DXA also has presets and the SDX doesn't.



73,
W5WJP

I'll vote for ACLog from N3FJP. Easy to use, reliable and has the same interface as his contest logging software.


73,
W5WJP

VX-5R is a good choice, just don't expect much on 6m with the rubber dickie antenna that comes with it. Nearly indestructable, solid perfomance.

Good luck with your test.


73,
W5WJP

Most rigs will deliver full output until the voltage drops to a point that the rig won't run at all. This is for HF rigs, handhelds may be a little different.
The biggest cause of not getting 100w out is high SWR and feed line losses. By high SWR, I don't mean 10:1, even a slighly high SWR will cause some of the output to be turned into heat. In actual practice, the difference between 100w and 80w is not going to be very noticeable. When the bands are in good shape, power is the least of your problems. When the bands are in poor shape even 1500w may not be enough. Since we are heading towards the bottom of a sunspot cycle, band openings are going to get shorter and fewer for the next 2-3 years, then things will start to get better as we climb to the next peak.

Get a good antenna system and don't sweat the small stuff.


73,
W5WJP

Probably. The directions also say you might need one close to your rig. I went ahead and did both. Wrapped 10 turns loosely around a 3 lb coffee can (it's close to 6 inches) and then taped the coil to hold its shape and removed the can and retaped the coil to hold its shape better. Feedline does not raditate and no RF in the shack.


73,
W5WJP

Ameritron also sells matched sets for thier AL-811H at a lower price than RF Parts. They are the Chinese version and I just paid about $69 for a set. They probably will ship to Germany.


73,
W5WJP

I have a Yeasu ATAS120 mounted on the third door of my pickup. It is supposed to work from 40m to 6m. In actual practice , it is a dummy load on on 40 and 6. All the other bands it works like a champ......at lunch I go out to the parking lot and have worked all over Europe, especially into eastern and south eastern Europe. Of course, that was when the bands were in better shape than they have been recently. Don't let the small size fool you, it might not be as effiecent as a big High Sierra or other monster sized screwdriver, but it will work. Oh, did I mention that it is mounted within about 6-8 inches of a 5/8 wave 2/440 antenna too? Detuning doesn't seem to be a problem.

Mount it and try it. If it doesn't work the way you want, there are two options.....1) Move it to a different location and try again.  2) There is always the local hamfest to sell it.

Never be afraid to try something. That's one of the most interesting aspects of this hobby.

73,
W5WJP

The end fed wire up the tree with radials is proably the best idea. Remember there is no "rule" that says radials must be straight. I have had pretty good results with a 12'x12' mat of chicken wire. Wire radials can run zig zag or even run concentrically. Go for it! The best antenna is the one you are making contacts with.



73,
W5WJP

Don't worry about isolating the rig from the computer until you are going to transmit. The only reason for isolation is to keep RF out of the computer. A shielded audio cable like yhou mentioned is enough to recieve, but you will have to adjust the volume to be able to recieve without overloading the soundcard. Use the decoding program's waterfall drive controls.



73,
W5WJP

The wiring in your cigarette lighter is not heavy enough to use with a mobile radio. Most mobiles use about 12 amps and will overheat the wiring in your lighter and might casue a fire. Run a separate 10 or 12 gauge wire from the positive terminal on your battery and another one to any convienant ground (like a bolt under the dash). Make sure each line is fused.


73,
W5WJP

Go to eBay under ham radio accessories and search for mast. There are several people selling ALUMINUM mast that are about 44 ft. These are plenty strong enough for VHF/UHF. They come in 4 ft sections so you can put up as much as you need. The price is not as high as the push up poles and they are UPSable.   One of the sellers is located somewhere near you too.
I built an aluminum swivel base for one and it works great. They also have fiberglass masts the same height but the one I tried broke when six of us tried to raise it with a 40m dipole on it. Several sections cracked near the joint. So I would stick to the aluminum ones.

73,
W5WJP

When I was learning code, I tried almost everything available. Morse Academy was good but required you to copy 100% correct to advance. Code quick with it's little rhymes drove me crazy.... kanagroo for K etc. Tapes and CD's are good but I found that by the third time I played it, I had it memorized. G4FON is the best. You start a 0 wpm pass your test and then keep using it to build speed. G4FON really did an excellent job with that software.


73,
W5WJP

When you take your 5 wpm code test, you can use a typewriter of computer to copy the code. You must supply the computer or typewriter. If you don't get the questions on the quiz right, you can still pass by having a string of 25 characters copied correctly. Numbers, puncutaion and prosigns count as 2 characters. So for the test I would still copy the code character by character. I am a VE and have seen many people pass by having a string of characters copied correctly. Our VE team will allow the use of typewriters or PC's to copy the code too.

On the air, my code is not very good but I write down call signs, names and qth's and little else.

73,
W5WJP

While I was in the military, I was stationed in JApan for a while and thought I could get some very good deals on all sorts of electronics. Was I in for a shock! Prices in Japan were much higher than in the US (in order to remain politically correct, I won't go into details). My guss is that your 7706 would be cheaper in the US than in Japan. The only differences in the rigs would be in the VHF/UHF  side, like the European versions of most rigs because the frequncy allocations are different.

73,
W5WJP

Several years ago, I had a Turtle Beach sound card, I can't remember the exact model but even though they said it was SoundBlaster compatible, it wasn't. There were some programs (not Ham related) that would casue all sorts of problems inculding the reboots you mentioned. I dumped that card and bought a genereic el cheapo and it worked perfectly. There are SoundBlaster compatible cards then there are SoundBlaster compatible cards. Oh, Gateway PC's are not as proprietary as some would like you to believe. They are pretty generic as are most of the PC's sold these days. Even Compaq has gone pretty generic.

Try this:
1. Disinstall all sound card drivers for both onboard and the Turtle Beach. Remove the Turtle Beach card.

2. Shut the PC down.

3. Boot and go into BIOS setup. Disable the onboard sound card.

4. Shut down and install the Turtle Beach card.

5. Boot. Windows should recognize the new hardware installed and ask for drivers. Install the Turtle Beach drivers.

6. Might have to reboot to have Windows recognize the drivers.

7. If you still have a problem, go into the device manager and look at the Turtle Beach card. It will tell  you if you have an IRQ or DMA conflict (depending on the version of Windows you have).

If you have any version of Windows except W98SE, Win2K or XP, upgrade to at least Win2K or XP. W95 and ME can not handle some of the newer perpherials. Windows ME is especially bad in this respect. Windows 98 SE is rapidly becoming obsolete too, but should be able to handle a newer sound card. Good Luck!


7,
W5WJP