Thanks Gene and Bill, I really appreciate the responses. As for RTTY, I'll give it a shot! I've been messing with PSK31 a bit and I've been wanting to give RTTY a try.

73,
Ryan
KJ6MSG

Well, I took the exam, passed, and now I'm an Amateur Extra! I was first licensed a Technician in February 2011 and then upgraded to General in July 2011. I thought I'd be good there, but I found myself desiring more bandwidth and privilege, so I just went for it. My education is in Electrical Engineering, so most of the theory wasn't an issue (except for some of the odd items like vacuum tubes and such), it was mostly the regulations and finer points that I had to study for. Anyway, I can't wait to get on the air with the new license!

Thanks for the amplifying information. I see both sides of the problem now... I guess not all hams are as computer savvy as I thought, plus compounded with the problem of a club call sign not having a LOTW account. Now... with that said, what are the odds of a QSL card being replied to if the logs tend to get trashed? I know FD is not a contest, but it sure is a great way to fill in the WAS gaps in my record!

Everything is correct... I finally got one LOTW confirmation today. Most of my contacts were SSB, though a few were PSK31. From searching around, it seems Field Day people tend not to use LOTW for whatever screwy reason.

It's been 3 weeks since Field Day and I haven't had a single QSO come through LOTW. Does anyone use LOTW for Field Day QSOs? If not, why the heck not?

Let me first say that I am in no way affiliated with Hamcity.com.

I would like to relay my positive experience with Hamcity.com and Josh Whealdon. I purchased a Yaesu FT-817ND from them on January 3, 2012. Unfortunately, as we all know by now, Yaesu had serious shortfalls with the FT-817ND due to the tsunami and subsequent destruction of their facilities. I received constant updates from Josh at Hamcity.com on the status of my order and the progress from Yaesu. Each time I was offered the ability to cancel my order, due to the unspecified length of delays. I chose to keep my order because I knew from previous experience that the customer service and prices at Hamcity.com can't be beat. Finally, I received my FT-817ND today, still constantly updated on when it arrived at Hamcity, when it was packaged, and when it shipped. I'll certainly be a repeat customer!

My second HF contact ever was to Russia with 5W SSB to a speaker wire dipole. Over 5000 miles on a crappy antenna! It can be done

I just heard from Hamcity.com today and I have received my confirmation emails that my FT-817ND has shipped! For reference, I ordered the radio sometime in January. They're finally back in production!

Just heard from Hamcity.com... They get them in next week!

The last I got from Hamcity.com was that they pushed it back AGAIN due to firmware changes for the new LCD. No date was given, Yaesu has stopped given dates. I'm still holding on to my order, since Hamcity had and continues to have the best price.

Fellas,

I have some bad news. I just heard from Hamcity.com that Yaesu will not be delivering as promised for the middle of March (aka now). They have pushed back delivery again and this time they will not attach a date. Looks like more wait time.

73,
KJ6MSG