I go by that area all the time. I will have to check out Electronics Plus.
As far as people hearing you. I think you need to try a different antenna. Almost any antennas works pretty well for receiving, but you need an efficient antenna to be heard when transmitting. Try the simple ground plane like Nick and I have been using.
--- On Tue, 2/8/11, Hiroki Kato <hiroki@...> wrote:
From: Hiroki Kato Subject: [QRPops] Today To: QRPops@... Date: Tuesday, February 8, 2011, 5:29 PM
?
QRPosters,
I discovered a great electronics store in San Rafael (4th Street) called Electronics Plus. It is a better organized and more modern version of HSC. It's a bit pricey but it is a great store for home brewers and restorers of radios and tube audios. Very little computer stuff, thank goodness. I have never seen a place recently which carries as many varieties of switches and connectors and plugs, eg., 1/4 inch mono plug (old telephone type), 10 amp 24v transformer, 6.3 v tube heater transformer, any size if variacs, NOS high voltage oil capacitors, any size speakers including horn type.
On the way back, I stopped at one of favorite operating locations, behind Golden Gate bridge to operate. I only worked a San Mateo local station on 17. It was a strange condition; I heard KP4 and Zambia
(Aftrica), which created
a huge pileup naturally,?and many east coast stations but they couldn't hear me even with 30 watts. They can't be all deaf, can they? No JAs or south Americans were heard.
David W Crocker