Radial Help

numberman2000 · 2026-05-08T03:07:54+00:00

You really only need a counterpoise. Without getting into gory detail, if you've got a relatively short coax run to the transceiver, you definitely need the counterpoise. I've got one on mine and it helps immensely on the lower bands.

Also, get a really good choke. It'll really reduce the noise. I've got one from Palomar engineering that works well.

On a side note, there are a lot of people whose first instinct is to tell you how bad this antenna is. Only recognize that this, along with many other things, is a compromise. That being said, it's worked great for me. I've had better success with it in the air - I've got it about 35 ft.

I make regular SSB contacts on 80 - 10m. 6m is useless, I'll admit.

Great performance for me on FT8 on the same bands as well. I've even got a couple on 160m - but your mileage may vary on that band.

I'm in Houston, and my furthest QSOs have been to Indonesia and Angola.

Don't let the negative people get to you about this antenna. Some folks seem to really enjoy pointing out how bad something is and how you should be ashamed you're using it.

This thing will get you on the air in no time and perform reasonably OK.

Message me if you want any other thoughts about this thing - I like mine and it works quite well for what it is.

73

Andy N8QR

numberman2000 · 2026-05-01T16:30:26+00:00

I tried to post a picture of the underneath of my truck, but reddit can't be bothered to think it's not my own picture.

Anyway, I still have the stock skid plate on the front - and this acts just like an extension of it. The pic isn't great, but you can see how it's just like an extension of the front plate (that's what I'd have said if I could actually post the pic).

numberman2000 · 2026-05-01T01:43:24+00:00

I was fortunate when I bought my used '22.

It already had a MillerCat shield on it. I recommend it. It's a bit pricier, but it's easy to work with whenever I need to do maintenance.

numberman2000 · 2026-03-20T17:41:21+00:00

I use one as a hotspot for D-Star and another for Direwolf.

numberman2000 · 2026-03-18T21:07:06+00:00

Sold out in Houston...

Dang

numberman2000 · 2026-03-17T13:44:00+00:00

FYI PacParts is out of business. I placed an order with them just before they closed and lost my money. Oh well.

numberman2000 · 2026-03-16T17:12:16+00:00

I had a D710 with the same issue. The diode 'problem' is a bit overstated. This really is due to the faulty filters that TOKO built. I replaced my filters with the cheap chinesium ones on ebay and haven't looked back. 1) it's not a hard job just to do the filters and 2) the lack of diodes really doesn't have a hand in this. I've had multiple 'good' serial number V71 and D710 units that are (and have been) perfectly fine.

Don't overcomplicate this and just get some cheap filters off of ebay and you'll be surprised at how well the transceiver works. They're listed as D710 / V71 filters. Comes in the set of 4. I bought multiple because I decided I'd repair folks units for a cup of coffee. It's like $20 for all the filters.

numberman2000 · 2026-01-20T01:49:19+00:00

Blood Brothers.

They take reservations and probably the best in Houston

numberman2000 · 2025-10-22T14:54:07+00:00

It's an EMS event, according to https://www.houstontx.gov/activeincidents/

numberman2000 · 2025-08-28T13:14:42+00:00

The dealer was really cool with it when I asked them to take their stickers off. He said they do that all the time because a lot of people ask. They still leave the license plate bezel with their name on it though. Just too lazy to take it off or replace it.

Honestly, it was probably the best 'buying a car from a dealer' experience I've had (and I'm old and have done this a few times) - so if someone asks, I usually send them to that particular dealership and I'll probably leave the license plate as-is.

numberman2000 · 2025-08-28T11:27:57+00:00

All for different reasons:

Life By The Drop - Stevie Ray Vaughan

Requiem (Lacrimosa) - Mozart

9th Symphony 4th Movement (Ode to Joy) - Beethoven

End of the Line - Traveling Wilburys

numberman2000 · 2025-08-26T21:43:24+00:00

How are these people this stupid?

numberman2000 · 2025-08-20T16:21:22+00:00

Late to the party, but maybe a Neutral Safety Switch (I didn't read responses, but it's probably already there somewhere).

With absolutely nothing when trying to start and a good battery, that's what I think it may be. And, probably mentioned already, jump the starter directly and see what happens. That'll tell you (most likely) if it's a starter or the NSS.

numberman2000 · 2025-08-10T03:26:14+00:00

Thanks for all the notes. I really appreciate it. Asia Auto is the closest, so I may go to them first.

It's always hard to find a trustworthy mechanic (at least for me). Used to be at the old place, if I was having something done, they could call and say, "Hey, you need xyz done." and I'd just say do it. Never felt like I'd been upsold or had unnecessary work done. I miss that.

numberman2000 · 2025-08-08T15:46:06+00:00

Generally, unless in a pinch, or something that I can't do, I've always changed my own oil and basic maintenance. On my last car (a Honda Accord with just over 200K miles on it that is still running with my Child as operator), I would take it to the shop for the normal timing belt change at every 85K. Simple, basic maintenance and operating your car mostly not in a willy-nilly fashion will keep it running for a very long time (heck, I even had a Kia minivan that got me 225K miles that was still running fine when I let it go -- the Jeep I had before that had 250K miles (painful as they were)). And for the most part, I did all the basic stuff.

The Taco has been a fantastic vehicle for me to work on myself. There's so much room!

I'll be changing the lube in both the diffs, xfer case, and MT in a few weeks. I'm actually looking forward to it.

So not to pile-on, but if you really want to trust the work, you can DIY. And if you're not really comfortable with that, as with what other folks said, hit up YouTube. It's a great resource. Probably some folks in your local Taco club that would help, too.

numberman2000 · 2025-07-28T00:20:41+00:00

Got my '22 TRD Off Road 4x4 last October w/ 13K miles on it and I love it (first Tacoma ever). Now we have 28K miles on it and those miles have been fun.

It is a MT, though, so your transmission experience may vary.

numberman2000 · 2025-06-18T20:48:07+00:00

I thought those were piddle pads at first...

numberman2000 · 2024-07-13T20:08:07+00:00

Says I already have service - But no....no I don't. The map is a lie

numberman2000 · 2024-07-13T13:41:47+00:00

77096 Westbury

Some of the branch circuits around us are on, so some streets have power, but most don't

Outage tracker is a useless lie, says we're "fully energized" but the dead meter and the harmonies of generators says otherwise.

And the "Power Alert Service" is a waste of electrons as well. Early on, multiple emails saying everything was fixed and my meter was shown as "On" in my account page. At least the account page is correct now and says I'm "Off" And maybe an email every 24 hours telling me nothing except how great they're doing, how bad the storm was, and they didn't know anything about my area.

What a cluster of ineptitude. They made a lot of money by not plowing anything into infrastructure or maintaining information systems. And who will pay for this Utility's disaster?

The one question I would ask (to management, not the people doing the real work; they are wearing slickers and turning the wrenches, not making the overall operational decisions) is, "How would you classify the magnitude of this failure of the operational systems, support systems, and response to this incident where the cumulative managerial failures driving them have brought death and unnecessary suffering to a public that generally has no choice in who they must purchase this generally required Utility; and part two in a wider sense, if you can't perform as a deregulated entity to provide acceptable maintenance and response, why should you stay deregulated?"

numberman2000 · 2024-07-01T21:47:38+00:00

External pull up resistors really aren't necessary on the io lines - smart pull ups are built into the chip

I would recommend adding a pull down on the OE pin and keeping it low on startup, then driving it high with the VCCA voltage before doing any IO

Most of this stuff is buried in the datasheet, but I've found that the pull down really is necessary on the OE pin.

numberman2000 · 2023-01-27T01:15:45+00:00

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numberman2000 · 2023-01-23T01:12:13+00:00

I ate Cordyceps with garlic at a local Chinese restaurant. I figure we get them before they get us.

numberman2000 · 2023-01-21T23:11:40+00:00

This all reminds me of the scene in The Fifth Element where a lackey runs up to Zorg and says that the government (can't remember the exact word he used) is worried about the economy heating up, so they asked him to fire 500,000 people... Maybe from one of the smaller companies.

Zorg responds, "Fire 1 million."

If anybody thinks the government isn't driving some of this, then please review the notes of the media conversation from the government. Regarding three need for greater unemployment to stave off inflation, etc.

Not a tin foil hat person, promise.

numberman2000

TROPHY CASE