Don Blevins writes in a message to Scott Christensen
 DB> to answer the question of any hum or buzzing from the nearby 
 DB> power company lines the answer is yes! But-!...it only seems 
 DB> to occur about peak transmission time...
What do you mean by "peak transmission time?"  RF or power main?
  
 DB> On the verticals...Would you happen to have any config ideas 
 DB> for height of tower/mast and or the actual antenna
You have never told me what frequencies you wish to hear.  The best reception 
would be with a 1/4 wave tall tower for any particular frequency.  One 
configuration that might work is to take half of a trapped dipole and suspend 
it vertically, with the fed point near ground.  The ground half of the 
feedpoint would be a groundrod or buried radials - like they use in AM 
broadcast stations.  If the tower that suspends the antenna and the antenna 
are grounded at the base with a good lightning arrester in the cable as it 
enters your house you wouldn't have to worry too much about lightning either.
  
You would be able to use the grounded tower for multiple antennas - CB, 
scanner, etc.
  
 DB> In an effort to understand all this I am doing the leg(sic) 
 DB> work for the novice end of the license for HAM and such and 
 DB> am aware that maybe the ARRL might be of some additional assisantce..any 
 DB> ideas what to throw at those fella's??
Buy a copy of the ARRL handbook.  It's worth every penny!
  
 DB> For the money and the review done in the white paper the Drkae 
 DB> R8-B seems to fill the bill and pillage the pocket book...no 
 DB> others as of this time offer the service/repair assurances,and 
 DB> it is a "real" radio.
  
Don't worry too much about service - if it hasn't broken by the end of the 
warranty period, it probably won't break for many years.  Most TV repair 
shops would be willing to take on a reasonably made shortwave radio too.
  
 DB> Season's Greeting to you and Yours...From The State of tall 
 DB> trees and "deep" snows...Merry Christmas......hummm...haven't 
 DB> said thatin a long time... 
  
Which state is that?  Here in Minnesota we still have only a trace on the 
ground.  Most places are still bare.  And we have some pretty darn good size 
trees around here too.  
Merry Christmas to you (- and Happy Hannukah to our Jewish friends!)...
 
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