first rasberry wheat

first of all im drinking my first batch and largely thanks to all you folks and john palmer it is an excellent wheat beer, thank you guys your great!!!!!!!
my question is that im going to brew a rasberry wheat from midwest (5th batch) and i'd like some input. i read that most of beers taste comes from what you do in your boil, yet on a rasberry recipe on this site one person sais they secondary on fresh rasberrys. good idea or bad? also the kits instructions say that ill add rasberry extract when bottling...??? wont the yeast just consume the sugars or did i misunderstand? im really trying to figure out how to put different tastes in my wheats.
also here is something you pros are going to laugh at me for, no matter how many times i read how to use a hydrometer i cant get it. i learn by example sometimes and i guess that this is one of those things. my hydro- tells me % balling etc. but i cant figure out og and fg pretty stupid right any suggestions?

No matter what when you add raspberries you will get fermentation again. Adding them to secondary will give more of a pronounced raspberry flavor, if that's what you're looking for. Adding them in in primary will ferment more of the sugars completely.

If you do add them to the boil the pectins will set and will make the beer cloudy(which is only cosmetic, it tastes the same). If you do decide to boil them, add them within the last 5 minutes of the boil so as not to drive off all the raspberry aroma.

Your hydrometer should have three different scales on it. Plato, Balling, and Specific Gravity. The last one is the one you should be looking at. On the very tip of the hydrometer it should start off with .998.

I assume you read it already, but if not, check my Raspberry Ale recipe for a discussion on how to use extracts or fresh raspberries in your brew. I've done it both ways.

I am a pro-real-fruit kind of guy. I think they add the best flavor (in my experience). Fruit will add different characteristics when introduced at different times. For example, if you want your raspberry wheat to retain the raspberry sweet-tart nuance and be able to taste a "raspberry" taste, I would suggest racking onto a bed of raspeberries in your secondary fermenter.

If you want more of the tart flavor, to add a tart or crisp dimension to the finish of the beer, I suggest adding the fruit at flame-out of your boil.

If you want a balance between the two, add it to your primary.

In my Razzmatazz Weiß I use 6 lbs of fresh raspberries for 5 gallons, this is way too much if you are looking for a more "regular" weiß. I would suggest around 3 lbs of fresh raspberries for a 5g batch added to the secondary.

Also, after the fruit turns all white, wait an extra 2 days, then rack to a tertiary fermenter for clearing. I would give it at least a month in the tertiary fermenter before bottling to allow the flavors to properly meld and give it some time to bulk age.

Good luck, and tell us how it goes!