Yep!
Besides that very important issue:
I had an AT-230. It was pretty, nicely matched
the appearance my other Kenwood gear, but
otherwise I thought it was a poor to mediocre tuner.
GL ES 73, Ken  AD6KA

I like WriteLOG for Windows,, BUT
it works best using a machine running XP.
When I upgraded (hah!) to a Win 7 computer
I had a LOT of problems. I reverted back to an
older laptop running XP. (Which is less susceptible
to RFI than the Win 7 desktop anyway......)
73, Ken  AD6KA

You should turn in your logs, especially for
ARRL contests. They award nice win certificates
for top scores in your ARRL Section and your category.
It's a nice way to get some spiffy wallpaper for
your shack, especially if you live in one of the
smaller sections. Plus sometimes you just never know...
you might get the Section Win anyway (in a larger section).
The first time I got one it blew me away, really fun! 

And with most logging software, exporting the
stndard Cabrillo Format log is just a few mouse clicks.
Three minutes after the contest ends, your log
and already be submitted.
73, Ken  AD6KA

Heil offers repair service on their headsets and other products:
http://www.heilsound.com/amateur/repairs/index.php

They will also completely "refurbish to like new" condition
headsets for $64 plus $17 shipping. Don't know if this
covers missing/broken parts.

By all means talk to them. I had no audio on
one side of my Proset. They sent me specific instructions
on how to bypass or replace the "Phase Reversal Switch"
and I was able to do the repair myself.
73, Ken  AD6KA

If you're going to get a proper transceiver,
get a proper headset, not a gamers toy.
It will sound much better (xmit and rcv)
and last a whole lot longer.
Heil been bery, bery good to me:
http://www.heilsound.com/amateur/products/headsets.php
......and after getting a headset, work on your head shots!
Zombies stay down with a double tap to the forehead!
73, Ken  AD6KA

How ridiculous is ridiculous?

Consider the Collins "Gold Dust Twins"
The KWS-1 transmitter along with the 75A-4 receiver,
together, cost over $2500 when new.
Not sure what year exactly.
That's about equivalent to over
$20,000 in 2012 dollars.

The wealthy will always buy outrageous goods.
During the 20's many people invested in rubber
plantations in the Amazon, to fulfill the need for
all the tires for all the cars then coming to market.
Before it's collapse, Rubber Barons were so wealthy
they imported French champaign to water their horses with!
Most of them later lost it all due to the simple
fact that the jungle can't sustain mono crop agriculture.

Hey Guys:
Thanks much to Gavin, John, and Dale for your replies,
with special thanks to Dale for modeling my proposed antenna!
Thanks, I didn't know this.
This sounds like an EXCELLENT approach as I
WILL be pulling the wire through the pulleys
trying to get everything lined up as best I can.
I do have a couple wide range tuners but I *plan*
to get the SWR as low as possible. I am happy
to hear that the 75 ohm coax matching stub will
work well.  Getting ladder line into my shack,
while not impossible, would be difficult.
TNX AGN ES 73, Ken  AD6KA

Great info gentlemen, just what I needed

I am considering putting up a 20m Delta Loop
in my antenna farm. It will be supported by an
approx 40' mast that is set in cement on the ground
and also bolted to the eaves of
my house at the 20' level, just below the
roof line.   (I know that doesn't
leave room at the bottom for a perfect triangle
as the flat bottom section would hit the roof,
but I will do the best I can with what I have).
The Apex of this loop will hang from a 6 foot wide "tee"
and pulley I already have on the top of the mast.
There is an Alpha Delta DX-DD hanging from the
other side. I don't see much interaction happening,
but is it something to be concerned about?

I do not plan to use it on any other bands.
Ideally it will be optimized for 20m. But if it tunes
up and works OK on 10m with a particular feedline method,
I won't be averse to trying it.

I know that a delta loop fed from the bottom or top
is horizontally polarized and can be vertically polarized
by feeding it  from a corner at the base. I want to first
try it with the vertical polarization, so I will feed
it at the corner.

I would like to know the pros and cons of various
feedline methods:
1) Ladder Line to tuner.(Kinda problematic with my setup)
2) Ladder Line to a balun and short coax lead-in to tuner in shack.
(What kind of balun would be best here?)
3) Coax fed with 4:1 W2AU type balun at antenna.
I saw this setup while researching delta loops.
(Would a coax wound choke also be recommended here?)
4) 1/4 wave 75 ohm coax matching stub to loop,
attached to 50 ohm coax to shack?
5) Any other recommendations?

Thanks so much for letting me bend your ear!
Any and all advice is appreciated!
TNX ES 73, Ken AD6KA

With so many good and inexpensive 2m mobile
rigs out there, I'd just get a brand new one.
Sure, you might be able to fix the HTX-242.
But it will most probably involve much more
than just dropping in new finals. There will be
bias and other adjustments......and I'm not even sure
you can get a Service Manual for this rig.

Just bite the bullet and get a nice new rig.
They are ALL pretty good, the difference being
mostly in the features and receiver coverage.
Figure out your budget, and what features you
want or need.

Then maybe learn to work on the broken one
in your spare time. IF you can fix it, then, well
you've got yourself a backup rig.
Even if you can't fix it, you're bound to learn
a lot in the process.

GL ES 73, Ken  AD6KA

GenesisRadio offers several SDR transceiver kits
(as well as a 10w amplifier) in both SMT
and through-hole formats. Great stuff,
though the documentation could be a little better:
http://www.genesisradio.com.au/

For those on a budget or looking for a 20m QRP SSB
monobander kit, the already mentioned QRPKITS.COM
offers the BITX20A, an excellent rig with tons
of great mods out there. Varactor w/10 turn pot
tuning mod makes it almost a different radio.
Ten watts out is plenty of power. (I just wish they still
offered a "board and parts only" kit.)
http://www.qrpkits.com/bitx20a.html

Radio-Kits.co.uk offers an outstanding 80m QRP
SSB kit rig at a very good price, which includes an
LCD frequency display. Again, lot of great mods out there.
An OUTSTANDING value and high quality kit!
http://www.radio-kits.co.uk/

GL ES 73, Ken  AD6KA

For a "budget" PS for a 100w HF rig, I highly
recommend the SAMLEX 1223.
It's manual says it is rated for 23A @ 13.8vdc
continuous and 25A peak.

Though not currently my main 13.8vdc suppy,
I have used mine for over 12 years with no
problems, either at 120 or 220vac input.

GL ES 73, Ken AD6KA

I think Heil Sound is a fantastic company selling
excellent products and having great customer
service.

I recently contacted them via email with a problem
I was having with my long-out-of warranty Proset.
(No audio in one earphone).
My email was sent late at night and there was a
lengthy response in my inbox the very next morning.

Their reply indicated that the problem was most
likely a failure of the phase reversal switch, since
it was that side that lacked audio.  They
told me my options were:

1) Repair the unit myself by bypassing that switch.
Precise and clear directions on how to do this
were included. (I thought that the earphones were
sealed units and that getting behind that switch would
require cutting into the earphone unit. But no, they told
me exactly how to disassemble the earphone,
remove the speaker, and bypass the switch. 
2) Purchase the switch from them ($8) and replace
it myself. Again, precise and complete instructions were given.
3) Send the headest in for switch replacement by Heil.
4) Send the headset in for a complete "refurbishment".

I disassembled the earphone and completed the phase
reversal switch bypass very easily as instructed by Heil
with no difficulties. (I never used the switch anyway).
The headset now works as before. I'm very happy!

Quite a few companies would have just said;
"Send it in for repair, it will cost you $XX".
I was very pleased that Heil took the time to
explain the repair procedure to me, saving me
time, money, and product down time.

Heil Sound has great customer service.
These guys are hams helping hams, not just
hams selling ham stuff. Two thumbs up in my book!

73, Ken  AD6KA

I too was afflicted by the 15/16 WPM "Wall",
but I think it was a matter of nerves, not skill.

Comedian Bill Cosby played football and had
a Track & Field Scholarship at Temple University. One of his Field
events was the High Jump. His "wall" was when the
bar was set at his own physical height. He that said a
little voice came into his head telling him "You KNOW
you can't jump higher than you are tall".
I think maybe I too had such a little voice in my head
about 20 wpm CW, though I wasn't conscious of it.

I took and passed the 13 wpm CW Element and
the General and Advanced written elements on the
same day. (At that karate dojo that used to be above
Jun's Electronics in Culver City, remember that place?)
It was late in the afternoon and not many folks were
left. The VE who gave and scored the 13 wpm test must
have been watching me. He said "You had no problem
with this at all, why don't you take the 20 wpm?".
I was mortified and said "Sorry, I'm just not ready".

His reply was "What have you got to lose?
There's no pressure, you already got what
you came here for."
A very kindly older man, before I could profer
another argument, he put his arm around my shoulder,
guided me to the chair, winked, and said "Relax kid, you've
got this in the bag". I passed that 20 wpm element.
Granted, it was the easy "Fill in the blanks" type
test given at that time, not the much more
difficult FCC Field Office Exams of an earlier era.

But thank goodness for that kind VE who had
confidence in me when I had none. I wish I had
taken his name.

73, Ken  AD6KA

You're only as "crippled" by Dyslexia as you want to be.

My niece was diagnosed with quite severe Dyslexia
at an early age. The school system intervened and
offered treatment. BUT the biggest help was her
willingness to beat it. This included staying up
late with her homework and, from Elementary school
through University, getting up at 4 or 5 AM to re-review
(or re-re-review) that day's class material.

Oh yeah, she graduated with honors, went on to
to get her J.D. at Georgetown, and made The
Harvard Law Review. She passed both the
California and New York Bar Exams on her first tries.
(The two most difficult Bar Exams in the country.)
She served an Internship for the United States Supreme
Court and now works for a prestigious NY City law firm.

Her Dyslexia is not cured, but is a handicap she must
deal with on a daily basis, which she does at a very
high level of functioning.

You're only a "cripple" if you see yourself as one.

Also make sure your spouse/next of kin/significant other
is included in a Durable Power of Attorney for
medical and quality of life decisions. (Also known as a
"Advance Health Care Directive Form") Check for your state.
You can usually download them from the Internet,
fill them out, sign and have them witnessed and Notarized.

If a bad stroke or head injury leaves you a vegetable
on a respirator, you want them to quickly pull
the plug before medical bills consume your life's
savings. I work in the medical field, I see it happen.
If this happens, getting a fair price for your ham gear
will be the LEAST of your famiy's problems!

Also sit down and discuss this topic with your relatives beforehand and make
them understand clearly that that this is WHAT YOU WANT, that
"pulling the plug" is an act of kindness, love and mercy,
as there can be much "survivor guilt" left for family
members, which can make them delay the decision.

73, Ken  AD6KA