Jim,

If the ISS goes HF, I suspect that they'll be more interested in working DX via the "skip" into the next galaxy than with us little guys down here!!  :-}

Terry, WØFM

Hi Chris.

A lot of hams have gone through the same things you are experiencing.  I remember thinking that the equipment manufacturers would do well to design "programmable band markers" into their rigs, where it would inhibit transmissions outside the limits.  They all do that now with regard the the edges of the ham bands.  It would seem to be a relatively simple feature to expand the "band limit" markers to "sub band" markers for Tech, General, Advanced.  In the meantime, keep the charts handy and have fun.

73,

Terry, WØFM

I have 211 DX countrys confirmed using 100 watts into an Alpha Delta DX-EE (10-40) multi band antenna in my attic.  I can pretty much work anything I can hear with the DX-EE and the neighbors don't have a clue.  Good luck.

73,

Terry, WØFM

I had a similar problem with my FT-1000MP.  I had the same problem with my LDG "vacation" auto-tuner as well.  Since I had successfully solved the problem with the LDG tuner by slightly changing the length of the coaxial feed line, I opted to try the same approach with the FT-1000MP.  

I changed the RG-8X jumper between the '1000MP and my low-pass filter from a 3' jumper to a 6' jumper and the tuning problem went away.  (Of course, it may have just moved to a different band and I just haven't found it yet!)  Nevertheless, it's a easy fix to try.

73,
Terry, WØFM

Excellent point Steve.  There is NO ELECTRICAL CODE in the county where my boat is docked and my dock's electrical wiring is a perfect example of why there should be!

Terry WØFM

True that at midnight, most engines are not running, but, my experience has been that if anyone is staying overnight on their boat, inverters, generators, bilge pumps, cheap refrigerators, fresh water pumps, etc are likely to run off and on throughout the night.  My generator and inverter run all night and my bilge pump and refrigerator comes on occasionally.  Have you ever held an RF sniffer near the mercury vapor lamps that dot the shoreline and docks at most marinas?  My dock neighbor has flourescent lights in the cabin of his cruiser that destroy reception on my radio until he goes to sleep (3AM sometimes!).  Multiply that potential times the number of boats in the harbor at night.

Obviously, daytime would be worse with diesels, etc., but I wouldn't be too quick to rule out electro-mechanical noise in the harbor at night.  It goes way beyone simple engine noise.

73
Terry, WØFM

Is that an Inverted "I" or an Inverted "L"?  Terry, WØFM

I chased birdies for months on my FT-847 only to discover that many modern TV's have processors that run continuously, even when turned off.  If you decide to check your TV as a possible source of birdies, you may need to actually unplug your television in order to determine if it is the culprit.  For the most part, today you can't rely on simply turning the TV off.  73, Terry, WØFM

I have halogen track lighting in my basement radio shack and they cause me no problems whatsoever during reception with coax or ladder line.  However, I have some halogen "puck" lights in the kitchen cabinets upstairs that are so noisy I have to shut them off to hear on HF.  Until I get the time to try filtering the puck lights, I'll just have to live with running upstairs and shutting them off when rare DX pops up.  Good luck.  Terry, WØFM

Having been licensed for 41 years, I have seen our hobby transition from a group of very polite and courteous folks to a "mostly polite" bunch with a sprinkling of idiots that most of us would not care to be associated with in any venue.  Fortunately, the pendulum has begun to swing (albeit slowly) back towards the group favoring "law and order".  From what I have seen, Riley Hollingsworth has been a pivitol factor in a return to order on the ham bands.  Not because he is better than anyone else (his license class is unimportant to me) but, because he has the resources availble to him and because he cares about the hobby that he is a part of.  One person alone will not make a difference.  Each of us can contribute.  Not by becoming the "radio police", but by providing support to Riley and those who work to keep our hobby enjoyable. We should consider ourselves lucky to have Riley and his resources available to us.  It is the most promising approach to cleaning up our own back yard that I have witnessed in years!  Terry, WØFM

I wrestled with this issue while building my LDG antenna tuner where I needed to construct almost a dozen coils.  I was going through X-acto blades like crazy.  Then I pulled out the trusy old Dremel tool, attached the small grinding wheel and polished the red enamel right off the wire.  The end result left a very bright and shiny copper wire with virtually no enamel or residue remaining (it was a lot easier on the fingers too!).  73, Terry, WØFM

Like Matt, I have also used the Hamstick dipole, both horizontally and vertically with good results.  One thing to remember, if you are using a Hamstick (or Hustler, or Valor, etc) dipole VERTICALLY by configuring two mobile radiators "end-to-end", be sure that the antenna connected to the center conductor of the coaxial feed line is UP and the antenna connected to the braid of the coax is DOWN.  Have fun.  Terry WØFM

There is a saying in the business world:

      *HIGHEST QUALITY
      *LOWEST PRICE
      *BEST SERVICE

"Feel free to pick any TWO!"

If it is low price you are looking for, you can probably also expect EITHER quality OR service, but (usually) not BOTH. The vendor cannot afford to provide all three and remain profitable and competitive.

Appears to me that this vendor chose to provide a QUALITY product at the LOWEST PRICE and, as a result, there was insufficient profit on the sale to provide anything beyond simply GOOD service.  Terry, WØFM

Congratulations Ruth!  Welcome to the greatest hobby in the world.  Have fun.  Terry, WØFM

Thanks guys.  Good points and exactly the kind of info I was looking for!  I'd be interested in seeing further on Steve's buddy's testing.

Terry, WØFM