I don't know how useful or fun the 50 meter band is when you are restricted to FM. Maybe you might consider building a j.Pole for the 2m/70cm bands.A horizontal polarized antenna might work better for you in the 6 and 10 meter band.

I run 2 netbooks, a desktop workstation and a server on Ubuntu 12.04. A couple of observations.
Upgrades can sometime be slower than a fresh install. 
I think Unity sucks, but I haven't noticed much of a perfomance hit. 
11.10 I thought was a little buggier. !2.04 seems a marked improvement.

What programs are you running? are you running a 32 bit version on a 64 bit machine?  Some applications are no longer supported and run lousy on larter systems.   I moved from Evolution to Thunderbird, and OpenOffice because of these issues.  There is always a another Linux distro but I've stuck with Ubuntu because there is so much support for it on line.  Good luck and 73s


 

Thanks!!! I thinks this might turn out to be a lot of fun.

I think we might have the same or simular PS.  Mine is a Model 6434B. Its pretty hard to beat free.
We have to start somewhere. I have the Mil Surplus mast segments.  I can't imagine it supporting a big Yagi.  This set up should be pretty portable, and allow me to hit a few repeaters at lot better than my tiny handheld.  I was impreSsed at the price of the LMR-400 as it seems to be runining not much more than RG-58U.

i am concerned about lightning.  My wife wouldn't take kindly to burning the house down.  For the time being though I will plan on setting up the  antennae ungrounded and using the radio out on my patio. I will take down the antennae when not using it.  Setting it up or taking it down should be a ten minute job. eventually though I like to set up a permenent radio shack indoors.  Maybe even a tower.
 


SWR is probably a good place to start.  Mostly though I don't want to burn up the radio.  I have pretty goog confidence that I'll get enough range in VHF to keep me happy for a while. The Jpole is a $20.00 investment. and I should be able to easily set it up as a remote.  

My main interest in software is to program the memories and such in the 7900.  I have netbooks that could be booted into window, but I don't have a cdrom.  The easiest thing will be to borrow my wifes laptop to program it.  I am interested in digital packet communications, but I believe there is plenty of good software for that in Linux(ubuntu)

As a beginner I only have a Technicians licence.  My interest in Ham is mostly about community. I have some friends about 50 miles away that are hams and I have an interest in Emergency response.  I am in a Hurricane sensitive area and I see ham radio as an important part of personal and community preparation.  Long distance communications sounds like a lot of fun and I look forward to doing this some day.  but for now VHF/UHF  seems like the quickest/cheapest way to get into this.   I am beginning to understand that any success with UHF might be spotty. but I was hopping to be able to make some use of half of my radio.
I have carried out a conversation on a handheld GMRS 15 miles away. I might be able to reach a repeater with up to 45 watts and some real height  available.  

Thanks muchly for the feedback  I will be checking out grounding solutions even though I won't be needing it for a while.  

Thanks for the replies .
The power supply will do 25 amps. it is also has course and fine settings for the current as well as the voltage. I also have a good Fluke meter to help me set it up.  The supplies also have current and voltage meters on the front of it.   I understand that it will be easier and better to eventually get a fixed supply. But free is free and If I'm careful this should get me started.

I haven't bought the coax yet. To tell the truth I hadn't looked at the LMR-400 but it is reasonably priced  with decent specs thanks for the recommendation.  All I need to do now is figure out how much I really need.  I have the 20 Ft of fiberglass masting and most of the parts to build my antennae.  I live on Galveston Island there aren't any hills trees nor many tall buildings within a 100 miles. There are supposed to be a couple of Repeaters here on the Island, but I haven't heard much activity on them from my little handheld.   I hope I will get to use the UHF bands, but I suspect I will transmit more on VHF.  and be listening and monitoring more on UHF.  

I have looked at the 8800 And might buy it if I have the extra $100  but right now my main goal is to get a nice little VHF rig now (UHF is just an extra). and  maybe next year get a fancier multiband radio like the Icom 7000. and get my General.   I've put off putting together a setup for to long.  

I got my Technicians ticket about a year ago, but haven't done much with it.  I will be buying an FT-7900R within a couple of weeks.

I have 5 pieces of of 4' Fiberglass mast and plan on building a Copper tubing J-pole antennae this week.  Hopefully I will be able to use it on UHF as well. I intend to use it to monitor GMRS also.   My setup  initially will be a couple of milk cartons set up on my patio.    I have an antique Hewlett Packard Variable voltage Power Supply wit Adjustable current limiting
Its pretty flat around here without a lot of trees.  Much of my transmissions will be over open water.   
There are some things I'm not real clear on .

1: Before I bring COAX into the house I need to figure out how to ground the Antennae. Do I just solder on a ground strap at the horizontal member?
2: I understand that there is a lot of factors about distance.  Assuming that I get a decent  SWR match on UHF what can I expect for UHF performance. 
3: I only have Linux computers easily available.  Are there any programs that will let me set up my frequencies on the FT-7900? I would be willing to use WINE if that is what it takes.
4: Does my Setup sound reasonable any tips for a real newbie

TIA

I'm such a newbie that I have never even operated a ham radio.
I also live on an island although more urban with not many trees.(Galveston)  I have used GMRS hand held to Hand Held reliably at 4 to 5 miles or more, at around 462MHZ  So I believe that UHF to base in your situation will work very reliably, and Probably so will VHF.
If you have family who will go wondering around you might consider GMRS if they don't have a Ham license.  1 GMRS license covers the family.
 

I am a new Technician ticket holder, and am looking to purchase my first radio.  I am interested in the IC-7000 but this one looks more promising  for computer/remote functions.   I just hope it isn't a lot more expencive. so far I haven't seen any pricing information. 

If I were a gambler I would bet we will see something this week on prices.

I would be interested in a Linux/Ubuntu version.  I like to think I would pay for it, but most of us Linux users are pretty tight about paying for software. 

It might depend on what kind of math you are doing. 
I find Python deals with this pretty well, and will use C++ over C when I'm doing a lot of these calculations. 

I've been out of town, sorry for being so slow to respond Thanks for all the good advice.
Its pretty clear I need to hook up with K0KS and the North County people.
Ray,

K5IZN

Thanks all for the advice. There seems to be quite a lot of repeaters here.  I think I'm going to be mostly interested in learning how to help in regional disasters. We are in hurricane country here. and I was thinking I would love to help out by relaying messages.  My thoughts are this would be done on the 6 or 10 meter bands over ranges of 20 - 50 miles.  I have no idea if this would be practical or what normal protocal would be.  I suppose this is where i need to check up on the local groups.
Maybe my energies would be better spent getting a good scanner to get me by untill I can get set up for real.
Thanks
FF5IZN
Ray ...

I just took the technicians  test and got my call Letters.  Its been one of those things I always wanted to do but just never got around to it.  Am pretty excited, but to tell the truth I am not sure where my next step should be.  I don't own any equipment and have a pretty small yard with neighbors all about me. 
I am looking fondly at the IC-7000. It seems to be a popular radio, and will give me access to a lot of the bands.  I don't know any other hams, and at this time I really don't have much time to join up in any clubs.  Although I would love to eventually join up with some of the emergency services people in this area (Galveston TX), 
My frame of thought is to put up antennae that will work on the 70cm and 2, 6 and 10 meter bands. I would like to work some of the digital modes, like RTTY or PSK13 AND RTTY. 
Am I being reasonable? is the IC-7000 a good choice for a complete newbie?  Are digital modes used much on the bands I have privileges.  Its becoming aparent to me that I can spend more money on antennae than on the electronics.  I'm on an island here, so an omni will send half the energy into the gulf  of Mexico. What kind of reach can I expect operating a quarter wave whip? the land is very flat here.   
Thanks,
KF5IZN