If your entry bulkhead is a properly grounded bulkhead, disconnect inside.  If it is a plate that is mounted in a window area without proper ground, then disconnect from the inside--and take the plate out of the window area and toss it on the ground away from the house.

The idea is to keep the charge--and any discharge arc out of your house/shack. 

There again, if you have any sort of antenna system connected through such a 'window feed through plate' without having the antenna systems grounded, you had better rethink your protection plan for the simple reason that even with no storm in sight, any antenna system can still pick up static charges that could come in through the antenna connection--and ruin your equipment anyway.

Look into getting a used office desk, wooden not steel, one with drawers on both sides of the desk including one file drawer.  Then build a hutch above the back half of the desk using melamine shelving or a couple of half doors that you can get from any home building supply store.

The drawers come in handy for storing tools and test equipment, the file drawer can be used for rig manuals and station paperwork (using hanging file folders).  You can get one (a desk) for less than $40 or $50 in a second hand store and the shelving for about $30 to $40.

It seems that every few days in the time frame around six to eight AM Eastern time, this site response time is lagging something awful.  It takes anywhere from 30 seconds to over a minute to get a connection and a page feed during these times, and somehow the situation clears up and the site loads normally (pages load in a few second)  a little later--by 9 AM, give or take.
 
I don't know if this is a server problem (it seems to be) or an ISP problem that the servers are connected to.  My ISP (Comcast, SE Massachusetts) seems to load any other site I frequent normally during those times--except this one.

As I said, this happens every few days.  If it's server maintenance or not, I don't know, but I thought the admins would appreciate knowing about it.  Thanks and 73!

You're still not hearing what I'm saying.  If the programmed channels for TWO services are together on any radio of this type it's too easy to use incorrect identification on either band if you think the radio is currently on a frequency in the other band.  What may be a 'whoops' situation if you transmit on the wrong frequency may well become another thing entirely if that information is transmitted in the wrong band.

As far as the 'education' needed to obtain a ham license---you've got to be kidding!  NONE is required, all that is needed is a good ability to memorize.

If you get a direct hit by lightning, you're going to have some damage.  Even if your ground system is robust enough to dissipate the strike, there is still going to be damage of some nature.  Luckily, most 'strikes' are near misses, and the better a grounding and suppression system you have, the more you can avoid damages to your equipment because the voltage 'spike' that a near miss induces in the co-ax lines still has to go somewhere. 

If the method you employ is disconnection of your equipment, you had also best get the ends of the leads out of your house/shack, because you're right--just leaving them laying on the floor is just as dangerous as leaving them connected to the equipment.  If you have a good suppression system, the charges drain through the suppression system, if not, then they may jump to some ground around your shack area--including the house electrical system.

If you insist on the disconnection method, best that disconnection be done at a bulkhead where the co-ax lines enter the house/shack and the ends of the co-ax lines be put as far from the house/shack as they can be.  The only trouble is that that method is dangerous as well, because most of the time the disconnection is done when a storm is near, and the lightning can jump ahead of the storm by many miles.  If you insist on doing things that way, the best thing to do is to connect your station ONLY just before you're going to be using it--and disconnect it immediately afterwards. 

OK.  I have Thunderbird set up to get my live e-mail, so I didn't see the change at the website yet.  But the live e-mail account I have is working as it always has--that's why I said nothing seems to have changed.

My point exactly.  Niche retailers such as ham radio stores have to--HAVE TO--pay as much attention to the phone customers as they do to the walk-in customers.  If they ignore either, or give priority to one, they're not going to last long, and they know that.  73.

Hotmail services have already been ended according to the news release from Microsoft a week or two ago.  The thing I find interesting is that the 'live' e-mail service is still running, and all that was supposed to be was an extension of hotmail.

Weren't as great as what?  I'd wager to say that the beam would be better than an omni antenna in any event.  You could rebuild them--and possibly improve them a bit--and you would at least have a 2 meter beam for little $$.  If you need a 2 mtr. beam and don't want to spend much it's worth it.

On a similar subject, I got an older Hustler 2 meter colinear and rebuilt it--total cost to me was less than $30.  Beats the better than $170. price tag of a few years ago--a price tag that now is above $200. for a great 2 meter FM antenna.

Well, at least I have one advantage.  I'm not a complete idiot--as you seem to be.  Seems as though I was right.  You're so prejudiced that you can't see straight--or read anything correctly.  Or even quote a piece correctly for that matter.

Trying it again.  Let's say you have ham frequencies programmed into the radio along with 'other' frequencies.  All it takes is a bump to the channel selector to change the channel and put the radio onto a different channel than the one you think it's on.  I'm not speaking of programming at all right now. 

It's still a bad idea to multi-purpose such a radio--and a bad idea for the FCC to permit such radios in the first place.

You first.  Some of the responders on this thread are of the opinion that if someone is simply defending selected ideas, they're whackers.  Well, in my vehicle, I have a 2 meter rig and a scanner.  NOTHING MORE.  And before you assume anything, the scanner is there for reasons other than going to see what's going on--otherwise what used to be known as ambulance chasing. 

Do yourselves a favor and don't assume you know everything because of your prejudices.  You come off both sounding and being worse than the whackers you speak of.

First, no they are not whackers.  The state deems it necessary to put that word there.  Perhaps it's simply there to alert state officials (LEOs) that there could be 'emergency' communication equipment in the vehicle--or that the occupant could be knowledgeable as far as radio communications are concerned.  Personally, I think it's a mistake, but the state of Tennessee does not.  Anyway, who are you to say?

There are many states that have distinctive plate designs for amateur radio operators if those people should desire to have them on their vehicle.  In Massachusetts, it's a 'lightning bolt' separator. (in the middle of the call sign)  We used to have the words "Amateur Radio" on the plate, but those words have been eliminated for years now.

Finally, no, amateur radio operators are not first responders--but there are some first responders who are also amateur radio operators.  It would be to your advantage to be mighty careful who you spout off to, because some of those first responders also have emergency equipment in their cars--including ham radios--and if you went and accused them of being of the 'whacker' mentality, you may well find yourself on the receiving end of some mighty unpleasant experiences.

Then it seems that we agree after all.  The phone still has to be answered in a timely manner!

Good for you.  All I was saying is that if you want to pay the lower prices for stuff from smaller businesses, that price reduction has to come from somewhere.  It's a trade-off.