Hi all,
   Here is an (unrelated) two part question:

1.    I'm curious what others use to take SWR readings without any sighted
assistance; is there a prefered talking meter out there, or even something
that connect to a PC via serial cable?  I"d like something that doesn't
need to have a radio inline (just in case) but I'll take what I can get.

2.    I passed my technician exam on the 19th of December and got my call
(kc0osk) by the 22nd!  I'd like to start using IRLP (we have a reflector
in Denver, CO and a connected repeater) - from what I understand, anyone
is welcomed to talk on the repeater, but only certain folks seem to have
the various DTMF codes to connect and disconnect with other nodes.  Maybe
this varies from repeater to repeater, but what are typical practices RE:
properly obtaining and using the DTMF codes (i.e. donations, sign up as an
IRLP member)?  I looked around on the IRLP site and the codes are
mentioned a lot, but not lots of info exists about how you go about
getting them.

Thanks,
Ivan.