Well, the above may not be the most orthodox antenna placement, but my Maple Leaf Communications Portable J-Pole works a champ when wedged in the tree by our deck. Important reception equipment is here:
I was on two nets tonight; the SARC 2m net and The Mississauga Amateur Radio Club‘s 8:30pm 2m net. I think I’ve got the hang of squelch on the Wouxun now — thanks to Chris and Nick (VE3CLT [of the awesome PC PSU mod] and VE3EBC) for the advice basically to never use CTCSS on a repeater that you’re not 100% sure uses it.