A coupla comments about using contest results for comparisons.
Being a contester myself, any well planned contest station is set up for a
particular purpose. This is to suggest applying some obvious caution to not
make general "conclusions" based on some assumptions.
When comparing numbers, one should consider that the trapped antennas (34XA,
TH-6/7) have been in the field for a very long time and, therefore, have a
large installed base. Most of these are "established stations" that have
been operating for many years. The antenna systems have been worked on, as
well as the operation of the station(s). The C-3 is a relatively new-comer
to the "triband" group, so one should not expect that numbers of contest
stations with many years of work have abandoned their trapped antennas,
suffered the monetary loss and put up stacks of C-3's! I doubt many owners
would consider such a move unless their competition is moving ahead of them
for some reason. (This is not intended to be a defense of the C-3, as it
simply does exactly what the specs say.)
If someone is comparing "tribanders", I would hope the list includes the
Force 12 C-3XL. Of course, it has 3 feedlines, so perhaps it doesn't fit
into the test criteria, whatever it might be.
Hope you have fun doing the tests. Look forward to reading about the
details.
Have a good day and 73,
Tom, N6BT
Force 12 Antennas and Systems
(Home Page http://www.QTH.com/force12 )
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