I copied this from an email I sent to a friend: I appreciate any help!

I was the high bidder all weekend on that radio. Then, late last night
someone outbid me right before it was over. I was disappointed.

I did have some questions though. Do you use ssb capabilities alot? I
mean, are there alot of people on ssb? Are there ssb repeaters? Seems
thid capability adds alot of costs into a radio. What about 440 mhz? I
noticed you talked about the skywarn system. I checked into it and it
seems I should be able to acess it. It has several repeaters linked. It
is just a regular repeater system when there is no severe weather.

I noticed some of the older radios dont have the "tone feature". Does
this mean some repeaters can not be acessed?

One of the links you forwarded to me was this one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...7063 317&rd=1
It seems to be older, and does not have 440 but has ssb capability I
think. Is this a very good radio? WHat are these worth?

I noticed some of the add's said "just sent to the factory and aligned"
Are there adjustments that have to be made from time to time?

By the way I finially got into the morse code tutor and played around
with it a little. It was hard for me to understand the dot's and
dashes, they went faster than I could recognize them. What is the test
like when you take it? I assume you have to memorize the dots and
dashes for each letter, or do you have a "cheat sheet" where you just
have to figure out what is being played and can refer to something that
is already written down for each letter?

I am sorry for all the questions. Looking at all those radios this
weekend made me come up with alot more than I already had!
Thanks for your help,

wrote in message
ups.com...
I copied this from an email I sent to a friend: I appreciate any help!

I was the high bidder all weekend on that radio. Then, late last night
someone outbid me right before it was over. I was disappointed.

I did have some questions though. Do you use ssb capabilities alot? I
mean, are there alot of people on ssb?

Those not on FM are on SSB . It is a different mode of operation. Activity
depends on your local situation.

Are there ssb repeaters?

Possibly, but very few indeed.

Seems
thid capability adds alot of costs into a radio. What about 440 mhz?

440 is just another band that is authorized for Amateur radio use.
Generally speaking it has less range than 2 meters.

I
noticed you talked about the skywarn system. I checked into it and it
seems I should be able to acess it. It has several repeaters linked. It
is just a regular repeater system when there is no severe weather.

What do you expect to be happening when the sky is sunny and there are no
twisters?


I noticed some of the older radios dont have the "tone feature". Does
this mean some repeaters can not be acessed?

That's what it means.


One of the links you forwarded to me was this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=5737063 317
&rd=1
It seems to be older, and does not have 440 but has ssb capability I
think. Is this a very good radio? WHat are these worth?

I noticed some of the add's said "just sent to the factory and aligned"
Are there adjustments that have to be made from time to time?

It means the seller claims it was recently sent to the factory for
repair/alignment.

Yes all radio's need a tweaking from time to time. Components change with
age you know.


By the way I finially got into the morse code tutor and played around
with it a little. It was hard for me to understand the dot's and
dashes, they went faster than I could recognize them.

And?

What is the test
like when you take it?

If you have learned the International Morse Code the test is a breeze. If
you have not then you will fail.

I assume you have to memorize the dots and
dashes for each letter, or do you have a "cheat sheet" where you just
have to figure out what is being played and can refer to something that
is already written down for each letter?

That has to be the dumbest thing I ever heard. Let me ask you this....do
you use a cheat sheet when having a conversation with another person? Of
course not. Morse Code is a simple language that consists of only TWO
characters. A dit and a dah, not I didn't say Dot and Dash.

Memorization will only allow you to achieve up to about 10 words per minute.
After that you will have to re-learn the code. So do it right. Go to the
ARRL, www.arrl.org and get their code tape, or other folks, your choice.
Use the Farnsworth method and have fun.

Dan/W4NTI

I did have some questions though. Do you use ssb capabilities alot? I
mean, are there alot of people on ssb? Are there ssb repeaters? Seems
thid capability adds alot of costs into a radio. What about 440 mhz? I
noticed you talked about the skywarn system. I checked into it and it
seems I should be able to acess it. It has several repeaters linked. It
is just a regular repeater system when there is no severe weather.

All repeaters are in the FM mode and are for the most part put up for general
conversation, but during severe weather, might be used for skywarn.


I noticed some of the older radios dont have the "tone feature". Does
this mean some repeaters can not be acessed?

There are some 'open' repeaters that don't require a PL tone for access, but
they are getting rare. Most repeaters will require a PL to access, but you can
listen to them without any PL tone capabilities.

One of the links you forwarded to me was this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...6&item=5737063
317&rd=1
It seems to be older, and does not have 440 but has ssb capability I
think. Is this a very good radio? WHat are these worth?

Dunno what they are worth, but they are a nice older radio. This model is
primarily a SSB radio used for the intention of long distance DX work, but
could be used for FM repeaters. There would be better radios out there for
mainly FM repeater work that have more memories and a PL tone board.


I noticed some of the add's said "just sent to the factory and aligned"
Are there adjustments that have to be made from time to time?

As they age, radios need alignment, but for the most time, it's plug and play.
There isn't anything in there for the operator to adjust unless he has good
experience and equipment for such things.


By the way I finially got into the morse code tutor and played around
with it a little. It was hard for me to understand the dot's and
dashes, they went faster than I could recognize them. What is the test
like when you take it? I assume you have to memorize the dots and
dashes for each letter, or do you have a "cheat sheet" where you just
have to figure out what is being played and can refer to something that
is already written down for each letter?

See prior discussion on learning the code.

I am sorry for all the questions. Looking at all those radios this
weekend made me come up with alot more than I already had!
Thanks for your help,





Have fun and good luck !

John Wilke
K9RZZ
Milwaukee