Steve I would def suspect that thin wire for a break. It sounds soo thin it must be O/cct. Or a join somewhere is duff. See you in 2000 73 de Vic G4BYG -- FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/topband.html Submissions: topband@contesting.com Administrative requests: topband-REQUEST@contesting.com Problems: owner-topband@contesting.com