According to Mike W0MNE, one of the co-owners, they were pulling the plug....that's been quite some time ago, at least a year maybe two.  It's a real shame as their gear was very good.....glad I got a complete suite of their test equipment early on.

Dino KL0S

Jacky - well, the diodes to construct the noise sources are still in my projects queue! At the time I got my set of diodes from NoiseCom they were $28 each. The trick is working thru the system until you find someone who in fact is familiar with the discount they were giving. Now, the answer may be "Yes, we can do that" or "Yes, we used to give a discount but no longer do" but until you get that kind of answer I would keep trying. Here's the text of what I ended up providing the sales rep that I had to work thru before the company HQ finally acknowledged that they would honor their deal:

Matt -- thanks so much for taking my call.  Here's a synopsis that may be helpful for you to understand what I (and others) are interested in.

--In 1994 William Sabin described "A Calibrated Noise Source for Amateur Radio" in QST magazine, the monthly publication of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) [http://www.arrl.org/] (.pdf file of original article attached).

--Bill's projects (two versions 0.5-500MHz and 1-2500MHz) have been reprinted over the years and many "homebrew" versions have been constructed by hams.

--Noisecom has in the past made the noise diode, the NC302L, available to ham radio operators in small quantities (1-2), not subject to the normal minimum purchase requirement.

--Additionally, your company has as a good (make that great) goodwill gesture, provided very low-cost calibration service for these units if the builder desired.

From a 2008 e-mail:

Some good news: Noise Com is calibrating sources again (as least for US customers). This
is from an email forwarded to me by Bill Sabin:

As you are well aware, in business terms 1994 was a long time ago. Noise/Com
to this day continues to offer Amateur Radio Experimenters discounts on
diodes. Calibrations of these Noise Sources have been more a factor of
available resources. After review of your request, on a trial basis we will
resume our offer to calibrate these noise sources at a substantial discount.
Pricing will need be $100.00, turn around time will be a function of
available resources and will most likely be quoted at 8 - 12 weeks. This
will be for domestic customers only, as we have had too many issues with
noise sources being held up in customs. Customers will need to contact
Noise/Com for an RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization).

Best Regards,
Al Sebolao
Sales Manager
Noise/Com
25 Eastmans Road
Parsippany, NJ 07054
(973) 386-9696 Voice
(973) 386-9191 Fax

There is still a good deal of interest in the project and it would be great if we could still purchase these diodes in small quantities to allow more of us to build Bill's great project for use at our own workbenches.  As a matter of fact it was discussed today on one of the experimenters' Internet reflectors and prompted me to call -- this project in its two versions has been in "the queue" for some time and I'd like to get started.

Thanks much in advance!

Dino Papas
Colonel U.S. Army, Retired
Amateur Radio Operator KL0S

Let us know if you make any progress as there may be others who are still interested.

73 - Dino KL0S

Jacky – I worked with the Noise/Com company a while back to get several NC302L diodes to build Bill Sabin's homebrew noise sources without having to meet the minimum purchase requirement as they have been obliging to hams.  It took several phone calls and had to work with a sales rep but I prevailed and posted the following to the emrfd Yahoo group….whether this is still valid or not I'm not sure but worth a try.  Here's what I found out:

"Guys -- I was just notified that Noisecom has approved waiving the $250 minimum order and will sell the NC302L noise diodes in small quantities to hams.  Just placed an order for a couple; they are $28 a piece.

You can order from Noisecom by calling:

(973) 386-9696 and then choose "1" and "1" at the two prompts to get to Carolyn in the sales department.  Let her know you're a ham and she'll be glad to help.  They take credit cards.

I'm not sure if the calibration offer is still available but hopefully the offer made a couple of years ago is still valid.

Anyway, nice people to work with....tell them you appreciate them making an exception for us....goodwill always goes a long way!"

Additionally, they MAY still be doing calibration for hams as well….at least as of July 2008 according to Gary WB9JPS back in 2008:

From: "Gary Johnson" <gwj@spamcop.net>
Date: July 11, 2008 10:35:18 AM EDT
To: emrfd@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [emrfd] Re: Noise Figure Measurement without a Spectrum Analyzer
Reply-To: emrfd@yahoogroups.com

Some good news: Noise Com is calibrating sources again (as least for US customers). This is from an email forwarded to me by Bill Sabin:

As you are well aware, in business terms 1994 was a long time ago. Noise/Com to this day continues to offer Amateur Radio Experimenters discounts on diodes. Calibrations of these Noise Sources have been more a factor of available resources. After review of your request, on a trial basis we will resume our offer to calibrate these noise sources at a substantial discount. Pricing will need be $100.00, turn around time will be a function of available resources and will most likely be quoted at 8 - 12 weeks. This will be for domestic customers only, as we have had too many issues with noise sources being held up in customs. Customers will need to contact Noise/Com for an RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization).

Best Regards,
Al Sebolao
Sales Manager
Noise/Com
25 Eastmans Road
Parsippany, NJ 07054
(973) 386-9696 Voice
(973) 386-9191 Fax

-Gary, WB9JPS

Hope this helps.

73 – Dino KL0S

When I heard the news that a American contractor had been killed along with eight service members in Afghanistan I actually thought about Jim for a moment...I was truly saddened when I brought up the ARRL web page yesterday.

I worked Jim back in November 2010 on for an all time new one on RTTY and we began a series of e-mail conversations over the next few weeks.  Jim was kind enough to send me one of the very few paper QSLs he dispatched.  Jim bought his new IC-7600 based on my experience with the new rig.  His final note in late January described how much he was enjoying his new radio.  This is truly a sad day....I've lost a good friend and comrade in arms.

See you on the high ground Jim.

Dino Papas KL0S
Colonel U.S. Army, Retired

You might want to check out DG8SAQ's VNA at:

http://www.sdr-kits.net/VNWA/VNWA_Description.html

Dino KL0S

David - the DigiKeyer does true FSK....I have been using one for several years now, first with my TS-940S keying the "RTTY" port and now my IC-7600 in the RTTY mode.  Works great!

Dino KL0S

David - I believe the USB III actually does "pseudo-FSK" (uses the right channel audio to produce a FSK signal) that works with programs like fldigi....I have the original Digi Keyer with my TS-940S which (along with its replacement) does provides a true hardware FSK signal.  Frankly I don't know what difference it makes but to be sure I'd contact Joe who is the U.S. support rep (support@microham-usa.com).  He can answer your question definitively.

Dino KL0S

Glen - I just looked at the two battery packs for my TH-21AT and my little note said I rebuilt them way back in 1998! As far as I can remember, and looking at how I glued them back together, you have to separate the interior plate from the pack by using a sharp razor blade/box cutter to pry the pieces carefully apart. Use the blade to slowly and repetitively cut thru the space between those pieces at the top and bottom of the pack....it can be done, just take your time. Once you've replaced the nicads simply hot glue the assembly back together so it won't be so difficult in the future. GL!

Dino KL0S

Terry - two that I know of are:

MacLoggerDX - http://www.dogparksoftware.com/MacLoggerDX.html

and Aether - http://aetherlog.com/

I'm still using paper but one of these days I'm gonna bite the bullet!

73 - Dino KL0S

Highly recommend Clif at AVVid (www.avvid.com/)....check out his substantial positive feedback here on eHam and you'll see what I mean....expert repairs, reasonable prices and quick turnaround.  He brought my 940 back to life just recently....mine is 24 years old and still plays like a champ....if it hiccups again it will go straight back to Clif.

Dino KL0S

Marty -- I have a couple of Z3801A GPS sources here that drive all the test equipment and a HF receiver.  Either Rb or GPS will give you plenty of accuracy for your counter.

See:

http://realhamradio.com/GPS_Frequency_Standard.htm

for some good background info.

Dino KL0S/4

Most of the guys (including me) who needed a USB/serial converter have been very pleased with the Keyspan units.  I have two single port and three four port units that work great.

Dino KL0S

I've had my IC-211 since it was new in 1977.  I sent it in for service at Icom in the mid-80s and they replaced all the styrene caps in the PLL. Scott Maclom, the Icom guru (http://www.angelfire.com/biz2/mts/)  redid that board again later, repairing a crack on the PCB, and it has worked fine ever since.  I'd recommend you checking to see if he's still working on 211's as his work was great and reasonable rates.

Dino KL0S

"So, exactly how did the advertising agency fail the client? "

You have a good point....however, in general if a company doesn't get the small details right then I'm suspect if they'll get the big things right when it counts.  Attention to detail is what makes a good organization.

Point IN their favor is that they considered feedback from potential customers and corrected the problem.

With nothing better to do one day I actually called Prudential and got ahold of their public relations department.  They told me I wasn't the only one to call and offer that the code was incorrect and that they had pulled the original ad and were reworking it.  The redone ad's code isn't really sent correctly with regard to character speed and spacing but at least the characters are now correct!

I told them they should get their money back from whatever ad agency put it together for them!

Dino KL0S