Beyondallcom,
Bikinguy is right. Spoke tensioning should be left to a shop until you have gotten more familiar with what it is all about. As far as the der adjustment, I suggest you get a good book on bike repair/maintenance and read up on it. It sounds like you are getting interested in working on your bike. You might as well get off to a good start. I particularly like the Bicycle Magazine Complete Guide to Bicycle Maintenance and Repair. It will lead you through anything you want to tackle, including spokes. You will learn a lot more doing it that way and reading the front part of whatever repair book you get. That will give you some good background on how bikes work and some warnings about damage you can do if not careful.
Regards,
Raymond
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