> Yes, Tom's signal was superb in the contest too- the strongest from his
> area. How about it Tom, tell us your secret - what improvements have you
> made since last year's CQWW?
My best antenna is still a four square with phasing optimized for
gain, and of course with an extensive ground system. It's worth
over 7 dB compared to a nearly perfect 200 foot vertical, and
almost always beats my high dipoles by a similar amount.
But that's nothing special and not interesting in my opinion, except
to learn what works best if you are one of the few people who have
the room and free access to old towers.
It's people who struggle and persevere with crowded locations,
noise, and small antennas who are interesting. I think they deserve
the write-ups and recognition. Few people have the patience to
struggle and chip away with one contact at a time in a frustrating
situation!
I'll take a contact with a little pistol over a new country (or winning a
contest) any day of the week!
Congrats to Darren. I hope you become the ZL3REX of England,
who works everyone from a city location with a hunk of wire like
Rex does!
73, Tom W8JI
w8ji@contesting.com
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