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Nice!!! I wish I had pictures of my Pearce Simpson Bengal with the Siltronix 90 VFO connected to a PDL2 from back in the 70s. Talk about a fun setup. I had so much fun and made so many contacts around the world which yielded boxes and boxes of QSL cards. As a ham now, I have absolutely no interest in swapping QSL cards.

Damn, you should have saved the money and went with a quarter wave!!!

Not as old, but I was happy when the 49MHz walkies came out. Much better tech and performance. But I was happy as hell back in the early 70s with the 27MHz walki-talkies. Fun times.

Or do Slow Scan TV like the hams did back in the day.

The bandwidth required would definitely kill GMRS. Just thinking what ifs out loud.

Agree that dealing with these big companies can be a real abstract feces show in the highest order. I'm really happy with Consumer Cellular's drive to give great customer service. When I first went with them I called for customer assistance and was literally talking to a human being in under three minutes, whom spoke marvelous English without an Indian accent. Best part they comprehended exactly what they were actually saying and had a high degree of knowledge. I said to myself, this can't be real. Compare that to Verizon's customer service, it sucks having to go through a computer generated gauntlet to even be considered for a conversation with a human. I love FiOS, had it for twenty years, but their corporate BS is intolerable. Wouldn't it be nice to stream data over GMRS and start our own network?

And don't forget to draw blood. If you don't have a bloody injury, even if it's a papercut,the project will fail. Trust me, that's the way it always works.

They use AT&T. I have to say my cell service has been awesome and reliable. No missed calls or texts. Plus, I can make calls without delay or multiple attempts. And no, it wasn't my phone and Verizon couldn't fix the problem. Of course, Consumer Cellular might put us lower in the pecking order, but I don't see that happening too often. Better service at a lower price is a win-win for me.

Yep, and these are the same people bitching about not being able to contact their loved ones on 9/11. As for Verizon, I'm not surprised as I was a customer since their inception back in 2000 and I left their wireless in the dust because of poor service. It wasn't their stupidly high prices that drove me away, it was they got so unreliable as I was not getting calls or texts days on end. I went to Consumer Cellular and haven't looked back. And don't get me started on their customer support. Getting a human in under 15 minutes is like climbing the Swiss Alps, a real f'n challenge. And once you get one, you have to hope they comprehend English. Oh, and I still have FiOS, which they have yet to screw up.

Mediocre SWR, but met specs per manufacturer. The biggest problem was lack of performance compared to the lesser Tram 1486 antenna. I couldn't get into local repeaters that shouldn't have been a problem. The second one I just got is really performing better than I expected. It's meeting up to the performance claims we read about on this forum.

Yep, it's always good to have a great vendor you can depend on. I've always used DXE and HRO as they resolve issues without all the misery some people have with other vendors. My last 712 was a dud and I had to return it for a refund. I decided to wait until they cleared present stock before ordering a replacement. The second one I just got is the winner.

DX Engineering is the only place, as well as HRO, one should buy from. Great people at both establishments.

Good news!!! The antenna finally arrived today. It was well worth waiting six months for the old stock to be depleted and the new batch to be shipped. My compliments to Mr. Yakamoto for assembling and tuning, he nailed it. A quick sweep with the VNA on my ground jig placing the antenna six feet off the ground yielded 1.510:1 @ 462.550 and 1.019:1 @ 467.725. I also hooked up the HT and was able to hit distant repeaters the first antenna couldn't. That said, I feel a little more confident when I get my fat ass up the tower it should perform really well when I connect the Heliax to it. Happy, Happy!!!

Nope, MIL-Spec RG-400. Don't need a 100' run in a car.

Might as well use a dummy load if you're not feeding our NMO mount with RG400.

The most expensive tool one needs to buy and keep in their box is a utility knife with a new sharp blade. Of course, a fine tooth hacksaw is the second tool one needs. The corrugated copper shield cuts like butter under a sharp blade. Take a scrap piece of 7/8" and download the instructions for the connector of choice for your application and practice and you'll be amazed at how well they come out. After a few practice runs, you'll be patting yourself on the back and saying, Damn, I did such a good job I scared the living sh!t out of myself. If you're installing many connectors daily, buy the tool.

I'm not sure that I've seen any solid core hardline that large in 50 ohm. I know there was some 75 ohm large stuff, but that was always solid aluminum shield and copper clad aluminum center conductor. The smaller 50 ohm hardline we use today is corrugated copper shield with a copper clad aluminum center conductor. And as you said, the larger stuff has a hollow copper center conductor.

Just got off the phone with NCG and they said that they are waiting for the delivery to reach the port and claim that they will have them for distribution in a week or two. Of course, they will need to be shipped to the many vendors. Is it real, or just smoke and mirrors? I'm added to the DXE que so we shall see. A sliver of hope is better than no hope.

The picture he is showing is of the backside of a regular N connector without the hardline/coax installed. See the nut on the back? I assume it's a male N Connector that someone put on the larger hardline connector to protect it. Update: Here's a pick of it in his previous post.

OUCH! I didn't think DXE would do that. That was my concern.

Thanks. I did see that option and always use DX Engineering and HRO for my major purchases. If I get a reasonable and accurate answer from Comet that it's going to be a minor delay and they will be shipping to vendors soon, I will do as you say. I don't want to be on a list only to find out the antenna is discontinued. I'm sure DX would already know the status and wouldn't list it on their site if that were the case.

Thanks for looking and giving me the tip, I really appreciate it. I always compare prices prior to pulling the trigger. I have a total dislike for companies that go way above and beyond fair market price and avoid them. I'm in no real hurry and will snag one eventually. It's strange they have been out of stock for so long. I almost am starting to think they might be discontinuing this model. If I have time tomorrow I will call Comet and get an answer from them.

That might be an decent option. Did you get the GP-9NC or GP-9NCA? I'm really not that interested in VHF as it going to be solely for GMRS, but it would be nice to have that option should my needs change in the future.

I did see that, but classified this clown as a gouger. The site didn't say out of stock, but I'm sure they have many at $189.95. I would hope they are offering free shipping and a tube of K-Y Jelly since everyone else that had them, and hopefully will be getting them soon, are asking $139.

Anyone know of a vendor that actually has one in stock? I've been looking for the last six weeks for one without success. All the reputable vendors, even the gougers, show out of stock.