G4DQW asked:
Is it common practice among the big contest stations to keep
competitors away like this?
Certainly is! I think the best example of this was at W7RM's old QTH on
The Bluff. On the higher bands we could transmit with the big beams on the
towers up top, while listening on relatively puny beams down on the beach
some 90m below. A 90m tall pile of dirt & rock did wonders to those pesky
W5s off the back who couldn't seem to figure out why 7RM could keep running
'em despite, in some cases, blatant attempts to steal the frequency.
Unless it was someone like N5AU, you couldn't even tell they were there
unless the JAs you were running told you.
For those with more pedestrian stations - say a simple stack - the most
overlooked capability is the ability to swing the lower beam around at your
competition, transmitting into both & receiving only on the upper one.
Again from W7, this can be handy with those bloody W5s.
Luckily, out here in VS6, we're still a few years away before such
techniques will be required with the BYs!
73, VS6BrettGraham aka VR2BG bagraham@hk.super.net
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