Invalid...as in you can't goto the site? I know, it's an available domain name for someone to register and run their OWN website with.

Available as of this posting:

www.hambasics.com

Potential business opportunity (Morse tutor software perhaps?) Who knows, go and register it if you like, just thought i'd throw it out there for the folks looking for their own ham domain.

I'm sorry if any of you were offended. My intentions are to promote license upgrades via the use of "group icons". I have made it so that when you upgrade (General or higher), you progressively have more forum features available to you. You will not automatically be placed in a class-specific group, you must request to do so, it is completely up to the individual to join one of these groups. I hope this helps to clear things up. I welcome any and all Amateur radio operators on my website (Regardless of license class).

73,
Brandon

www.hambase.com, features chat and forums.
Our forums will place a license-class image below your avatar to show your fellow amateurs what class you are.

The "magic" of 6 meters is it's unpredictability and different propagation that you can use to make some contacts on this band. I'm quite active on 6 meters myself, and what I've learned is that you must have patience with this band, openings can happen to anywhere from many hours to a few minutes and if you're not there, you're gonna miss it. Once the band is open, you will have no trouble contacting stations, there are many active hams on 6 meters....sitting there...waiting for the openings, you'll also have no problem knowing when the band opens, because it "comes alive". Do some studying on the 6 meter band, there are many websites devoted to it, keep watchin' the prop logger to know when you may be expecting an opening. Pay attention to sunspot numbers, and all that crap. Hope to catch you on the air sometime. In between those openings, crack open the book and start studying for your General ticket and start studying your code.

73,
W8XTR

Depending on where you live, you need to worry MORE about ice getting in the spaces on the line rather than metal.

You should have no problems. You probably ended up doing too much uneccessary work regarding running it through your window, but hey better to be safe than sorry. Ladder line won't give you problems with metal unless say you're running length-wise WITH your rain gutter or something like that. I have a great QST article regarding ladder line available upon request by emailing me at: soldierboy101st@yahoo.com

73,
W8XTR

I must respectively refer you to this article:

http://www.forcvec.com/bplcoop/

BPL is already being implemented in Virginia. So it's not a matter of IF, it's a matter of, now what are we going to do.

Got it! Disregard posting.

Now, I know what you're thinking. "Oh geez, another BPL thread, I'll just starting posting that you're beating a dead horse, now..." But before you do, at least take a few minutes of your precious time and read my post. Afterwhich, if you still want to post your "shuddup about it already", then by all means knock yourself out.

Many Amateur Operators really care about the affects that BPL can have on this hobby (at least the ones who give half-a-crap about it, ie the ones who matter). I've been thinking and thinking and thinking about this matter extensively, as I'm sure many of you out there have. I've written my letters also, and have posted my disdains as has everyone else. I've come to a profound conclusion, as again, I'm sure many of you have, that BPL is and WILL go forward as planned, it's just a matter of time.

So, instead of posting more rants, I would like to start a thread of what, we as amateurs, can do once this is implemented. I've not been in this hobby long (5 years), but I know that it has faced many challenges and changes along it's bumpy road. We, as amateur operators, must adapt, as we always do, and I think history has shown that we adapt quite well. Sure, sure we bicker and squabble about changes and detest them with all that we are, but in the end, if our squabbling has no affect, we simply adapt.

With that said, I would like to ask the professional operators out there, who have been doing this for a very very long time, and who have dealt with many changes to the hobby over the years, to post ideas of what can be done once this is implemented. I've not the experience to definitively come up with a way to circumvent the affect of BPL on our frequencies, but I have ideas....and ideas, in the end are what ultimately drive this nation. One of my ideas, again, as I'm sure many of you have thought of, is for a simple band-pass filter. Do I have any idea if existing filters work for this? No, I do not live in an area where they are testing BPL, but perhaps some of you do and can test existing filters. If existing filters don't work, then mass experimentation needs to be done with filters so that we CAN eliminate this interference.

I'll close by saying that I think that filters of many different degrees are going to become increasingly important to our hobby as technology and time marches on. I welcome any and all comments on the topic of what we can do once BPL is implemented. Thank you for reading.

--------------
73,
W8XTR
"People sleep peaceably at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
                                                               -George Orwell

Go here: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2004/06/18/8/BPL-and-HF-web.mpg
and check out the video, it will give you a clearer picture of how BPL affects you.

It's called "Getting the most out of your antenna" written by Chuck Hutchinson in the July '83 issue of QST, page 34. How do I know this but not have the article? It was referenced in another article that I recently read. I do not have back issues of QST, if at all possible I really don't want to purchase one either. Am wondering if anyone has the article in electronic format. Please email me if you wouldn't mind givin' it to me. soldierboy101st@yahoo.com   Thanks.

BTW: I know it's in some ARRL books also, which I do not have, one at least, that I know of, is: "Simple and Fun Antennas"

What would be the formula to calculate the length I need to adjust the hamsticks, on my hamstick dipole to work on bands other than 20m, in the least I should be able to adjust them to be resonant on 17meters and 15meters as well. I have the length that they are now for 20m, knowing this, there should be some way to calculate the length for other bands. Forgive my idiocy, I just haven't been doing this stuff long enough. I have directions to show how to make them resonant for 20m but nothing else. Thanks.

73,
W8XTR

Nope wasn't the coax, the tuner is actually what brought the SWR down, I just upgraded the coax because it has lower loss and it's what I should be using in a fixed station.

Just to add. Made my very first HF contact with W7JCM in Springfield, Oregon who said I was pingin' his meter!