Aside from the cost, it seems to me the David Clark aviation style headsets would be perfect for amateur radio use. Has anyone used these headsets successfully? Is there a particular model (H10-13, H10-20, etc.) that is recommended and/or better suited for amateur radio use?

I hear references to 'birdies' and I'm wondering if it's what I'm experiencing:

It's present in numerous places on the 40 mtr band, but less so on 20. As I scan the band normally, I come across a pure, loud/clear audio tone that 'stairsteps' up in freq over a fairly wide bandwidth of oh, 10Khz or so (thus the 'birdie' sound?). If I scan VERY slowly, the audio tone simply rises in tone, e.g. no 'stairstepping'.  It's WELL over normal (9db) signal levels and blasts my ears when I come across them.

What causes this? Is it normal or should I have my rig checked?

Right now I'm using 8ga solid copper wire (from each piece of my gear) which leads to a common screw-down 'ground block'.

I'm taking everyones advice and picked up some solid copper strap (.015 X 1.5"). What is the best/most common way to fasten large braid to the strap (e.g. using nut/bolt fasteners or solder)?

Finally, my 'shack' is on the 2nd floor of my condo. Thankfully, my (commercial) 'third wire ground' is to code but I'd like to have an even better ground.  I realize it's not a good idea to have a long run of ground wire but which would be a better, the simple 3rd wire 'house ground' I'm using now or a long 20-30' ground wire/rod (assuming I avoid the run being a multiple of some HF wavelength).

Just wondering why achieving a ground is better using braided copper straps and not (say) a heavy 6 or 8 gauge solid core copper wire?  Is it simpy because a large braided strap is ultimately a bigger 'gauge' than a single large wire?

Or is it something to do with the braid itself (e.g. capacitance/impedance or something otherwise only an EE would love) versus solid wire?  

And what would be the ideal method? Solid copper strap or braided strap?

I can see the arrl bulletin now:

FCC cites peeping tom

Lots of times there aren't enough compliments given to those that selflessly share their time and knowledge to help others.

I just want to give a great big 'THANKS' to all who contribute to the eham.net forums. Saturday I passed my element 3 (General) and I know some of the questions & replies I've read here definately augmented my knowledge base such that I felt much more confident going into the exam.

Recently I moved my gear around, added a few items, etc. and generally redesigned the layout of my 'shack'. Now suddenly I have RF 'leaking' all over the place (Key down lights up my halogen desk lamp!). Obviously I'm not going back on the air till I find out/resolve the problem.

Thing is, I'm finding all sorts of material about measuring RF, exposure limits, etc. but nothing concerning practical approaches of how to *resolve* any 'loose' RF problems other than the obvious (ground everything together, keep the covers on everything, move the antenna higher, further away, etc.)

Any suggestions? Recommendations for material/websites focused on solving RF issues?

Hi N2DUV from another recently relicensed ham in Austin. Drop me an email.

Apparently I've been experiencing the same problems. Thinking it was my installation I've been tweeking this/that and spending lotsa time/$$$ trying to get rid of the noise myself. Maybe my efforts are paying off but last night as N6AJR says, at least 40 & 20 seemed to open up and sound 'normal'.. at least there wasn't so much QRM I couldn't hear anything but the big boys.

I'm in a similar boat (a pox on homeowners associations). You might want to check the Isotron antennas. Wierd but they apparently work (Great reviews here & I have a 20 mtr version on the way).

http://www.rayfield.net/isotron/

Great Info. That'll give me plenty to read! And good idea about OPDX.

Thanks all!

When I was a novice I wasn't too interested in awards, just the thrill of making a contact at all was enough. Now I'm relicensed and about to upgrade to General and planning to shoot for (CW) WAS & DXCC.

I really would like to understand propagation better so I won't just be sending 'blind' to 'nowheresville' at the wrong time of day on the wrong band, etc.. Instead, I'd rather approach it more intelligently.

Online propagation forecasts abound but it's all greek to me. Can someone point me to some good info on the Internet about the factors involved and how to understand/intrepret propagation forecasts?

Well, that settles that... Thanks for the very informative replies.

I'm not even going to bother to test it. Just due to age it looks like it's 'out with the old, in with the new'. OK, it's been a while since I've needed any coax.  I'm running it to the attic (a pox on homeowners associations) so I want to eek out every teeny bit of dB I can. Any suggestions of what/where to buy for HF?

I recently got relicensed and it took about 4 (business) days for my callsign to show up on the FCC database and about 10 days for the license to arrive from the FCC in the mail.  Kudos to the VEC and IMHO especially the FCC as this is amazing efficiency for a US govermental agency.

I'm just now hearing/learning that coax degrades. OK, certainly if abused (flattened, cut/open jacket, severely kinked, PVC jacketed coax left in sun, etc) coax obviously should be replaced but I'm getting the impression from what I read that even if taken care of & used correctly even quality coax apparently degrades over time and should be periodically replaced?

Does this mean I should ignore those $2 coils of coax at the hamfest? Should I ask a vendor 'how long has your cable been stored' before I order a length?

Seriously, the reason I ask is I recently renewed my license and (among other things I had in storage) dragged out a 15 year old 50' length of Belden 8214 to use as a 'feedline' to get back on the air.

Obviously if the jacket was cut/open moisture could enter and corrode/oxidize the shield and that would alter the electrical characteristics but otherwise, if everything is 'normal', which component material comprising the coax (jacket? dielectric?) electrically alters over time and what would be the effect of aging.

Finally (assuming it at least *looks* physically fine) should I replace the old coax I'm using now?  MY SWR (at the transmitter) to the 'I'll throw something up for the time being' antenna is a bit better than 2:1 and my 100w transmitter is measuring about 60 watts. Seems reasonable/appropriate to me. What am I missing?

There is a lot of good info right here on this site as well (see the link on the left menu 'New to Ham Radio?'). A great resource on this site is the Ham exams, an easy to use online test that allows you to practice taking the written exam using questions from the actual FCC question pool.

Also, as mentioned the 'grandaddy' of non-govermental amateur radio organizations is the ARRL (Amateur Radio Relay League), a non-profit organization started in 1914. Go here for LOT's of info on amateur radio:

www.arrl.com