"Michael" wrote in message
...
Indeed, I am a brandy new Technician... I plan to upgrade to General
in short order. I decided to space the tests out a few months appart
as I learn. I already knew a good deal of what was on the Technician
exam from my many years of sw dx'ing and homebrewing. I am also up
near eight words per minute with CW, but that is only with the
learning program I have been using on my PC. I never actually sent
any CW :-) My plan is to get my antenns set up and try some phone on
10 meters where the Technicians are allowed with that mode. I also
have a few friends in the area that are hams that I will cut my CW
teeth on :-) I dont have much interest in VHF and UHF, so I have
every intention of securing my General soon. My real interest is 80
and 40 meter DX. As far as the antenna goes... I've decided to string
up a ladder fed diepole. Seems the best way to go for now... Later on
a yagi :-)

Don't try to read too much into the antennas. Unless you can get an 80
meter up to around 100 feet, just about any dipole will work. I like the
Windom or Off center fed antenn myself for an all around antenna. It just
does not work 15 meters or the WARC bands very well.. I have one up and an
80 meter dipole about the same height (about 50 feet) at right angles to
it. Not much differance most of the time, but sometimes one or the other
will be about 10 db beter.

For 80 meters and up, about 130 to 140 feet of wire fed with ladder line and
a good tuner is a good way to go if you want to bring the ladderline into
the tuner.

Depending on how much work it it, you may want to put up a 10 meter dipole
or if possiable make it out of aluminum conduit or such and make it so yo
can rotate it.

As you problay know there is no CW test now. You should have taken the
General written test when you took the other one. Should not have cost any
more at the time and you may have gotten lucky.

It only took me about 30 years to get my triband antenna up.. I was mainly
interisted in weak signal vhf and did have a light weight tower up about 40
feet for that, but it would not hold a triband antenna. Finally moved to
another location and put up a good tower to 60 feet with the triband and
other vhf antennas.