Well this is truely a nice item...replies and such.Anyways...to 
answer the question of any hum or buzzing from the nearby power company lines 
the answer is yes! But-!...it only seems to occur about peak transmission 
time...whihc is about the same time I am trying to locate the really distant 
stations(Sweden,Swiss Radio Int'l. et.al.),about 0300 GMT here whihc is 7 
p.m. PST...and it becomes so annoying that by say 7:30 p.m. I usually bag it 
for the night.There have been occasions in whihc I have received the CBC 
station in Halifax or St. Johns whihc has been a real exciting 
moment...enough so that I usually sit up for the remainder of the dx activity 
to listen in.Alaska...now thats been another problem.
     On the verticals...Would you happen to have any config ideas for height 
of tower/mast and or the actual antenna?
        In an effort to understand all this I am doing the leg(sic) work for 
the novice end of the license for HAM and such and am aware that maybe the 
ARRL might be of some additional assisantce..any ideas what to throw at those 
fella's???
      As to a "real" radio with an antenna jack...now thats a horse of a 
different color.I would like to be able to receive the FAX signals and turn 
them into useable pic's (MFJ already has me barraged with catalogs and 
such),be able to listen to distant AM stations and the SW end from the 
interior of Canada...(it's an interesting place,besides which we here in the 
u.s don't know alot about them),and other assorted functions.For the money 
and the review done in the white paper the Drkae R8-B seems to fill the bill 
and pillage the pocket book...no others as of this time offer the 
service/repair assurances,and it is a "real" radio.
        So there you have it...not much else to add....
        Season's Greeting to you and Yours...From The State of tall trees and 
"deep" snows...Merry Christmas......hummm...haven't said thatin a long 
...
--- Maximus/2 3.01
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