Did you call MFJ direct? 1-800-647-1800.I certainly hope that they have not stopped production,as far as I'm concerned they are the best QRP rig for rough and tumble back packing operations.

  I listened in on one of these DX cluster f__k fiascoes a while back, all it reminded me of was 300 plus people vying for the attention of the one sales clerk to be found one minute after opening WalMart's doors on Black Friday morning,No Thanks.

Re:pmraiders,reply #14
    The  KX3 with amp will work as well as any other 100w modern rig especially the rcv.side.This is according to most reviews (for what their worth).Easiest way to find out is try one out.

Your second paragraph indicates that you have already found the answere to your "ideal situation" with KX3/amp combo.

Your( Edit) paragraph: As you previously stated " a more fluid budget",then I fail to see what your problem is,Go For It.

Re: pmraiders
   An apple and orange answere to half your question.With well over 200 A/B on air test with the same antenna over a 3 year period I could continue CW QSOs with my K-1 at 4-5 watts just as well as with 90 watts on my IC-7200 about 73% of the time according to my notes and paper log.I only did these comparisons to prove to myself if there was much difference during on air contacts between 3-5 watts and 80 or 90 watts CW,as far as I'm concerned not a hell of a lot.

Re: pmraiders

     While researching various new rigs either QRP or QRO is certainly interesting and necessary the fact remains that if you are SERIOUSLY thinking about QRP you will have to devote as much if not more time to proper antenna considerations as well as an intimate knowledge of basic band propagation,without the two you might as well save your money and hook up a pair of old rabbit ears to your cable LCD TV and watch the snow.

  As Above No problem,Rustoleum for metal is also excellent for fiberglass .Many use it on Hex Beams and support mast to match the background. If using on copper use steel wool to clean off any possible oxidation,verdigris or lacquer coating which is sometimes found on new pipe

Re:SWMAN

With that line of thinking does BIRTH CONTROL mean being able to shoot blank loads?

Yours is a frequently asked question in this forum and advice,recommendations,pros/cons etc. are well covered in this forums previous topic pages and to some extent in the Elmers Forum.You may want to check these out while waiting for other direct responses here.

Re:W8JX
   Yes,Accidents,with guns or other will continue to happen,just a fact of life more so as you say due to today's trend of lack of proper parental guidance in their children's formative years.My father and probably yours taught me the proper use of firearms,tools,cars etc.all of which are accidents waiting to happen in untrained hands,I seldom see much of this type of mentoring these days.Most people are aware of certain areas in the country that had previously high rates of gun related problems have now declined as much as 72% for an obvious reason of which the Guns for Cash program was not.

   Industries' main purpose is production and profit,policing itself is usually the least of its priorities unless image or sales are compromised which for the current arms industry is certainly not the case.

   As far as the government is concerned " Gun Control " is just the politically correct term for CONTROL of GUNS by the government (a lot of people have forgotten Adolf the Hun)  which simply translates into COMPLETE CONTROL of its citizens.I believe the Silent Majority is sitting on the sidelines and just waiting to see which way the pendulum swings.

  You are correct,no easy answere.

Re:W8JX
   The sad fact is that it will never end as long as humans and ANY type weapon exist.It all started when Neanderthal man figured out what lethal damage a rock or sharpened stick could do.Modern day man has only(supposedly) improved on these basic weapons.

  Just ideas that others have done with same mag mount antenna: Feed line from shack to roof of car/truck if near enough to house same to METAL hood of lawn/garden tractor,,old style metal patio table,top of outside heat pump/AC enclosure.I've even seen one on top of a bullet shape propane tank??,last time I went by his house it(house) was still standing. 

 Great topic: I'm always interested in what the other boys are using and results from their FD antennas.I mostly operate QRP/CW portable so mostly everyday is basically a field day for me.For the past 4 years I have built and experimented with all the basic wire antenna types and configurations. My priorities are quick set up,directional ability,light weight/small size,no tuning or SWR meters and good performance on 40,30 and 20M,the only bands I'm interested in. For the past year I have settled on MY own "ultimate" FD/portable antenna which best suits my needs in the New England environment for the following reasons.It is the simple inverted Vee with the legs also in a sloping Vee and a 28 ft. length of light 8X coax with a simple CVC plumbing tee for the center connector and wing nut conections for my 3 sets of radiator wires.The radiators are precut and tuned at the home QTH for each band to a 1.5:1 SWR at a 12-15 ft. height,in the field this gives me a SWR range between 1.2:1up to 3:1 depending on different ground conditions with no negative effect on my QRP rigs.Mast or center supports are no problem,plenty of trees and 20 ft.deadfall fir or spruce saplings for a a quick tripod mast lashed together at top with an old military web belt I carry for just such a purpose.For a while I carried a Cabela's 16 ft. crappie pole around for a center mast it was a PITA and found it was not needed.Antenna is easily rotated for direction on interest by moviing the sloping Vee legs.Mostly I use it mono band but sometimes use it as a type of fan Vee for two bands with no interaction problems.With this set up I get my fill of CONUS stations on 20m during the day and the usual morning/nite grey line DX on 30M.Works for me.

Re:AC4RD
    Your unfortunate paddle fiasco reminds me of my first outside QRP trip after returning to the hobby,I was using my old Bencher BY-1  paddles and due to the proliferation of the spring blackflies and mosquitoes my springs and contact points were soon a mash of squished goo and useless.Ever since then when I go portable I use my great grandad's 100+ year old Signal Electric straight key and never have a problem,apparently the various flying insects don't  like the chemical smell of the old green verdigris on the brass.

Re:K8AXW

      Just saw on the news this morning the new Dick Tracey wrist watch rig called the "Pebble"probably with future cw,Morse decoder and ssb options.As with the TS-130 the now current FT-3000,Omni V11 and KX3 rigs in 3 or 4 years may also just be a fading memory. As far as I could tell this Pebble is all VOX control and the demonstrator did'nt have a manual anywhere in sight.

  Yesterday was a beautiful spring day in Maine,I spent the morning at the picnic table cobbling together a 30m 2 watt cw transceiver from two defunct QRP rigs and spare parts then spent 5 minutes putting up a 12 ft.high inverted V cut for 30m, 28 ft. coax feed line,no tuner,connected the 12v jump start battery and called CQ with no idea of SWR or power output (probably 1-1/12 W).The Gods were happy and the planets were aligned,I got an immediate response from Jim (K2TTP) in N.Y ,a 20 min. QSO at 579.Went on for several more contacts as far as OH. and NC usually wiped out by QRM,a great time until company showed up.Who ever said QRP is a challenge must lead an easy life.