if you ask me. The 3000 is number 8 and the 1500 is 11th. Why can't the make a better receiver?
http://www.sherweng.com/table.html

Zack
N8FNR

All of you Kenwood owners better sell all of your rigs! The new TS-990 makes it obsolete! And you know it is better that any Flex rig could ever be because it has 148 buttons and knobs. If it had 150 I would buy one. Now that would make it a Real Radio ^TM. I bet that everthing that Kenwood has ever sold will be going to firesale prices on Craigslist before the weekend is out. But then who is going to buy them since everyone will be ordering a TS-990?
http://dx-world.net/2012/new-kenwood-ts-990/

Zack
N8FNR

Well at least if you get a Flex-1500 you have the 11th best receiver money can buy. And I would count that as a big deal for the price.

http://www.sherweng.com/table.html

N8FNR

Radio Canada is closing their transmitting facility in Sackville New Brunswick. It is built on top of a salt marsh and as you can see has a few nice towers.

I just need to cash in a few thousand of my shares of Berkshire Hathaway so the I could put a down payment on it. Now this site would be sweet!

http://www.mds975.co.uk/masts/sackville.html

http://hawkins.pair.com/rci1.shtml

Zack
N8FNR

Strangely they introduced Gmail Tap on April 1. Hmm, it uses dots and dashes. Where have I seen this used before?

http://mail.google.com/mail/help/promos/tap/index.html
"Gmail Tap is a binary language that only uses two characters -- dots and dashes, making it easy to learn."

http://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=toolbar-instant&hl=en&ion=1&qscrl=1&nord=1&rlz=1T4GGHP_enUS477US477#hl=en&sugexp=egsbsh&gs_nf=1&cp=8&gs_id=9&xhr=t&q=gmail+tap&pf=p&qscrl=1&nord=1&rlz=1T4GGHP_enUS477US477&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&oq=gmail+ta&aq=&aqi=&aql=&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=f9baf00fcc255d0c&biw=1920&bih=850&ion=1

Zack
N8FNR

The whole my amp is bigger than you amp thing reminds me of a funny story that I actually saw happen.

My wife and son and I were walking on the breakwall in the harbor of Caseville on Lake Huron in Michigan many summers ago. This was a year in which the lake levels were very low and boaters had to really watch where they were going so as to not hit rocks or sandbars that were normally not a threat.

In the harbor and along the breakwall there are signs saying NO WAKE but hey, who needs to obey that?  While we were watching the comings and goings of the small craft all of a sudden a big cigarette boat comes flying down the channel to the lake making a LOT of noise and of course a huge wake. Others on the breakwall start yelling at the moron to slow down as he was causing a big chop for all of the small boats in the channel an erosion on the shore. But, no, he does not need any stinking rules and he charges out of the channel and once past the breakwall (which faces west) makes a right to go north along the Lake Huron shoreline. After he left the channel he really hammered the throttle and the speed and noise picked up. He flew along for a few hundred yards and then we all heard a bang as he hit either a rock or sandbar. All at once his engine (or engines I like to think) stopped and he started drifting. There were a lot of people watching this from a nearby beach because of the engine noise and once the engines were damaged (destroyed I hope!) there was a loud cheer and clapping because this idiot was punished. It was a very sweet moment. I really like to think that he had to get the engines replaced. Kind of in the way that I hope that the guy who was tuning up on 3C0E has an Alpha 9500 amp ($8k!) and someone finds his house and puts a pin in his coax.

Zack
N8FNR

Last Saturday I was trying to work 3C0E on 15 and all of a sudden some moron tunes up right on top of him. The hell! And not just for a few seconds but for about a minute. With all the chaos that was going on at the time it did not help to add more QRM. Where do these idiots come from? I bet that he always uses his amp no matter what the conditions. I have worked a lot of DX with my SteppIR vertical and only use my amp when needed. And, yeah I was using my amp that day but it is a KPA500 which does not need to be tuned which is one of the reasons that I built it! Oh and and I never did get to work 3C0E as it was just too crazy.

Zack
N8FNR

I have had a Flex-5000A ever since they first came out and have only had it lock up once while in use. And no, I am not running a high end PC.

The panadapter and incredible filters are worth the rig cost. I worked a lot of DX in the CQ RTTY contest and created a filter that was just slightly wider than a RTTY signal. Having a filter that tight knocks out a LOT of the interference in contests. Also I normally use a 25hz filter for CW. Is there any other rig that has one of those? And BTW there is no ringing at that width.

And now I have I paired with a Elecraft KPA-500 and consider it to be a killer combo.

Zack
N8FNR