The details you guys (especially AA4PB) have mentioned is great--thanks very much!  I work on computers for a living so I have no problem with serial/com ports.  I think I understand much better now about rig control.  I had mistakenly assumed that boxes like the Signalink USB did that as well as generated the sound output, but I see now that's not the case.

I've seen a couple of different types of the cables that replace the IF232c, but provide a USB connection instead of conventional 9 pin , and I think I'll order one of those.  I've ordered a Signalink USB from DX Engineering, so that should be getting here soon.

Thanks again,
Mike

Thanks guys, this is all brand new to me so I really appreciate your replies.

Doesn't the Signalink use VOX keying only if you plug it into the mic port on the radio instead of the ACC port on the back?

Thanks--the Signalink USB is actually the one I'm looking at.  I like the idea of a stand-alone sound card.  It looks like DX Engineering has a good deal on them, along with the correct cable.

So it sounds to me like the TNC provides the modulation signalling, and the IF-232 interface is just rig control, correct?

Thanks very much,
Mike

I just got my General license and bought a used Kenwood TS-450S, and I'd like to try using it with digital modes.  The owners manual is a little vague, and searches here haven't really told me what I need.

From what I can see if I want to only do CW and RTTY, all I need is the IF-232 or equivalent, is that correct?  Also, I'm thinking if I want to do PSK or MFSK, etc. then I'd also need a TNC like a Rigblaster or Signalink in addition to the IF-232?

Thanks,
Mike

I recently bought a Kenwood TS-450 from Sam, W8SDD, through the eHam.net classifieds and had a great experience.

Sam worked with me on the shipping cost (I'm in Alaska), and was very responsive to my questions.  The radio was very well packed and was exactly as he described.

I couldn't be more satisfied.

Mike
KL3HY

Can you elaborate a bit on this?  I'm not sure I can see how using a CAT-5 extension cable has anything to do with frequency or power, or that it locks you into anything.

Thanks guys, this kind of confirms what I was thinking.  I'm probably going to leave it as-is over the winter.  It works well enough that I can clearly pick up HFGCS stuff on 11175 and 8992 kHz very clearly, and I've been able to check into a couple local HF nets on 75m and 40m.

Next spring I already plan on raising the center mast at least another 4' to get the balun higher, and I'll raise the end of the short leg appropriately.

Thanks again!
Mike

How important is it to stretch the legs of a wire dipole so that they don't droop?

I have a 135' off-center fed dipole and the short leg droops a little.  I'm limited in my ability to move the leg support mast further out because it would mean moving onto my neighbor's fence.  I'm going to approach him about doing just that, but in the event he says no I was curious about the droop factor.

I can also tighten it up by lowering the mast for that short leg, but I would think higher is better even if it means a little droop in the wire, but I could be way off there.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Mike

I'll go ahead and throw my $.02 in here.  Back before I got my General license I had my computer hooked up to my SW receiver with a Y cable that had a pair of RCA males on one end and a 3.5mm mini on the other, and it was unshielded.  Having just got my Tech. license and not knowing much about RFI, it took me a while to trace it to that Y cable. 

In my case, replacing the Y cable with a shielded one made no difference at all.  I was about to order some snap-on ferrite beads when I got my General and replaced the SW receiver with a transceiver.

Anyhow, I'm certainly no authority on RFI, but ferrite beads are relatively cheap and easy to try, assuming your noise source is your audio cable.  The first step of course is to figure out where it's coming from, and until you do that you're just guessing.

I hadn't been thinking so much about the ability to lower the antenna.  It does seem pretty obvious that the rope needs to be significantly longer than the mast, as G0GQK so helpfully hinted at.  I was mainly wondering how far should the wire end be kept from the metal mast.

I'm glad the ability to lower the antenna came up--that's honestly something I hadn't even considered.

Thanks,
Mike

Well, funny you should bring that up--earlier this evening I got another section of steel conduit and raised the end of the longer leg up to about 20'.  I'm not sure I can get it much higher than that though.  It did make a noticeable difference in what I could hear.

Great--this is exactly what I was looking for.

I had read that the leg ends have the highest voltage, which was the basis of my concern about arcing.  I do have the entire length of the antenna at least 15' high (balun is at 30', short leg mast is 18' tall and long leg mast is 15' tall), so I think I should be okay there.

Thanks guys!
Mike

I just put up my first transmitting antenna, an off-center fed dipole, and it dawned on me that the rope lengths I used to secure the legs might be a little short.  I did some google searches on this but came up empty.

The masts I'm using are steel.  I don't think the power I'll be running (100 watts) will be enough to make the ends arc, but I'm not really sure.  I'm also unsure if I'd be harming my transmit and/or receive performance if the ends are too close to metal.  Currently I'm using about 2' of rope to tie the insulators to the masts.

Is there some rule of thumb that deals with this, like "always use a minimum of X feet"?

Thanks,
Mike

Have you verified that your water line coming off the main is copper pipe?