GrumpyOldRetiree

Just ordered one. Thanks for the "heads up"

At the risk of stating the obvious, with floating neutral generator and 2 pole transfer switch: Be sure to plug in the transfer cord between generator and panel inlet (with panel's generator breaker off) BEFORE you start the generator. This will afford you proper grounding of generator frame and proper neutral bonding via the main panel wiring in the event something went wrong with generator wiring. Regarding Honda generators, many years ago, my local Home Depot once stocked a Honda that had a switch on the generator panel that would change between bonded and floating neutral. The switch had eyelets that you could thread a long shank padlock through to prevent somone from changing the configuration. I feel that all generators should be that way.

I've been a member at Old Bridge for about 3 years. While the club does have alot of organized events/leagues, I have never felt pressured into participating in these events. Since completing probation, I've been mostly a solo shooter. Additionally, when I chose to participate, I found most members to be helpful, encouraging and forgiving of newbies. I never felt any competitive pressure because I wasn't really competing. For me it is more like "organized plinking". I like having 24/7 access to the indoor range and daylight access outdoors. If I had to come up with something I didn't like about the club it would be: I wish they could move the ranges closer to my house. I'm in Somerset County and the 20 mile ride (each way) is the main issue that stops me from shooting more often.

Wouldn't it depend on where the line came down? If the feeder to your house broke and came down and was laying on your lawn/driveway then there might not be enough draw to trip the genny breaker, but the lines would still be energized. Either way, for the average homeowner, its cheap enough to do correctly and eliminate the possibility of harming anyone.

As long as neutral is bonded to ground at your service entrance panel (which is the norm) then nothing should leak out to the utility lines. Which is why the 2 pole transfer switches are code compliant if wired correctly. Regarding how to determine if the generator has a floating or bonded neutral: With the generator off (NOT RUNNING!!! repeat NOT RUNNING!!!) and NO CORDS plugged into the genny, using an ohm meter or battery powered continuity tester, on the genny, check for continuity between the outlets neutral blade (the longer one) and the outlets equipment ground. If you have continuity the neutral is bonded, if not, the neutral is floating. PLEASE NOTE: All comments I have made in this thread apply to people using a 2 wire transfer switch connected via those 4 wire twist-lock generator cables. If you are strictly using household extension cords then the neutral should be bonded in the genny and the genny frame should be grounded to a known good ground.

No, this is not correct. Please read the . pdf I attached. Also the "Code-Check" Electrical spiral bound book has a pretty good explanation of the issues. Schneder Electric (parent of Square-D) used to have a real good explanation on their website, but I can't locate it now. From the pdf: If the feeder conductors from the generator terminate in a transfer switch that doesn’t open the neutral conductor, the generator isn’t considered a separately derived system [ 250.30 Note 1]. Figure 445–3. A neutral-to-case bond isn’t permitted at the generator. Under this condition, the neutral conductor from the normal power to the transfer switch, and the neutral conductor from the generator to the transfer switch, are required to provide the low-impedance fault current path back to the power source. Figure 445–4

For all the standby generator owners who are using transfer switches that only switch the 2 hot wires (like I do), I hope you are aware that this method requires a generator with a floating neutral. Most, if not all, portable generators sold at Home Depot, Lowes, et al have bonded neutrals. Fortunately, on most of them, the bonding is done outside the generator head so for someone who can read a schematic and knows how to use a VOM, its pretty easy to "float" the neutral. One symptom of this condition is GFCI outlets fed by the generator trip when they are used when there is no ground fault. This can also be dangerous. Under certain conditions, the generator frame can become energized. I'm attaching a short .pdf file that better explains the issue of "commonly derived power" (2 wire transfer) and "separately derived power" (3 wire transfer). it cites several sections of the 2011 NEC.11_Generators_and_Standby_Power_Systems.pdf

Unless the next AG is a very, very strong supporter of 2A, I don't see them changing the Kane imposed non-resident permit restriction. They would have little to gain because the issue doesn't effect PA voters/gun owners. Additionally, if they restore it to pre-Kane status you can bet that the libs will be screaming bloody murder the first time a shooting occurs involving person with another state's non-resident permit. That's the trouble with stuff like this. Its easy to implement, but risky to revoke. As a Utah permit holder, I wish it wasn't so, but I'm not holding my breath waiting for restoration.

I agree with your assessment 100%. Every time I use mine I have to re-learn navigating the different functions. I scanned the manual to a pdf and loaded it on my phone just in case I misplace the original paper one. The long cord to read it at the bench is great and it continues to work reliably, but if this one dies, I'm going to look elsewhere.

Lie? Why no... I believe the anti's would refer to that as "journalistic license"

Yea...that had me scratching my head also. But, according to this article in the Columbus Dispatch (Ohio) : http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/01/12/ohio-n-j--trafficker-faces-prison.html "Prosecutors said that three Columbus men bought guns from legitimate shops in central Ohio and sold them to a middleman who sold them to Laboo." Just a little different then him driving to an Ohio gun show and buying a crap load of guns.

Hey jeepster...please post health warnings when you post these kind of links. I almost passed out when I saw that Huffington had an article & comments sympathetic to gun rights. I'm old. My heart can't take many more shocks like this.

Here is the forum thread that I think Dave was referring to: http://njgunforums.com/forum/index.php/topic/56572-hollow-point-transport-question/?hl=%2Binert+%2Bround#entry732202

Nice job on the website and thank you for your efforts. Over the years, I've lost count of how many times I've had to explain how tough NJ gun laws are to the "we need to tighten up our gun laws" crowd. In my experience, these types have ZERO knowledge of restrictions already in place.

Title says it all. Here's the link to first article I saw on the subject: http://www.ammoland.com/2015/03/breaking-peruta-to-be-heard-en-banc/#axzz3VcF28VdF

Picked up a load of DX qso's this weekend on 10 meters, including Saudi Arabia and Hawaii. I just hope they submit their logs to LoTW in a timely fashion.

I understand your feelings regarding the 96A1. I bought one about 1.5 years ago and I seem to have "fallen out of love" with the gun. But I can't explain why! I shoot it as well as any of my other pistols, never had any malfunctions with it and I still think it is a sexy looking pistol and is mechanically interesting. It ain't the .40 caliber...I absolutely love my Sig P229 and shoot the Sig 10X more then the Beretta. When its time to go to the range, the 96A1 almost never makes it into my range bag.

I'm interested in taking this course (including the CPR addition). Bridgewater vicinity works for me.

I've made it a habit to finish my range sessions by shooting a full magazine + 1 of the SD ammo I have in stock at the time. I prefer frequent, short range sessions to infrequent, lengthy, exhausting ones. As an old, retired guy I can do that. Usually shoot 100 rounds of my "cream puff" target reloads followed by 1 mag load of HD. This keeps me in touch with how the gun will handle if I ever need to use it in the gravest extreme. It also confirms that the gun can still feed the ammo reliably. I usually buy whatever sgammo.com has for a reasonable price. I view Gold Dots, HST's or Ranger T's as being of equal quality and effectiveness. I have shot Critical Defense in different calibers without problems, but I kinda view them as a novelty item.

I've bought 9s, 40s & 45's cases directly from starline. Thus far, they have survived multiple reloadings without any problems. In the future, if I need new brass, I will buy them again.

Newtonian...are you using the stock "rubber ducky" antenna with your Baufeng? If so, you'll get better range with one of the inexpensive after market antennas. Nagoya, Diamond and Comet are 3 reputable brands. They all use, roughly, the same model numbers : 701 and 771. The 771 is longer then the 701. They are both whip antennas,so they may not be suitable for use if you are going to carry the radio on you belt. I put Nagoya 771's on my 2m/70cm HT's and it made a big difference. If you do go with Nagoya, be sure to shop for an authentic Nagoya. There are alot of bootleg asian knockoffs in the market place, some are OK, but many are not..

@ 1218 hours EST, 2/9/2015 - he's TXing on 28.305 and sounds like he's listening .310 to .350, but asking callers to move up & away from .310. 59+ at my QTH. Got him easy on 20M yesterday...2 calls and I was done. Now trying to get em on 15M RTTY

Sorry Silence Dogood...that post was from yesterday. I don't see or hear K1N on the air this morning so far on 10 or 20. Yes he has been working split with a 20 to 30K band that he listens on, and some days he was moving around quite a bit to dodge qrm. Yesterday, he was transmitting on 28.375 and listening to 28.380 thru 28.410 almost all day...59+ into New Jersey. Late breaking news @ 1034 hours: My band spotter just listed him as transmitting on 28.320 and listening on 28.510 thru 28.520 and I can hear him drifting in and out on 28.320.

Just got K1N on 10 meters...Yaa-Hoo

No...no Jamaica DX yet. But I just started on HF in mid December 2014. A shooting buddy of mine saw me playing with my HT at the range one morning and became my unofficial "elmer". He loaned my an HF rig and urged me to get an antenna up. I set up a few dipoles for 10 & 20 in my attic and caught the tail end of the ARRL Centennial QSO party. Because so may stations were on the air and 10 meter prop was unusually good, I got quite a few DX QSO's. I started focusing on stations that confirm via "Logbook of the World", which cut my "pickins" down quite a bit. My farthest confirmed contacts so far are Hawaii and Moscow. Do you have any tips for getting nearby states? I can work Europe, Africa, South America and west coast US pretty easily, but I can't even hear stations in neighboring states on 10 meter.