K3MRI

So, that's also a really good question and one which other Elmers might answer better, but I'll give it a shot. First of all, a coiled choke has a purpose, to reduce common-mode current that may bring RF into the shack. As such, in all cases, you would rather have the choke nearer to the tuner than to the connection. Secondly, I will point you to an interesting, albeit technical paper on chokes: I will add that you should only use a choke if you experience noise - generally speaking. One reason is a loss of power through heat. When he common mode signal hits the choke and creates a magnetic flux inside, lots of energy is lost (hysteresis and perhaps other effects) as heat. You're reducing energy. Another thing to consider is whether or not there is a likelihood of common mode noise in your environment. Bad full-bridge power inverters can be one source. Grounding issues are another. If I were you, I would avoid the choke initially, you can always wind the coax later. Let's see how many disagree with me? 😎

Hi Tim. Moved the question to a new thread. Will reply shortly.

So, I'm of three minds. I'll start with the respectful dissent 😇 I don't think it'll be a slippery slope. And if it is, I don't think it'll be per band; no way they could track or enforce that. It could be a price hike down the road; that maybe. As far as to have a fee, or not... Like I said, of different minds. I think that if when I had been licensed there was a token fee to register, I would not have balked. We pay for our driver's licenses, etc. So the $35 does not seem steep. Will I be okay if they kept it free, yup, that too. What bothers me more is the lack of respect for our 'service' while they simultaneously hike the price. If you think that we're valuable enough to charge us, then help us keep the 'service' alive. Let us put up our antennas. Let us keep our bands. And stop blocking legislation in Congress. If you want our money, give us the service 😶

Hi Tim. I'm running out the door so I'll give you the really short answer: bad idea. Why? Simply because there is a golden rule with ladder line, keep it away from anything conductive. Most will give you a formula of two times the width. In other words, keep any conductive element, yes, even carbon fiber 🤫 away. My father had a far better rule, nothing metal parallel to the line at arms length. He was a physicist and engineer so his explanation was very lengthy, and if you'd like, I might bore you with it later. For now, as I run out the door, just don't do it. Find another solution.

Hi Tim. Great question. Impedance is always the name of the game. Any two feed lines, no matter their type, can be connected in series if their impedance matches. In your case, both are 50 ohms so you're absolutely fine. Where you will have a problem, not really a problem but a slight impact, is in loss. If we use 10 Mhz, RG-8X will have 1 db loss per 100-feet. Your 213 will only have 0.6 db loss (obviously, the higher the frequency, the greater the loss). Another issue is always the connector. Connectors are weak points in so many ways. Make sure that if you connection is intended to be permanent, you choose the best possible connectors and properly grease them and protect them from water/humidity. Of course, try to keep the number of connectors to a minimum. An approximate loss for most barrel-type connectors is approximately 0.5 db, so if you introduce two connectors, for example, you're losing an additional 1.0 db. Depending on the frequency, that can hurt. Because you asked, let me give you a slightly more in-depth answer as regards any type of connection, including two coax cables. There is something called PIM - Passive Intermodulation. You really do not need to worry about it in HF frequencies. It only becomes an issue in very very high frequencies such as EHF/SHF or LTE, HSPA and CDMA cellular networks. Again, not your concern, but the reality is that any connection introduces a slight signal distortion. The higher the frequency, the greater the consequence. Finally, make sure you choose a 'good' connector. Remember, if it's a permanent installation, it does not have to be the same as your other connectors. If you tend to use the 259/239 combo, you can still use N-connectors for this particular junction. Also, you have metals options to think about. But connectors were not your question so we'll stick to coax for now 😁 I hope this was helpful and maybe another Elmer will weigh in with their better answer 😇 Jim

Made me think of what I would buy with $10,000. Remember, I live in an apartment... I would buy a plot of land to put up a simple shack, solar powered... a nice couple of masts... Hmm, now that I think about it, what's stopping me?

There were 12 youth ages 19 to 27. I got a firm yes from two of them.they're interested in amateur radio. One called me back this morning to get started! CW rules!

I was raised by a crazy ham who used to have Morse Mondays. On Mondays, all dinner conversations were in Morse.

Hi Bill. Sorry, but it's gone for now 😥 After spending an inordinate amount of money developing what, I thought, was a really cool tool, the developer just dumped the project. I could have gotten angry and gone after him but decided it was not worth the time. I am currently in the process of looking for someone who can program my 'even better' vision. But this time I need someone who is not going to walk away with my cash and leave me out to pasture. So for now, so sorry.

Well, guess what, I had never ever ever thought of it that way, but it's so so true. I love the idea. Guess who's going to try this out this weekend when I'm surrounded by a group of young people... 😎

I'll admit my ignorance by saying that I had never actually thought of the important of a prop guard, especially when doing search and rescue. I had a similar experience on a deployment where there were children around and there was an inverted-V pumping out 1KW. Sure enough, one of the kids was playing just a few feet away when I got there. The operator was mindless and did not notice the child. By the time I got to the little boy, he was literally inches away, just as the op was starting to transmit. Needless to say, my shout was several db above my normal speaking voice (which, as we know, is already fairly loud). So, to circle back to the beginning of this conversation. Should hams self-deploy? The real answer is that it is a complicated one with no straightforward yes or no. As with all volunteering, it can be lifesaving; it can also be life-taking.

Not IMHO. I would leave it absolutely as is. Truly one of your best money-shots ever.

Did you know that you were the very first Canadian 🇨🇦 (other than myself 😎) to have filled out the Census!? Thanks, and thanks for joining Ham Community.

Welcome MaryAnn. You’re joining at an interesting time. We're about to make some big changes. Hope you filled out Ham Census! Again, Welcome!!

Hi Steve. Sorry about that... In the early days of the forum we used to publish the notice with HC/Staff as the author. The problem was that if there were any responses, the 'user' would not be notified, so we started doing it this way. I'm actually, believe it or not, uneasy doing it this way, but I have found no better solution. I think that if someone truly objects some day, I may reconsider. For now, it's a workaround. In all cases, THANK YOU SO MUCH for filling out Ham Census in its very early days of existence. We're hoping it'll grow into a very rich data set that can help all of us to better understand where operators would like the hobby to go. Please spread the good word to your friends and, again, thank you. Jim

Hey Lind. Absolutely! Very cool-looking indeed.

Wow, a sleeping bag for a dog? I had never seen that.

Hi Lind. Wow, some beautiful shots in there!! Three or four of them totally jumped off the screen. Congrats. I guess I'll have to go to Cape May one of these days.

That's a great idea. I'll be there.

An interesting article on the new Kenwood 710G installed on the ISS. http://k0lwc.com/new-ham-radio-onboard-the-iss-is-on-the-air/

Thanks Bruce. Absolutely great resource. I just posted it here: Thanks!!

Reginald Fessenden was also busy: https://www.nps.gov/caha/learn/historyculture/fessenden.htm From the Cape Hatteras website:

It happened in Maryland, USA in 1900, just south of Washington D.C.

Unfortunately, except for the form factor, which I do not like, I know several people, and have worked with them, who swear by the 7100. What's also nice about it is its front end; unlike the 7300 it handles the overload nicely, so it's also a good NCS rig. Of course the question always comes back, with or without vehicle...I'm loving my RM Italy amplifier with my Yaesu 891. But now that the IC-705 has come out I am considering getting it to replace my 891 _ Icom 5100 combo in the car. It's a QRP and QRPp rig so it draws little power. I can see myself running it into my two amps (I have two RM Italy, one HF and one VHF). I'm waiting to get more real-world analyses of the 705 before pulling the trigger. But cost wise, for now, few options beat the 7100 for an all-band, 100-Watt rig. BTW, the 857D was a nice rig. Had one. But it needs a reboot. Considering the 705 launch, one can only guess that the other manufacturers, if the 705 does well, will enter the space with new all-band radios.

Tom, I don't throw out compliments easily, but behind that singing voice lies one heck of a clear-minded EMCOMM vision. Those little Byonics seem well thought out. Had not seen them before. BTW, I agree that making life less exciting for NCS is not a bad thing. After all, it's about the traffic, not the operator. You might laugh, but in my early EMCOMM days in Canada, for local work, we had both VHF/UHF and a good old pager. That pager would be used to send what we now send via Winlink. I still don't know what I would do with my extra 10K... still prioritizing.