On Tue, 16 Mar 1999 19:13:49 EST, Mark wrote:
> Although I do understand what you mean, if you just turn on the
>amp when you turn on the rig there is no problem, so the issue isn't that
>one NEEDS instant on, but that one WANTS instant on. Personally, I think
>instant rotation antennas would be more of a benefit.
>
That hardly seems a satisfactory solution. I seldom use my amp,
because I seldom need it. (I don't subscribe to any any of the 75m
back-patting nets where I need to be 50 dB over S9 and have tubes with
handles to participate :-) But when I'm in a QSO and QRM (from the
back-patters) or changing band conditions make copy difficult for the
guy on the other end, I want to turn the amp on and use it, not wait
for it to warm up. And more importantly, when I'm tuning the low end
of 20m and hear a country I've never worked (there are still a few :-)
I want the amp right now, before someone spots him on the
Packetcluster and the pileup gets 3 feet deep. But given that I
typically spend 90% of my operating time just listening, it's plain
ludicrous to leave the amp on all the time. So, yep, for my style of
operating, I need instant-on.
Speaking of instant rotation antennas, some folks *do* have 'em for
the low bands. They're called 4-square phased vertical arrays :-)
73,
Doug, KF4KL
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