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Date: Wed, 25 May 94 06:09:12 PDT From: Info-Hams Mailing List and Newsgroup <info-hams@ucsd.edu> Errors-To: Info-Hams-Errors@UCSD.Edu Reply-To: Info-Hams@UCSD.Edu Precedence: Bulk Subject: Info-Hams Digest V94 #572 To: Info-Hams Info-Hams Digest Wed, 25 May 94 Volume 94 : Issue 572 Today's Topics: "for ID" 2 meter thru-glass Daily Summary of Solar Geophysical Activity for 24 May Ham Radio & More Show Obstructing justice Perry, GA, Hamfest Reply to: Info-Hams Digest V94 #469 RF Overload in an FT-767 ? SkyWarn Patches Send Replies or notes for publication to: <Info-Hams@UCSD.Edu> Send subscription requests to: <Info-Hams-REQUEST@UCSD.Edu> Problems you can't solve otherwise to brian@ucsd.edu. Archives of past issues of the Info-Hams Digest are available (by FTP only) from UCSD.Edu in directory "mailarchives/info-hams". We trust that readers are intelligent enough to realize that all text herein consists of personal comments and does not represent the official policies or positions of any party. Your mileage may vary. So there. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 25 May 1994 12:28:39 GMT From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!agate!howland.reston.ans.net!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!news.ess.harris.com!news@network.ucsd.edu Subject: "for ID" To: info-hams@ucsd.edu In article <2rtrkn$o3d@mary.iia.org>, denglet1@mary.iia.org (Tom Dengler) says: >GR>There isn't >GR>any good reason to say "73" to someone when it is just as easy to say "Bye," >GR>but for cripes sake, don't say "73's." > >Good advice, but pray tell, what is the difference betwixt 73 and 73's. > "73's" is the contraction for "73 is" as in, "73's a number that ham radio operators use very often." or "73's" is possessive as in, "73's use among ham radio operators is extensive." Harv ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 May 1994 06:38:57 GMT From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!swrinde!emory!rsiatl!ke4zv!gary@network.ucsd.edu Subject: 2 meter thru-glass To: info-hams@ucsd.edu In article <1994May23.091134.488@atlas.tntech.edu> jmg@tntech.edu (NAME JEFF M. GOLD, MGR ACS) writes: >#1) how does a thru the glass 2 meter antenna actually work? Poorly. :-) Generally, the theory goes that a halfwave radiator doesn't need a groundplane, and can be end fed as a very high impedance. This coupling is capacitive using the windscreen glass as the dielectric. >#2) what are its disadvantages? The primary disadvantage of thru-the-glass antennas is that the coax isn't properly decoupled for stray RF. Because of the very high electric field at the feed point, and because the coax shield isn't effectively grounded, there's often a very large RF current induced on the outside of the coax shield. This leads to the typical problems of RF in the cabin. It's often so bad that the coax does the majority of the radiating. I had an Avanti that actually performed just as well with the external whip removed as with it in place. Of course RF got into the instruments, the entertainment radio, and the vehicle's control electronics. It also put a field strength inside the cabin above ANSI safety limits. Then there's the other problem of having the radiator mounted below the greenhouse. The pattern is asymmetric. Never mind the radiating coax for a minute, the whip itself fires RF through the cabin. If mounted on the windshield, the RF is aimed at the driver's face and eyes. A thru-hole antenna mounted on the center of the roof avoids all these problems. The coax shield is properly grounded and decoupled, and the pattern is in the clear and symmetric. Very little RF is in the cabin. All those advantages for one little hole. Gary -- Gary Coffman KE4ZV | You make it, | gatech!wa4mei!ke4zv!gary Destructive Testing Systems | we break it. | uunet!rsiatl!ke4zv!gary 534 Shannon Way | Guaranteed! | emory!kd4nc!ke4zv!gary Lawrenceville, GA 30244 | | ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 May 1994 22:56:47 MDT From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!agate!howland.reston.ans.net!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!nntp.cs.ubc.ca!alberta!ve6mgs!usenet@network.ucsd.edu Subject: Daily Summary of Solar Geophysical Activity for 24 May To: info-hams@ucsd.edu /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ DAILY SUMMARY OF SOLAR GEOPHYSICAL ACTIVITY 24 MAY, 1994 /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ (Based In-Part On SESC Observational Data) SOLAR AND GEOPHYSICAL ACTIVITY INDICES FOR 24 MAY, 1994 ------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: Energetic electrons at greater than 2 MeV finally returned to normal levels today. !!BEGIN!! (1.0) S.T.D. Solar Geophysical Data Broadcast for DAY 144, 05/24/94 10.7 FLUX=077.9 90-AVG=085 SSN=022 BKI=3543 2233 BAI=018 BGND-XRAY=A5.5 FLU1=1.3E+06 FLU10=1.4E+04 PKI=3543 3333 PAI=019 BOU-DEV=034,083,042,038,017,018,022,032 DEV-AVG=035 NT SWF=00:000 XRAY-MAX= B7.3 @ 0652UT XRAY-MIN= A4.6 @ 2056UT XRAY-AVG= A7.1 NEUTN-MAX= +002% @ 2115UT NEUTN-MIN= -003% @ 2345UT NEUTN-AVG= -0.4% PCA-MAX= +0.3DB @ 1650UT PCA-MIN= -0.4DB @ 0020UT PCA-AVG= +0.0DB BOUTF-MAX=55336NT @ 2214UT BOUTF-MIN=55291NT @ 1703UT BOUTF-AVG=55316NT GOES7-MAX=P:+000NT@ 0000UT GOES7-MIN=N:+000NT@ 0000UT G7-AVG=+078,+000,+000 GOES6-MAX=P:+159NT@ 1752UT GOES6-MIN=N:-106NT@ 0730UT G6-AVG=+105,+033,-042 FLUXFCST=STD:077,076,075;SESC:077,076,075 BAI/PAI-FCST=015,010,010/015,010,010 KFCST=2334 4322 2233 3212 27DAY-AP=005,004 27DAY-KP=1122 2211 1111 2111 WARNINGS= ALERTS=**245STRM:0641-0720UTC !!END-DATA!! NOTE: The Effective Sunspot Number for 23 MAY 94 was 38.9. The Full Kp Indices for 23 MAY 94 are: 2- 2- 1o 2o 2+ 3- 3- 3o The 3-Hr Ap Indices for 23 MAY 94 are: 6 6 4 9 9 11 12 17 Greater than 2 MeV Electron Fluence for 24 MAY is: 6.8E+06 SYNOPSIS OF ACTIVITY -------------------- Solar activity continued at a very low level. Several B-class flares were detected. The visible disk is now almost spotless. Solar activity forecast: solar activity should continue very low for the next three days. The geomagnetic field was at unsettled to minor storm levels for the first half of the period. Quiet to unsettled conditions were observed during the latter half. This disturbance is attributed to a coronal hole in the northwest quadrant. This was the first rotation this hole produced a terrestrial disturbance. Energetic electron fluxes dropped to a normal background near 24/0500Z. Geophysical activity forecast: the geomagnetic field should be unsettled to active on 25 May with some minor storm conditions expected during local nighttimes. The disturbance should then subside since the source coronal hole is about 2 days (28 degrees) wide. Mostly unsettled geomagnetic conditions are forecast for 26-27 May. Event probabilities 25 may-27 may Class M 01/01/01 Class X 01/01/01 Proton 01/01/01 PCAF Green Geomagnetic activity probabilities 25 may-27 may A. Middle Latitudes Active 40/30/20 Minor Storm 15/10/10 Major-Severe Storm 05/01/01 B. High Latitudes Active 40/30/20 Minor Storm 20/10/10 Major-Severe Storm 05/01/01 HF propagation conditions were normal over all regions except for a few minor periods of signal degradation for transauroral circuits during the periods of enhanced geomagnetic activity. Conditions have since stabilized back to normal levels. No significant changes are expected over the next 3 days. COPIES OF JOINT USAF/NOAA SESC SOLAR GEOPHYSICAL REPORTS ======================================================== REGIONS WITH SUNSPOTS. LOCATIONS VALID AT 24/2400Z MAY ------------------------------------------------------ NMBR LOCATION LO AREA Z LL NN MAG TYPE 7722 N08W93 121 0250 HKX 03 001 ALPHA 7727 N08W26 054 0000 AXX 00 001 ALPHA REGIONS DUE TO RETURN 25 MAY TO 27 MAY NMBR LAT LO NONE LISTING OF SOLAR ENERGETIC EVENTS FOR 24 MAY, 1994 -------------------------------------------------- BEGIN MAX END RGN LOC XRAY OP 245MHZ 10CM SWEEP SWF NO EVENTS OBSERVED POSSIBLE CORONAL MASS EJECTION EVENTS FOR 24 MAY, 1994 ------------------------------------------------------ NO EVENTS OBSERVED INFERRED CORONAL HOLES: LOCATIONS VALID AT 23/2400Z --------------------------------------------------- ISOLATED HOLES AND POLAR EXTENSIONS EAST SOUTH WEST NORTH CAR TYPE POL AREA OBSN NO DATA AVAILABLE FOR ANALYSIS SUMMARY OF FLARE EVENTS FOR THE PREVIOUS UTC DAY ------------------------------------------------ Date Begin Max End Xray Op Region Locn 2695 MHz 8800 MHz 15.4 GHz ------ ---- ---- ---- ---- -- ------ ------ --------- --------- --------- 23 May: 0619 0624 0629 B1.2 0731 0743 0752 B4.8 SF 7727 N09W04 0908 0914 0924 B1.8 1230 1234 1238 B1.7 1352 1356 1401 B1.2 2103 2107 2113 B1.3 REGION FLARE STATISTICS FOR THE PREVIOUS UTC DAY ------------------------------------------------ C M X S 1 2 3 4 Total (%) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --- ------ Region 7727: 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 001 (16.7) Uncorrellated: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 005 (83.3) Total Events: 006 optical and x-ray. EVENTS WITH SWEEPS AND/OR OPTICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE LAST UTC DAY ---------------------------------------------------------------- Date Begin Max End Xray Op Region Locn Sweeps/Optical Observations ------ ---- ---- ---- ---- -- ------ ------ --------------------------- NO EVENTS OBSERVED. NOTES: All times are in Universal Time (UT). Characters preceding begin, max, and end times are defined as: B = Before, U = Uncertain, A = After. All times associated with x-ray flares (ex. flares which produce associated x-ray bursts) refer to the begin, max, and end times of the x-rays. Flares which are not associated with x-ray signatures use the optical observations to determine the begin, max, and end times. Acronyms used to identify sweeps and optical phenomena include: II = Type II Sweep Frequency Event III = Type III Sweep IV = Type IV Sweep V = Type V Sweep Continuum = Continuum Radio Event Loop = Loop Prominence System, Spray = Limb Spray, Surge = Bright Limb Surge, EPL = Eruptive Prominence on the Limb. ** End of Daily Report ** ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 May 1994 23:18:35 From: news2.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!indirect.com!s146.phxslip.indirect.com!lenwink@uunet.uu.net Subject: Ham Radio & More Show To: info-hams@ucsd.edu The Sunday, May 29th, 1994 Ham Radio & More show features Jim Gray who writes a monthly column for 73 Magazine on Propogation. Jim is very unique in his approach to forcasting radiowave propogation months in advance. You'll find it interesting, informative, & fun to listen to Jim. Ham Radio & More is on the Talk America Network on 22 stations throughout the country and on TVRO, Spacenet 3, Transponder 9, 6.8 audio. It airs every Sunday at 6:00pm EST. 73, Len KB7LPW PS. June 26th features Senator Barry Goldwater, K7UGA. ------------------------------ Date: 25 May 94 08:26:41 EDT From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!agate!howland.reston.ans.net!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!caen!malgudi.oar.net!mercury.wright.edu!desire.wright.edu!matrix.cs.wright.edu!isoper@network.ucsd. Subject: Obstructing justice To: info-hams@ucsd.edu <numerous other contributors stuff removed> >> >>: Well, how about "obstruction of justice," a full-fledged crime? Obstruction of justice is generally an after the fact crime i.e. covering up evidence, interruption of paper work flow through court system, etc. even though dependant how the law is worded it can be applied during the commission of a crime. Back in the early days of CB radio local cops in and around Ohio tried applying the "Aiding and Abetting" angle. However this did not fly too well. Actually I could see why the courts would avoid affirming it because the next logical step in the mind of the "gung ho" traffic cop would be to apply "Organized Crime" laws, here in Ohio this is defined as 5 or more people engaged in a criminal activity on a continuous basis.....Just listen to CB Ch 19 for about 15 minutes capture all those bad guys and you have a racketeering conviction under way. > Well sure, that's Canada. Here in the US we still have the tatters > of a Bill of Rights. In a nearby local town they ran a vicious > speed trap. A farmer put up a sign just outside the city limits that > read, "Warning, speed trap ahead run by local parasites." They took > him to court trying to get it taken down, but they lost. The truth > is still a defense in this country. > We do have a bill of rights but most of the Commonwealth states seems to forget tha fact...Virginia immediately comes to mind with it's silly Radar detector law. My observation from the past couple of years of driving the highways is: As the economy gets worse the state and local tax base suffers therefore, the cops are directed to write more tickets. This is supported by talking with friends who are still involved in law enforcement and who have stated they are being leaned on to produce more tickets by the adminstrators of the jurisdictions. 73, Wes WB8CEH ------------------------------ Date: 24 May 1994 16:42:14 GMT From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!usc!math.ohio-state.edu!mane.cgrg.ohio-state.edu!aus1.robins.af.mil!wrdis02.robins.af.mil!lakeith@network.ucsd.edu Subject: Perry, GA, Hamfest To: info-hams@ucsd.edu CENTRAL GEORGIA NATIONAL HAMFEST PERRY, GEORGIA August 6, 1994 0800-1500 Now is the time to begin planning to attend the Central Georgia National Hamfest at Perry, GA, on August 6, 1994. The hamfest will be held at the Georgia National Fairgrounds, right off I-75, exit 42. Activities include: ** The Boatanchor Forum. ** A Repeater Forum. ** How to become a Ham Forum. VEC testing will be conducted. Walkins accepted. Dealer spaces are available inside. A large Bone Yard space, right outside the main building, is available for FREE! Refreshments available at the hamfest. Lodging is available in the immediate vicinity of the hamfest. Talk in: 146.25/85 If you would like more information, please contact Larry Keith, KQ4BY 231 Shenandoah Trail Warner Robins, GA 31088-6289 912-329-0030 (no calls after 10PM, EST, please!) lakeith@wrdis01.robins.af.mil Hope to see you there! 73, Larry, KQ4BY ------------------------------ Date: 25 May 94 12:16:00 GMT From: news-mail-gateway@ucsd.edu Subject: Reply to: Info-Hams Digest V94 #469 To: info-hams@ucsd.edu KC2WE de W4MUR--Seth, some public libraries carry QST. Try yours, and if they don't have the issue you want, they may be able to get it via inter-library loan. 73, Roland ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 May 1994 07:19:43 GMT From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!swrinde!emory!rsiatl!ke4zv!gary@network.ucsd.edu Subject: RF Overload in an FT-767 ? To: info-hams@ucsd.edu In article <199405231656.JAA26913@ucsd.edu> MAYNARD@URIACC.URI.EDU writes: > > I have a Yeasu FT-767GX exciting an MFJ-962C (1,500 W tuner) and All-Band >er dipole from Van Gordon (135' and balanced feed). I have been playing around > with tuning on a variety of bands and ran into an interesting problem on 15 me >ters. At any frequency in the band (eg. 21.050 to 21.400 Mhz) the sidetone on >the FT-767 overloads, presumably with RF from the tuner. This becomes a proble >m at more than 75 watts output. The SWR is 1:1 between the tuner and the excit >er. Anyone have ideas on the problem and possible fixes? I tried isolating th >e grounds without success. The two pieces of equipment are about 2 feet apart >- should they be farther apart? I appreciate your reply... Ha! Classic RF in the shack problem. You were on the right track suspecting grounding was your problem. Your primary station RF ground needs to be attached to the tuner, and all the other equipment grounded to that point to form a *single point* ground system. If your feed system is really balanced, an effective Earth ground isn't critical, but you have to watch out for ground loops in your installation. The third wire power safety ground can be a problem. It may be a better RF ground on 15 meters than your station ground. So you want to tie it to the single point ground *before* going on to the power outlet. One way to do that is to mount a receptacle box *on the tuner*, and plug your transceiver in there. That will break any ground loop in the power system. (An alternative is to *isolate* the safety ground for RF with a heavy RF choke.) Also, you should be certain that all external cabling to the transceiver is shielded and bypassed properly. All ground leads should be as short, direct, and as low inductance as possible to the single point ground connection. If your feed system isn't as balanced as you think, you will have RF floating on the chassis of all the equipment. If you do an effective job of single point grounding and bypassing, this won't matter because you will have broken all ground loops through which the currents can flow. Otherwise, a tunable ground *counterpoise* may help. This can range from something simple like a halfwave of wire at 15 meters attached to the tuner's ground point and spread out in a straight line. Or it could be as complex as a MFJ artificial "ground" tuner. Take a look at your antenna installation. Does one end of the antenna approach a conducting structure? Or does the open wire line come near metal? If either of these cases is true, your antenna and feed may not be as balanced as you think. Fix those problems by changing routing of the feedline or orientation of the antenna. A truly balanced system will have *zero* net RF on the chassis of station equipment, so an Earth connection isn't required. Any imbalance will result in RF on the station equipment, and effective RF ground loop suppression will be required, and an Earth connection may be helpful. Note: an *unbalanced* antenna system, such as a vertical quarterwave, or random long wire, *must* have a good Earth ground [or it's equivalent, see automobile] for counterpoise, but a balanced antenna doesn't need one. If you do install a station RF ground run (a good idea for lightning protection if for no other reason), it should be straight, short, and as low inductance as possible. Braid or wide copper strapping such as copper roof flashing makes the best ground conductor because of RF skin effect. Flat strap also has the advantage of lower inductance than round wire. A single 8 foot ground rod is usually insufficient termination for a good RF Earth connection. Several rods connected in star configuration, or a set of buried radials, make a more effective RF ground termination. Gary -- Gary Coffman KE4ZV | You make it, | gatech!wa4mei!ke4zv!gary Destructive Testing Systems | we break it. | uunet!rsiatl!ke4zv!gary 534 Shannon Way | Guaranteed! | emory!kd4nc!ke4zv!gary Lawrenceville, GA 30244 | | ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 May 1994 11:06:03 GMT From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!library.ucla.edu!csulb.edu!csus.edu!netcom.com!nduehr@network.ucsd.edu Subject: SkyWarn Patches To: info-hams@ucsd.edu Erik Mugele (erik@csn.org) wrote: : Anybody know where I can obtain SkyWarn (or is it Skywarn, or maybe SKYWARN, : or possibly skywarn... :-) patches? As soon as they get in this : area (Colorado Springs) they disapear. Contact Dave Reichendifer WD0HNQ in Denver. The skywarn group up here in DEN usually carries a full line of patches/bumperstickers/paraphanalia to sell in order to have a couple of bucks to run the classes with. Dave is also available on packet ...not sure of his home BBS but I would think that WD0HNQ@W0LJF would get it to him. Good luck! Nate Duehr N0NTZ N0NTZ@N0RSE.#NECO.CO.USA.NA n0ntz.ampr.org - tcp/ip packet 145.510 mhz Denver nduehr@netcom.com - internet email -- nduehr@netcom.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 May 1994 11:18:25 GMT From: news.Hawaii.Edu!montebello!joe@ames.arpa To: info-hams@ucsd.edu References <1994May23.202758.2452@newsgate.sps.mot.com>, <slayCqBHEJ.5Kx@netcom.com>, <CqBw41.E9F@news.Hawaii.Edu>▒ Subject : Re: Test session wierdos Speaking of test sessions... March 6th I passed my Novice Exam, and I've been eagerly awaiting my license in the mail since. It's going on 12 weeks now. When should I start to be concerned? What's the typical turn-around time in Gettysburg running these days? Now it also turns out I'll be moving to Oklahoma in another month! Legally I won't be required to trade in my snazzy H6 Hawaii call sign (assuming it ever arrives) for a 5 Oklahoma one... but is the current standard practice to do so? (My understanding is that if I keep the Hawaii callsign, to avoid confusion I should sign myself "WH6(something)(something) / 5".) I'd sort of like to keep the Hawaii sign, if it doesn't cause too much trouble... -- /\ /\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\.-.-.-.-.......___________ / \ / \ /Hawaii Institute of Geophysics, Honolulu\/\/\.-.-....__ ___/ \/ \/Joe Dellinger, Internet: joe@montebello.soest.hawaii.edu\/\.-.__ Soon to be relocating to the mid-continental tourist paradise of Tulsa, Oklahoma ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 May 1994 12:50:15 GMT From: brunix!pstc3!md@uunet.uu.net To: info-hams@ucsd.edu References <2ro9qq$4d7@spool.cs.wisc.edu>, <Anthony_Pelliccio-230594123056@138.16.64.55>, <2rud9v$e56@tymix.Tymnet.COM> Subject : Re: Ham Radio few problems! In article <2rud9v$e56@tymix.Tymnet.COM>, flanagan@niagara.Tymnet.COM (Dick Flanagan) writes: |> What is it about Brown that attracts all these self-appointed Gods?!? We're Ivy League. We're just better. MD -- -- Michael P. Deignan -- RI Center For Political Incorrectness & Environment Ignorance -- 'Guzzle all you want. We'll pump more.' ------------------------------ Date: 25 May 1994 05:41:03 -0700 From: nntp.crl.com!crl2.crl.com!not-for-mail@decwrl.dec.com To: info-hams@ucsd.edu References <2q65f5$cvb@bigblue.oit.unc.edu>, <2rjvn9$8gr@hp-col.col.hp.com>, <1994May24.163318.18277@gdc.com>.edu Subject : Re: Six Meter Opening on Saturday Jim Kurdzo (kurdzo@gdc.com) wrote: : Bob Witte (bobw@col.hp.com) wrote: : : I've usually spent my 6M time on SSB (50.125 and up) but last : : weekend played around with FM on the band. It seems that (like 10 FM), : : everyone hangs out on the calling frequency (52.525). Are there : : other preferred FM simplex frequencies commonly used? : When the band gets really hot, it usually spills over onto 52.490. : Sometimes in the fury on 52.525 I just give my call and say "moving to : 52.490". You would be surprised how many guys follow you over there! Then next time we have a killer opening (like this last Monday), I will go to 490 and listen for you guys. Tis the season to be E-Sporadic. Smitty, NA5K -- Henry Smith (hbs@crl.com) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 May 1994 06:18:57 GMT From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!swrinde!emory!rsiatl!ke4zv!gary@network.ucsd.edu To: info-hams@ucsd.edu References <2rb0eq$srh@cville-srv.wam.umd.edu>, <1994May18.061220.16459@ke4zv.atl.ga.us>, <2riq0c$k5l@hplvec.lvld.hp.com> Reply-To : gary@ke4zv.atl.ga.us (Gary Coffman) Subject : Re: Need Advice In article <2riq0c$k5l@hplvec.lvld.hp.com> scott@lvld.hp.com (Scott Turner) writes: >Gary Coffman (gary@ke4zv.atl.ga.us) wrote: > >:What's the point of "working around the world" if you don't have anything >:interesting to *say* to the other operator? Just exchanging meaningless >:signal reports isn't interesting. It has been done to death already by >:others. On VHF/UHF you're much more likely to establish long term friendships >:with other operators, and to engage them in interesting conversations on >:a near daily basis. That's rather rare on HF, except on 75 meters, and >:that's such a zoo of noise and interference that the contacts are rarely >:pleasant. > >Well there's one man's view, and if you take Gary's comments at face >value, you'd believe that HF is a wasteland of "59... also 59, QRZ?". I didn't exactly say that. Much of the operation on HF is like that, but there are people willing to engage in conversation on HF as well. What I was trying to say is that if you restrict your operations to contesting and Dxing, you'll be the poorer for it. Conditions on HF aren't generally as pleasant as on VHF/UHF. There's lots of interference and noise, and propagation is a sometime thing. The tradeoff to that is greater range. What I really wanted to convey is that you should try to have *something to say* when you operate rather than just collecting postal cards. When operating VHF/UHF, you generally concentrate on the *content* of the conversation rather than on signal reports and raw distance. On HF the reverse is often emphasized. You can, of course, operate either way on either section of the spectrum. I think you'll wind up getting more out of amateur radio if you concentrate on content regardless of where in the spectrum you operate. Gary -- Gary Coffman KE4ZV | You make it, | gatech!wa4mei!ke4zv!gary Destructive Testing Systems | we break it. | uunet!rsiatl!ke4zv!gary 534 Shannon Way | Guaranteed! | emory!kd4nc!ke4zv!gary Lawrenceville, GA 30244 | | ------------------------------ End of Info-Hams Digest V94 #572 ******************************