Maybe some folks post something for sale,
then change their mind, and are too lazy to
remove their posts?
73, Ken AD6KA

I wonder if you can replace that one-turn Polyvaricon
tuning cap with a Ten Turn Pot and a varicap diode......
like you can with the BITX20A and the MKARS80,
both of which use the same tuning scheme. It's a VERY
simple mod, and I don't see it hurting anything to try it.
One turn tuning to cover 350 KHz is a major pain,
irregardless of that "Fine Tuning Pot".

I hope that your Survivor turns out well. Did you check
out the MKARS80 from RadioKits.uk before you picked
the Survivor? The MKARS80 come WITH an LCD digital
frequency display AND an enclosure, all for about $60 less.
(Though I haven't compared the two radios in "real life".)

The man is right, QRP SSB on Field Day is gonna be rough.....
Good Luck and have fun!
73, Ken AD6KA

(b) Contacts between stations on the same continent, but different countries, are worth one (1) point on 28, 21, and 14 MHz and two (2) points on 7, 3.5, and 1.8 MHz.

Exception: For North American stations only—
Contacts between stations within the North American boundaries
(both stations must be located in North America) are worth two
(2) points on 28, 21, and 14 MHz and four (4) points on 7, 3.5,
and 1.8 MHz.

Maybe I am missing something here.....but
Is this fair to the EU Ops?
F station works DL on 20m.......One QSO Point.
(Differrent Country, Same Continent)
BUT:
N.A. Station works VE on 20m...TWO QSO Points.
2 points per 20/15/10m QSO between stations in NA
(Differrent Country, Same Continent)
....but EU's get ONE point for same achievement.

Is this fair to the EU Ops?
Instead of calling it WPX SSB,
maybe call it NA SSB

For a lot of good quality, cheap radials, look for a big
electronics surplus place in an industrial area.
Here in So Cal (The San Fernando Valley anyway) we are
lucky enough to have Apex Electronics.
http://www.apexelectronic.com/

Don't let the fancy web site fool you, this is a Pickers Paradise!
They have an entire acre of tall outdoor pallet racks.
(%98 of the stuff they sell is not listed on the website, IMHO)
They have a 10,000 square foot facility packed to
the RAFTERS pallet racks filled with stuff, and in the
Wire Dept too.
They sell wire and cable  by the POUND, not by the foot.
Every kind, type and size of wire you can think of and them some.
I have never gone there looking for a specific type of wire
(i.e.: 20AWG Silver Teflon, Blue) and not come home empty handed.

There HAS to be place like this within driving distance of you.
You just gotta ask around, especially the "old timer hams",
God Bless them!

Good luck with your project!
73, Ken  AD6KA

Hello OM (name?) and welcome to ham radio.

YVR2YYC doesn't come up as a callsign on QRZ.com.
Is that your "Aeronautical radio license"?
Just curious, it's not important.


Many new hams want to go used, but some Caveats need
to be remembered.  Don't buy ANYTHING from EBay
(at this point in your ham career anyway)
A lot of people get fleeced there, especially newcomers,
and even using Pay Pal. Yeah, you *might* get your money
back 6 months down the road, but is it worth the hassle?

I would join the local club and find am Elmer (Mentor).
There have to be local used rigs for sale, and he can
go with you and examine & test the rig "Hands On" and
knows all the right questions to ask the seller. This is
an invaluable help. I cannot stress it enough. And....some club
member might even loan you an HF radio that he is not currently
using or is trying to sell.

Antennas: Store built/store bought antennas are expensive.
Buy or borrow or  a copy of the ARRL Antenna Book, ANY edition.
There are dozens of wire antennas you can build for HF VERY cheaply.

There is SO MUCH to DO and new things to LEARN in this hobby
(if you want to!) That to me is why it is NEVER, EVER gets boring.
 
Acquiring new knowledge is like looking up and seeing an Inverted
pyramid stuck to the ceiling. If you want to cut down the pyramid,
(Learning) you have to take off one slice at a time. But as you
cut those slices off of the upside down pyraamid, when you
look up, you see that the next "slice" is geometrically larger
than the previous slice. That is:
We learn that the more we know....
the more we actually DON'T know!

That to me is exciting.
Welcome and thanks for posting.
73, Ken  AD6KA

And.....if you have more than one rig or receiver
you want to use it with, pick up a used Serial DB9
Data Switch Box. They are usually two or 4 position.
They make a FANTASTIC receive switcher box!

It's easy to replace the connectors on the back for
speakers. PLUS the multi position switch on the front
is ALREADY wired to all those connectors on the back.
Slick.  Just carefully check those wires with a DVM on
continuity before you start cutting those you don't need.

And on top of all of that.....it's metal and less likely to
be susceptible to RF in the shack. (Unlike those cheesy
plastic push button ones at Radio Shack!).
A win win situation, CHEAP, and a fun afternoon project.
GL ES 73, Ken  AD6KA

The HLA-150, though till a questionable amp,
(will only hold specs to 90 watts, no further)
is a far different animal than the one in the link
the poster provided. THAT one is only for CB.
Like the man said, it'll probably just work on
10 & 11m anyway.

As for just adding low pass filters to those kind
of amps, they will do nothing for IMD, the real problem.
Stay away, stay very far away.

If you absolutely can't afford a Type Accepted amp(or whatever
the current term is.) At least look at the decks built
by 4z4rb,Baruch on ebay. At least he adds good bias
and fold back protection circuits. You'lll have to add LPF's
an enclosure, fan, etc. An example:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SDR-QRP-45W-driver-LINEAR-AMPLIFIER-MODULE-PRE-DRIVER-/150993410099#vi-content
I am sure Zenki will jump in here with both feet soon....
73, KEN  ad6KA

Trust me, there are JERKS and rude obnoxious people
in EVERY hobby, every club, every organization. There
are "Know It Alls" who look down on newcomers, forgetting
that THEY TOO once were new.

There are even "Better Than Thou" folks in my Gardening club!
Sheesh! Gardening is supposed to be a relaxing hobby!

My wife and I like to go to Cat Shows. My wife made the mistake
of putting her fingers up to one cage and petting the docile
cat through the bars. This guy runs over and YELLS
at the top of his voice:
"Get your FILTHY HANDS away from my animal!"
Uh, I though Cat People were supposed to be mellow.
We stopped going to Cat Shows......we were out of place.
%90 of the folks there were rich old ladies and young Gay men!  

Anyway, back to radio.....
Just ignore any idiots and move on. If you DO
make a mistake, learn from it.

In my very first phone contest I made a boo-boo.
I could only use 10m at the time.
Anyway, I scanned the rules online and
learned the exchange was Report and CQ Zone.
Well,  I had a "6 Call" so my CQ Zone is 6, right?  
Uh, um....California is actually CQ Zone 3. DOH!

The very first guy I called and gave "five nine zero three"
to asked me for my QTH. After I told him he called me
an idiot and a lid and said I "Should get off the air and
not play in contests until you upgrade...or grow a brain!"
I mean this guy was SCREAMING! Too much caffeine?
I wonder how many QSO's he coulda made in the
time it took to chew me out?  

I was SO rattled by that that I immediately shut off
my rig, put the mic in the drawer, and gave up on the
contest all together.

Luckily I grew a thicker skin.

Just sayin there are a**holes in any endeavor,
don't let them bring you down.
Welcome to ham radio.
Yeah, send me an email and we can try a sched.
I am good at QRZ.com
73, Ken  AD6KA

"I am a LID if......."
Sounds kinda like the beginning of a Jeff Foxworthy monologue! 

I've always been curious as to the origin of
the term "Lid". As with a lot of slang nomenclature
there is usually more than one explanation.
73, Ken  AD6KA

I know this doesn't answer the question, but for 10m you might
be better off just stringing up a dipole in your attic. It's easy
and cheap and you won't have to mess with radials.
You won't know how well it works until you try, and it
won't set you back much money.
Good luck with your project.
73, Ken AD6KA

Aw man....and you didn't take a photo of it for us? 
Glad you got it out ok!
73, Ken  AD6KA

Just an aside, but have you tried to determine
the source of the noise? (what you call RFI)
Is it man made?
(Loose or damaged power line insulator, etc)
Or is it just to generic to tell?

Does it look like this?
http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php?267424-B-amp-W-590-Coax-Switch
Maybe you could post a photo on Flickr, Photobucket,
or some other free photo hosting sites.
Only takes a minute to register.
GL ES 73, Ken  AD6KA

From the Service Manual photos it looks like
the BNC connector is soldered to a very short
jumper wire that goes into a plug-in connector
to the PC board. I'd be very careful with taking
that out, you will need that plug in connector/jumper.

I dunno, if you damage that jumper while unsoldering it,
maybe you could solder a permanent jumper to the PC board
IF the socket on the PC board is metal. Can't tell with
from the photo with the plug in the socket.

It may be me, but that does not look like an
"off the shelf" BNC panel mount connector.
The "inside" end looks much shorter than the
ones I have used and seen. I guess you'll
find out when you take it out. You may have
to do some shopping around, I doubt Icom stocks
that part any more.

I have never seen that HT before. Very interesting
with the detachable mic with display. Quite unique.
When was this HT put on the market? I only found
a post that said his was "ancient", but people exagerate!

Good luck with your repair project.
73, Ken  AD6KA

I have ordered and received  several different parts for my
AL-80A just fine straight from Ameritron.

73, Ken  AD6KA