A brief summary on the previous issue, which is related to the problem I am continuing to have:
The problem I was having before was that I was unable to make any contacts on the 40 meter band or any other HF bands such as 20 meters. I tested my radio with a few Hams I know, one of them was 60 miles away from me and the other was 20 miles away. Both could not hear me transmit even though I was in close proximity to them. I ended up taking my radio to Ham Radio Outlet to have them check the radio. They tested it on FM, 7.200 mhz and it was outputting 90-100 watts which they said was perfectly normal. I was told from the guy at HRO that the radio is working perfectly. I don't have any reason to not believe him, as he was very knowledgeable and helpful. I was told that it since the radio tested fine, it was probably either an antenna problem or I need an amplifier to bring my radio over 100 watts output due to the hilly terrain of living in Santa Clarita, California. I was told that out here where I live it is a very typical problem to get a signal out in the local area, and even though I may be able to make contacts 300 miles way on SSB, locally it can be more difficult because of the terrain.
