To add to what PA0BLAH said, on row J with the keyer enabled there will be a triangle next to KYR if it is enabled.  If there is no triangle next to it, it is in straight key mode.

When I have paddles connected to mine, sometimes I'll go turn the keyer off then hold down the <dah> paddle (if I remember right, I just do it out of habit) to generate a continuous carrier for tuning.  No need to unplug the paddles and attach a straight key just for a quick adjustment.

The 857 is a nice rig, but it does take a bit of time to learn where everything is at in the menu, and like just discussed sometimes the manual is misleading on some features.  I highly recommend the Nifty guide for this radio.  I think it was about $15, but the amount of time it has saved me when I was first learning to use it was worth every penny.  Even now I try to go to it before checking the manual if I need guidance on a feature I don't use often.

73 de KB7QOA
Jeremy

Been there, done that.  I got licensed when I was 11 years old as a no-code tech.  My mom ran me to all of the club meetings and events, met a ton of great friends.  Stayed semi-active in high school.  After school I still messed with ham radio some, but then I got married, changed careers somewhat, and just fell out of the ham habit.  Almost missed the renewal deadline on my license once, but thankfully realized and got it renewed on time.  Life just happened and I didn't think much about it, and the couple of times I did, I realized I bought into an HOA controlled neighborhood without considering the ramifications to ham radio (was only a tech+ at the time so it didn't make much difference.)  Tried to work on the code a few times to upgrade to General, but other things kept getting in the way and never made it.

A handfull of years ago now my grandfather passed away, and though inactive he was a ham.  My grandma wanted to get the "radio room" cleaned out, and began prodding me to go take all of his radio gear home.  I kept putting it off since I didn't have a General class license to be able to use it and didn't want to take up my own space for something I wasn't going to use yet, and she still had plenty of space.  After I had my 4th kid, by that point I'd moved to a house without HOA restrictions, and started to look into it.  I found at that point that the code requirements were dropped, so I went ahead and upgraded not only to General but to Extra within a few months.  The rest is history as they say.

I don't get a chance to get on the air every day, but I do check into a traffic net that has a minimum monthly check-in requirement, so I force myself to at least get on a couple of times per week for that.  Afterwards I tend to tune around and find something to listen to or even a CQ to answer.  I've also started to have some fun checking into the OMISS nets.  I've earned my WAS, and am now having fun helping others get theirs.

As for how I knew when it was time to get back in, it just sort of happened.  Things aligned between my grandmother's urging, the code requirement drop, and having a place for the gear and associated antennas.  Since then I've been working on code and while I'm not up to 13 WPM yet, I am solidly copying at 5 WPM and am working my way up.  My goal is to be able to pass a 21 WPM "test" as used to be required for Extra.

Like many things, interests come and go.  Priorities change, and spare time changes too.  I do regret being completely inactive for so many years, especially since I almost lost my license due to forgetting all about it for a couple of them, but the important part is that I'm enjoying it again and without the VHF-Only restrictions I don't see that ever happening again.

73 de KB7QOA

Jeremy

I think to a certain extent, yes that is a good possibility.  I have one of the Wouxun dual-banders.  When looking around at all of the various places offering them, I stumbled upon a website selling them as "hunting" radios.  Since inquiring minds want to know, I asked them for a programming list for the radio, "to see if it will work with the radios my brother uses when he goes hunting with his hounds."  What I received back was actually shocking.  They are programming them with MURS (at least they narrow-banded the appropriate channels,) FRS, GMRS, and Marine channels.  All of them set to high power.  I guess on a positive note there are no ham frequencies programmed, and the weather radio channels are included but set to no-transmit.

In my experience I've seen that unless someone just wants to cause problems, the VHF/UHF pirates tend to avoid ham frequencies.  I think most of them know that a lot of us love the challenge of tracking someone down based on the signal alone, and know that the fastest way to get caught is to annoy a bunch of hams.

From what I understand, many hunters use marine bands for back-woods communications.  They operate on the assumption that (at least for inland areas such as Idaho) that we're nowhere near a large body of water, so they won't be bothering anyone, and therefore won't get caught.

With all of that said, marine-band handhelds are available at a lower cost than even the cheap Wouxun radios, and will probably raise less "suspicion" when buying them.  For now I think that should limit the "casual" pirates and limit it to the malicious jerks just wanting to cause trouble, and I don't think the lower price will make much difference for them.

73 de KB7QOA
Jerem

To make matters worse, many retailers are now requiring photo ID to return anything, and the stores keep the information on file.  They then track how much each person returns, and eventually deny returns at all if they think the person makes too many returns over a period of time.  There have also been claims that some larger chain stores use a centralized 3rd party company to track returns, which means if a person returns "too many" items at chain A, they can be denied a return at chain B because they're "in the system."

I don't know what the answer is, as it has been previously mentioned that retailers do need to protect themselves from return abuse.  A lot of "retail rental" goes on where someone buys an item, uses it once, and returns it when they don't need it any more.  The problem is that it is not uncommon to hear of "false positives" resulting in returns being denied when they shouldn't have been.

Other than voting with our wallets and avoiding retailers who use this practice, there isn't much we as "consumers" can do to avoid this.  Unfortunately as large superstores continue to drive out the mom & pop stores, it is becoming more and more difficult to shop elsewhere.

73 de KB7QOA
Jeremy

Ok Dave, no problem.  It's been a while since I've looked at the schematics so I don't remember exactly what is going on.  I've had mine apart a couple of times to replace the SO-239 connectors on it (I bought it used, and somewhere in its past the connectors were cross-threaded) so it isn't a big deal to pull the cover off and snap a few pics.  Since I'm not sure how large pics are allowed on here, can you send me an e-mail to send photos to?  callsign at arrl.net is mine.

73 de KB7QOA

Jeremy

I can take a picture of mine this evening when I get home if you haven't found your answer yet.  You can get the schematic in the manual from MFJ's website if that helps in the meantime.

73 de KB7QOA
Jeremy

If only part of the order is available, it would be prudent to check with the customer first, not to assume they want a partial shipment.  Depending on what the item is, I may prefer a partial shipment or may prefer to wait and get it in one shot.  It may also make a difference on how freight is charged.  If I was paying for shipping, I would be upset if I had to pay more shipping because they split my order without determining my desires first, especially if an accessory shipped before the item required to be able to use it.

I agree with you on the rest of your points though.  E-mail should be checked several times a day.  Most phones/PDAs/tablets these days can check e-mail, have the employees take turns being the "email on-call" person responsible for checking at least once per hour during business hours.  In my opinion, a company that does any amount of business on the Internet has no excuse for not handling Internet communications in a timely manner.  They wouldn't let their phones ring off the hook for hours on end because somebody didn't get around to answering it, e-mail should be no different.

Just my opinion, worth exactly what you paid for it, maybe even less!  :-)

73 de KB7QOA
Jeremy

I prefer to hand-fill my cards anyway, so I just print 20 at a time on a color laser, 4 to a sheet (a standard 8.5x11 sheet holds 4 with 1.5" to spare on the long borders) with a 1/4" margin on every card.  I then cut them out using a guillotine cutter at work on my lunch break, or I use an Xacto knife and a metal straight edge if I need a couple of them at home before I can cut the batch.  They look great, they don't have a fuzzy edge like the pre-perforated cards have, and I can change them on a whim.

I do intend to finalize a design and get a large batch done from a commercial printer, but I don't want to do so until I move to a permanent address.  I'd rather hassle with doing them myself for a while longer than throw a bunch out due to an old address.

73 de KB7QOA

Jeremy

Thank you for pointing out the ground rods at Lowe's.  They were much more expensive last time I looked at a small local hardware store.

It looks like I could get a proper 8' copper-clad rod, the appropriate clamp, and 25' of 6 ga wire for about the same as what the other kit would have cost.  Sounds like that would be the much better plan and I could always further augment the ground system later on if necessary.

73 de KB7QOA
Jeremy

I'm getting ready to buy a home and move in the next few months.  I'm starting to plan how I'm going to set up the antennas, grounding, and other ham-related aspects of the new home.  It is an older home so I don't know how good the grounding is, it could quite possibly be grounded by the cold water supply alone.  The power meter is right outside the room I'm going to use as a ham shack, which makes tying any extra grounding I do to the mains grounding very easy thankfully.

The question I have, is would it be OK to use galvanized ground rods in place of the usual copper-clad for the additional grounding?  The reason I ask is I can get (via employee discount) a kit made for grounding electric fences at a very good price.  The kit comes with 3 6' galvanized ground rods, the appropriate brass clamps, and 48' of 12 ga galvanized connection cable.  My plan is to drive one of these about 3' away from the power meter, then the 2nd one straight out about 20', and the 3rd 20' to the side of the first, essentially making a big L shape.  The shape is determined by the geometry of the lot and structure.  I would then use ground strap or copper flashing (from the same connection point tying into the main ground) into the shack to a 1/2" copper pipe installed along the wall.

Will the 3 galvanized rods make as good or better of a ground than a single copper-clad 6'-8' rod?  As long as brass or stainless connections are used, will that protect from any moisture related issues associated with connecting copper to galvanized?

Thanks for the assistance!

73 de KB7QOA
Jeremy

While I don't use it mobile, I have the FT-857D mounted on my desk in my house.  I have the faceplate at a comfortable operating position, and the main body mounted a little farther out of reach.  The faceplate does not contain the mic connector, it has to be run directly from the main body as well.  The mic connector is behind the faceplate, so if you are only looking at pictures of the radio when it is not separated I can easily see how that could be confused.

I've had mine for almost 2 years now, and have been extremely happy with it.  There are some functions that don't really make sense why they buried them in a menu, but I've helped brand new ham set up an Icom IC-7000 and it is just as bad if not worse.  I'd feel much more comfortable trying to take my 857 mobile than the 7000 any day, but I may say the reverse if I'd had the Icom for 2 years instead of the Yaesu.

73 de KB7QOA
Jeremy

Another thing to consider is many car audio decks these days have an auxiliary input on them for iPods, MP3 players, smart phones, etc.  Even some factory radios have auxiliary inputs that you'd just need a specific cable to enable.  If you have a factory receiver, ask a car audio shop what it would take to plug your MP3 player into it.  If it is possible, they'll be happy to sell you the necessary cable and install it for you if you aren't comfortable removing the deck from the dash yourself.

If your factory deck won't support an auxiliary device, and it is important to you to avoid an extra speaker, then you may want to consider replacing the factory deck with an aftermarket stereo with the input.  Even the $50 decks you can buy at Walmart have an aux input, sometimes even USB.  They won't win any audio quality competitions, but they are generally as good or better than a stock factory deck, and will definitely have a better sound quality than an FM transmitter.  Self-installation is pretty easy in all honesty, just make sure you buy a wiring harness that matches your vehicle so you don't have to cut into the factory wiring.

If you want a middle of the road approach, I've seen some people use an in-line modulator with excellent results.  This device is essentially an FM transmitter, but instead of a small antenna, it plugs inline between the antenna and the stereo deck.  Operation is the same, you tune the stereo to the modulator frequency, but because it is in-line, you don't need to worry about interference from local broadcast stations.  Just set it on the "most open" frequency, or even on top of a station you don't ever want to listen to, and you're set.

Personally I prefer a separate speaker as I like to listen to talk radio or podcasts while driving and still be able to hear the local repeater.  If I want to participate in the conversation, I just turn the car stereo off and grab the mic.  If you use the car stereo speakers, you lose the ability to monitor the ham bands while listening to something else when there is no ham activity you're interested in.  It becomes a "one or the other" scenario rather than "both at once."

Of course these options will probably cost more than a cheap CD player transmitter, but you'll be a lot happier with the results in the long run.  The price will be similar to a good external speaker.  I did have a friend one time who was big into LOUD car audio in addition to ham radio, and he went to a custom stereo shop and had speakers installed into his headrest for his 2 meter rig.  He could hear the repeater well even with the music turned way up.  He could also have the 2 meter volume turned down very low and someone in the passenger seat could barely hear it when the music was off.

I hope this gives you some more ideas on how to solve your problem.

73 de KB7QOA
Jeremy

For my FT-857 I use an old computer audio cable I had laying around.  It was about 6 feet long, and has the green 3 conductor TRS 1/8" plug on both ends.  I simply cut it in half, ran the shield to the center of my paddle, red to the right "DAH" terminal, and the white to the left "DIT" terminal.  If I recall correctly, my straight key uses the shield and the red conductor, but I may be mistaken and it could be the white.

Nearly every computer monitor has speakers built-in these days so there is an abundance of those cables out there.  It is a "universal" cable and in nearly all cases the cable outlasts the monitor and either is replaced when still good or is not replaced when a monitor is changed.  Ask somebody that works with computers to save a few for you and you'll probably end up with more of them than you'll ever be able to use.  I have a drawer full of them and use them for lots of various projects, sometimes keeping the plugs and sometimes just using them for the 2 conductor plus shield cable.

It is all personal preference.  If it is easier for you to pick out a low tone when you have lots of noise, then set your rig to the tone that is comfortable to you.  As long as you tune until your transceiver spot tone is the same as the signal you are hearing, you are properly tuned.  Your signal will be at the pitch preferred by the person on the other end of the transmission.

The tone you hear from your transceiver makes no difference in the transmitted signal.

Hope that helps!

Jeremy
KB7QOA

I have a pair of the TSX300 model at work.  We use them when pulling wires or coordinating something across the building where using phone extensions would be too constrictive.  They seem to work pretty well.  When we got them, one of the included headsets and one of the battery packs was defective, but an e-mail to Trisquare had replacements here within a few days.  I've considered getting a couple of pairs of them for home use when camping with (non-ham) friends and family members.  Last time I tried to use FRS the channels were so congested they were useless.  These have a real chance of actually being able to be useful.  This is partly due to the spread-spectrum nature of the radio in being able to fit multiple discrete "channels" in the same spectrum space, and a lot to do with the lack of popularity of these radios compared to the extremely common FRS/GMRS radios.

As for modifying them for ham use, they use FHSS across 50 frequencies so that may present an issue since there is no way I can see to identify using a narrow-spectrum signal.  Also I have no idea if the hopping algorithms they use are compatible with the FCC rules under part 97.  My knowledge in the spread-spectrum area is very limited but those are the first two things that came to mind when considering these radios for amateur service use.

Hope that helps and please let me know what else you may learn!

Jeremy
KB7QOA