K6AER Said: "As for the cell phones causing the electronics to read in-accurately from cell phone that would also be a myth. The power of the cell phone is and low (10-100 mW) and it is a digital packed format the EIRP is extremely low."

Put that cellphone within 4 feet of my computer speakers and it will make quite a racket when an there is an incoming call or text message.  Ditto with an outgoing call or text message.  It all depends upon the electronic equipment near the transmitting device and it's RF immunity.  Will it affect a pump?  Who knows?  Do I think it will?  No.  Do I do it?  No.

73,
Stuart
WB6RXG

WB2WIK/6 Said:

You read the dial like any other dial that doesn't have a digital display.

Prior to the late 1970s, HF transceivers did not have digital displays -- they all had analog dials. Worked for about 70 years...



Steve is absolutely correct.  Just don't get too close to the band edges as the dial isn't accurate enough.

Stuart
WB6RXG

I received a Black Widow Paddle kit for Christmas 2006.  I like it.  It takes a little time to finish it and assemble it.  Anybody who can read instructions can assemble it.  It costs around $65.00.

Take a look at it at http://www.w5jh.net/Black_Widow.htm

I am in no way affiliated with the manufacturer.

Stuart
WB6RXG

W3LK said:

"I am amazed at the number of newbies, many with virtually no actual operating experience (by their own admission!), who seem to think they are qualified to pass judgement on any portion of amateur radio."

I'm not exactly a newbie. Licensed as a novice in 1976. Upgraded to technician in 1977 by testing at the FCC office in San Francisco. I just missed the 13wpm so I took the general test and passed 100%. Became a Tech Plus when the rules changed.

I've been active on VHF, UHF Novice band CW and 10 meter SSB off and on for years. In general my experience on the other HF bands has been positive. I just related my first experience on 75 meters as an extra, and I did everything a good operator should before calling CQ, listen, ask if the frequency is in use, wait, and then call CQ. I got a pretty good reaming. I didn't do anything wrong, the net wasn't going to start for 30 minutes and I hadn't even had an answer to my cq yet. I didn't deserve the response I got from some grunpy oldm men (I'm 52 by the way). I'm just saying that somebody who is a newbie or is simply listening might get so discouraged they would either quit or never even try to get a license. All they has to do was let me know that they had a net starting in 30 minutes and to please be done by then and maybe even invite me to join in. Simple as that. Nice, gentle and welcoming.

If we want new blood in our ham community we need to make it a friendlier place. I do my part, when I hear a new ham on the air I welcome him. If he makes a mistake, like using CB lingo, I don't correct him. As he listens and uses the air he will learn by example how things are done. I have heard some non-hams refer to hams as a bunch of elitist snobs. I wonder how they got that idea. Yes, I earned my license and so did the new guy. Did we take the same tests? No, but we both took a test which required some studying of the rules, procedures and electronics. I have great respect for someone who took the extra test 40-50 years ago. Are they better than me? Are they more knowledgable? I've tought some old extras a thing or two and they me. We need to be just a little more tolerant of the newbies. I guess some of us forget we were newbies once too. I'm sure we all have asked what someone else thought was a stupid question. As my college electronics professor once said "There is no such thing as a stupid question. The only stupid question is the unasked one".

Sorry, I got off an a huge rant. I have been on this board for close to five years and I get fed up with the attitude of some of the people on here and need to vent.

73,
WB6RXG

KB6QXM said,

"I have been off the air for almost 20 years, when we earned our licenses. There were no such things as no-code anything. Yes there were the whiners and they usually stayed out of the hobby as they did not want to do the work to get their license.

Now that you have to send in two box tops and a SASE to the FCC to get an Extra Class, what is the value in that. Something for nothing. Extra class meant something once. You take away the challenge, then you devalue the license. Do you think that the work is to hard for an engineering degree?"

Gee, there's one now!

I don't think the original poster is bitter or guilty, just observant. I have been licensed since 1976. When I ugpgraded to extra in 2004 I received less than a warm welcome when I called my first cq in the 75 meter extra class segment. How dare I call cq on their frequency? It was 30 minutes to their net time! This was after asking if the frequency was in use twice and waiting at least a minute between asking each time and calling cq. I was so discouraged I almost put the rig back in the box and sold it on ebay. Then I got mad and started calling cq 60 minutes before their net time on their frequency every night for several days.  Why not? They weren't using it at the time and I would be done by the time their net started anyway.  How many new hams or new upgrades have the "extra-elites" with a poor attitude chased off never to return?

73,
Stuart
WB6RXG

I hate to burst everyones balloon, but....ICE is an
insulator. It's water that conducts.

Really?  I wonder why my 55 year old RCA designed and built VHF TV Transmitting antenna (channel 12) has heaters on it to keep ice out of the feedpoints?  If the heaters are off and ice builds up the SWR goes up.  That shouldn't happen if ice is an insulator.

Stuart
WB6RXG

K7BKN Said:

"Stuart - have you considered xylophone? Xanthippe?
X-box? Xyster? (look it up!) Or the Greek letter Xi?"

And xenon (radioactive xenon gas, a real substance by the way).  With all due respect most or all of those are pronounced with a "Z" sound by english speaking people with the exception of X-box.  Doesn't exactly reinforce an "X".  You'd need a good command of the english language and be a good speller to correctly understand what the speaker is trying to convey.  I might try X-box though. I wonder how many foreign stations know what an X-box is?

I would have thought that X-ray was universal enough to be understood, boy was I suprised when the DX missed it.

Stuart
WB6RXG

 

I can understand why some people use alternate phonetics especially when the copy gets rough and the standard phonetics aren't working.  But I ask you, half toungue in cheek and half out of a real need, what is a good alternate phonetic for xray?  I've lost a couple of contacts over the years because the DX couldn't copy xray.

Stuart
WB6RXG

Apparantly I'm not too old.

97.119(e) states:
When the operator license class held by the control operator exceeds that of the station licensee, an indicator consisting of the call sign assigned to the control operator's station must be included after the call sign.

Stuart
WB6RXG

W7ETA said

"QTH is just location.

If I'm at a friend's house, operating his station in Casa Grande, which is only licensed for General, and I'm in the Extra/Advanced portion of a band, I sign my call with QTH of Casa Grande."

I thought that if you operated another Ham's station outside of their privelages you had to indentify using both his callsign and your callsign.  Or I am just showing my age and that rule is now gone.  Looking at the current rules now.

Stuart
WB6RXG

If you consider how much steel and concrete are involved in the construction of the tower base and guy anchor points you would understand why they left them behind.  The majority of the structure is underground.  

I was involved with the move and re-installation of a 7.5 meter satellite dish.  The base is 25ft square and 15 feet deep, just a few yards of concrete.  The base we moved the dish from is still there and will be for quite some time.  The other 7.5 meter dish on site sits on a pedestal 10 feet above the ground the 18 inch square steel legs go 30 feet into the ground.

Stuart
WB6RXG

Try WinTone from http://www.personainternet.com/~northscan/files.html

I have successfully used it to decode a touchtone sequence from an audio tape.  It should do what you want it to.

Stuart
WB6RXG

Try using the DJ-V5 without the AC adapter.  I have an Alinco DJ-S41 that hits the repeater just fine (~300mW) on the battery but the AC Adapter introduces enough 60 Hz hum to confuse the repeater's PL Decoder.

Stuart
WB6RXG

Josh,

Happy to hear that you are working it out and have the support of your parents.  This is a great hobby that can open many doors for you in the future.

I'm looking forward to talking to you on 441.400 again.

Stuart
WB6RXG

Don't trim the ends, fold them back on themselves.  That way if you shorten the antenna too much it's easy to lengthen it again.

Also, make sure both sides of the dipole are exactly the same length. At 28mhz you will see higher SWR if the center gets offset as you are moving off of the 75 ohm impedance point.

Stuart
WB6RXG