I think $250,000 is on the high end for us.  But we might be able to swing something.  We only paid $139,000 for our place here in Tampa back in 2003.  In 2005, we could easily have gotten $210,000 for it.  Now, I'll be lucky if I can even get enough to pay off the mortgage.  But we'll come up with something...this job opportunity is too good for my wife to pass up right now.

The XYL and I may be moving to Colorado Springs.  I've heard that Colorado is the worst state in the country regarding deed restrictions.  I would like to hear from anyone in that area that can tell me what the CC&R/deed restriction situation is like in the Colorado Springs area.  Are there houses available without them?

Alan...do you by chance know what the model number is for Larsen?  I've looked at their web-site and all I can find are a few aimed at GPS and Wi-Fi/WLAN.  I suppose the ones for Wi-Fi would work since the frequency range of XM is just below Wi-Fi.

I am trying to find an XM/Sirius radio antenna that will allow me to utilize the hole in the roof that was drilled for my VHF/UHF antenna.  There has GOT to be one out there somewhere since some cars come with these installed already...but all I can find are antennas that utilize magnets or adhesive.  Does anyone know where I can get one?

As a dispatcher and call taker for the Sheriff's Office here in Tampa, we get calls about this sort of thing.  I've had several people call me and say they got a check in the mail for a large sum of money, with instructions to cash the check, keep X amount for themselves and send the rest back to them.  That should be an automatic red flag right there that it's a scam, but some people are desperate enough they'll try anything.  What ends up happening sometimes is we get called by a bank or check cashing place because someone was foolish enough to believe the check was real and tried to cash it.  Most people know better and call us when they get the check or get an e-mail with the offer to buy something for more than the advertised price.  We tell them there isn't anything we can do...simply don't cash the check and don't ship the item.  If you haven't become a victim, then there hasn't been a crime.  Unfortunately, for each person that knows better, there's someone else who will fall for it.

Frankly, with the weak state of the dollar right now, they'd be better off targeting European countries that use the Euro.

I think both antennas will perform adequately for you.  I don't think there is any real advantage to one over the other.  Although, I do prefer Diamond over Comet...but that's just personal preference.

As for cable, LMR400 or equivalent would be okay to use.  It has 1.5dB of loss per 100 feet at 144 MHz.  Since you're going about 60 feet, your loss will be about .80dB.  That's not too bad...it isn't even 1/4 of your power.

In my case, I was getting into our surround system and chokes got me out of the sub-woofer and front speakers, but did nothing to get me out of the rear speakers.  It wasn't much a problem since the only time we used surround was while watching movies encoded with surround, in which case, I was out there watching as well.  Recently, we got a new A/V receiver from Yamaha.  I took all the chokes off just for the heck of it just to see if the RFI was still there...there was none.  

"Of course they conveniently forget that fact that it takes a LOT of electrical energy to produce the hydrogen to power the fuel cell. And where does the majority of that electrical power come from? COAL FIRED POWER PLANTS!!!!"

This is true...however, one could conceivably build a large solar array in the desert southwest for the sole purpose of producing electricity just to use in extracting hydrogen.  There is also wind and hydroelectric.  Nuclear power is certainly an option, but it has its own set of problems...although it can be produced safely.

Okay, currently I have a BigIR ground mounted in the back yard with 50 some odd radials.  It seems to work well.  However, I thought a little height might help it work better.  Since I can't put it on the roof, I was hoping someone here might know more about antenna theory than I and tell me if this would work:

There's a 6' high chain link fence at the back of the property and there are no houses behind us.  Just a large retention pond.  The fence runs east and west.  I was wondering if I could mount the BigIr on a metallic pole next to the fence with the base at the same level as the top of the fence.  Then, using braid, connect the ground side of the antenna to the top fence support pole, making sure that each section of pole has a good electrical connection.  That would essentially give me a two radials going east and west....then I thought I would install several more at the base of my support pole under the dirt and connect them to the pole itself, which would in turn be connected to the ground side of the antenna.  The purpose of this would be to get the antenna a few feet further from the house and get it up off the ground a little so it wasn't obstructed as much to the north by the house itself.

Yep, it sounds like a variation of the many scams out of Nigeria.

No, K0BG is NOT a joke.  He only stated what should be recommended.  You simply took offense to it.

I, for one, prefer to permanently install my equipment because no amount of tape, velcro or what have you, has ever held my radio equipment secure enough to my liking.  When I go to press a button on the radio, I don't want it moving.  I like a solid feel.  In today's autos that is getting harder and harder to do since more and more of the interior is plastic.  My first car (when I was in high school) was a 1971 Ford Pinto.  That had a dashboard with plenty of metal to attach radio equipment to.

Anyway, if I have to drill into plastic trim, so be it.  But I also try to find a piece that can easily be replaced should I ever get rid of the vehicle or drill my holes in locations not easily seen.  A little hobby putty and some closely matching paint and the holes will be barely noticeable.  

I think hydrogen is the way to go.  Unfortunately, for now, it requires the use of fossil fuel to generate the electricity needed to separate the hydrogen from whatever it is bonded to...on earth, that would most readily be oxygen.  However, technology will improve making the production of hydrogen less expensive and more efficient.  It seems to me, though, that someone could easily build a large solar complex in the desert outside of Phoenix or Tucson, where sun is plentiful, for the sole purpose of making hydrogen.  Although, I suppose it would make more sense to do that near a large water source.  Of course, another problem is the people who will cry, "I don't want to see windmills/solar panels in my neighborhood."  Hey, I'd love to put up a windmill in my backyard.  This would help cut down on my electric bill.  If EVERY home had a small windmill in their backyard, in conjunction with roofs shingled with solar cells, we could cut down on our power demands significantly.  We could then get plug in hybrids and not worry about putting a demand on the power grid to charge them.  And, since we'd be using less oil for gas, the price would come down.  But hybrids present a problem....what do you do with all those batteries once they no longer hold a charge?  

"What makes you think that are licensed hams?
Why would they want to be on the 11 meter band?
Makes no sense..."

Sorry, I've heard CBers on 11 meters AND on "freeband" who admitted being an amateur radio operator...even describing their station down to the tower and HF antenna.  Just face it, amateur radio operators are hypocrites.  They bitch about operating practices of CBers when a lot of amateur radio operators are guilty of the same thing.

I don't know if this is the proper forum for this or not.  I noticed the other day that my transmitted AM carrier on my 746 has an AC hum.  It gets louder and softer as I touch various pieces of equipment (i.e. SteppIR controller, power meter, power supply or RigBlaster).  I thought maybe the noise was caused by the connection between my PC, RigBlaster and radio.  I disconnected everything from the radio with to no avail.  The radio has a DC ground from the chassis to the ground on a power outlet, as does the power supply.  Disconnecting them makes no difference.  I had the power supply plugged into a UPS that the PC is also plugged in to.  I unplugged it and put it in a plug on the wall...also with no effect.  I suspect that the noise is coming from the power supply but I can't think of a way to test that without buying a battery to use as another power source.  I'd also like to find out if it's just a problem with AM or if the hum is on all modes.  And if it is the power supply, which, by the way, is a Diamond GZV4000, how can I get rid of the noise?

Billy,

You should try taking a long hard look at yourself instead of blaming Riley for your problems.