>W8JI

Thank you Tom for taking the time to post that detailed and informative message.  As straight forward and logical as it may be, I had actually never really stopped to think it through at the 'system' level with regard to the negative/gnd connections.

Thanks,
Carlton

Does anyone know of any digital mode (pks31, FeldHell, Contestia, Olivia, Rtty, etc) nets that are currently active?  I'm not interested in the ares/races/emcomm type nets, but rather general purpose nets.

Thanks,
Carlton

That is precisely the reason I will never subscribe to an on-line only magazine.  Too many games, gimmicks, and rights limiting BS, not to mention, it makes it fairly difficult to read in the 'library'. 

These are the same reasons I am not on-board with things like Kindle, as it has done in the past, Amazon on a whim can 'cancel' your book 'license' and you no longer have access to it even though you have paid for it.

I can guarantee you my gut is not a beer gut.....

>You should just simply use the thing as it was designed and intended to be used. 

On the flip side, would their be any harm in leaving it on all the time?  Although I don't have any proof of this, it seems like it would actually be better to leave it on...no thermal expansion/cool down, no 'in rush' current to stress components, keeps juice flowing through the electrolytic caps, etc.  For over 10 years now, I have been leaving all of my computers on (just turning off the monitors) and have never had a problem with any of them.

>Stay away from MixW it is out dated and to pay $50.00 for a outdated program is a waste of time and money.

Not to mention an interface that is the most poorly designed thing I have ever seen.  I would not use that program if someone paid me just because of the awful UI.  I have no idea if the program is good or not, I never made it beyond seeing the main screen and then removing the program.

>Oh gees...I just got my ALS600 SPS switcher back from its SECOND warranty repair at AMERITRON.

Did they say what the problem found was each time you had it repaired?

I am curious because I have the same power supply, although it is fairly new.

Yeah, I have noticed quite a bit recently where the e-bay price was actually higher than mail order retail....what a joke.

<quote>
I've wondered, with all the complaining people do about how the mass media is so horrible, why they don't listen to more shortwave broadcasts?
</quote>

I think a lot of the popular SW broadcasters have stopped broadcasting in the last 10 years or so.  Didn't the BBC just stop recently?

Probably obvious, but make sure you have told DM780 what to use for sound input under the soundcard options.  Are you seeing audio on your waterfall?

>There's GOT to be a better way than RSID.

RSID works pretty well...when people use it...the problem is, it does not seem like a lot of people use it.

I think I would be more upset about them trying to claim lightning damage without really providing any proof of how they arrived at that conclusion than just explaining to me that it is not worth fixing because of the potential problems outlined by the previous poster.

When the keying cord is connected, is the green 'xmit' light lit on the amplifier?
When you disconnect the cord, do you hear the relay drop out?

With cellphones, you are calling to talk with a specific person.  With ham radio, one of the thrills (at least on HF) is that you don't know who you are going to find out there.  While ham radio can certainly be used to fill a communications need in time of emergency, the vast majority of hams use it for fun and relaxation, not a means to an end.  As so many people have said, it's not about the destination but rather about the journey (ie learning, experimenting, etc).

I am not aware of one, however I know that people have tried to start 'youth nets' in the past but I don't believe they lasted.  In general, I think many people would be interested in talking with you, try checking out some of the nets on 40m that run in the evening, or just calling CQ.  In my limited experience, hams are very welcoming to newcomers as well as younger hams just learning the ropes.

73,
k2cmh