Trainman52 wrote:
Took the test on Saturday, got my call sign today. EXCELLENT service
from Larkfield ARC, Huntington, N.Y.

Congratulations, and welcome to something I started in 1962 and then
let lie fallow for 42 years. I got my General in January, after my
Novice (WN5EGO) expired in 1963. Something about college and a war.

Now comes the moment of truth. Thanks to Gary for his recommendation
of a VX-150 handheld. At some point in the future, I would also like
to get a mobile to use at home. I've looked at the Astron VS35M as
well as the MFJ-4225MV. The latter looks a little smaller and a lot
lighter. Does it have enough power to run the IC-2100H without a
problem? Are there any issues with this ps that I should be aware of?
Does the supply have to be connected to a ground rod or cold water
pipe? There are really none available where I will be setting up my
"shack". The outlet that I will be plugging it into is a 3 prong
outlet.

W5DNA, my wife, and I have a pair of VX-150 HTs, which came in late
January. Both are now back at Vertex for service, and both show the same
symptoms: low RF levels at the antenna. They failed the same day, which
is suspicious. Until they died, they worked *just* *fine*, and they were
really easy to program and to use. I really do think that we just got a
pair with burn-in problems: she had keyed hers up maybe two dozen times,
max.

Lastly, any recommendations on a reliable mail order dealer? I've
been looking at HRO and they appear to get some pretty positive
feedback.

We got ours from GigaParts.com; good, fast service.

Sorry if I've been rambling, but I'm kind of excited. I thought that
I would be waiting several weeks for the call sign.

They're pretty darned fast about getting new licenses and license upgrades
in: I passed the Extra exam last Thursday, and the upgrade is already in
the FCC database. Wheeeeee!

Rich
KC2NUQ

--
Mike Andrews, W5EGO 5 wpm Extra, but working on getting faster

Tired old sysadmin