My first HF radio

[PhoneMan]

So, I've been a ham since June of '12, got my General in August of '13, and have been meaning to get started with HF, but couldn't afford a decent HF radio.
Well, now I have one!

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It's a Ten Tec Paragon. now I need to build an antenna and get started on DXing. I bought the radio, it's power supply, the tuner, a separate 13v power supply, a Kenwood 2 meter mobile, a Vibroplex "bug" key, and a computer interface for a very reasonable price.

[nsquidc]

Congrats! Hope to hear you on the air. If you need any advice on the antenna, feel free to ask!

[PhoneMan]

nsquidc, thanks. I have several I'm going to build, and also have an "Antron 99" from my CB days that I plan to use on 10-17 meter.

[nsquidc]

Do you like CW? The Paragon is a great rig and will serve you well. At 100 watts though, unless you have an awesome antenna, you'll have a hard time getting outside the continental U.S. without CW.

CW really is your ticket to the world

[PhoneMan]

I've been using my Antron 99 antenna on SSB and got a few contest stations in the Cayman Islands, Iceland and Croatia, as well as a few US based ones.
I'm not good with CW, but I intend to learn.
With my current antenna, I can get it tuned on 10-20 meters. I pan to build a dipole for 160 too.