In a message dated 96-07-04 16:30:27 EDT, you write:
<< I can't help myself. . . I have this image of you performing antenna
experiments standing on the vibrating bed at the No Tell Motel with a plate
of pasta in one hand and a yagi in the other. . .
Is there a story here we should know about, Denny?
>>
Ummm, not really... well, actually there is this sacred dance for the
propagationally challenged... but, we're not supposed to discuss it in
public...
OK... bottom line, no tongue in cheek (whew, this is gonna be painful for
me)... Force 12 antennas are well engineered and will serve you just fine...
My jabs have not been at Force itself (well, maybe some at their
advertising), rather I have been tilting at the more wishful thinking
expressed by individuals on the list...
On the spaghetti allegation... emf pattern degradation secondary to element
flexure is real enough, but is minor, and Force should not be significantly
more susceptable than other manufacturers... I was having a bit of fun with
that one, and I expected to get a face full of sauce in rebuttal, which
didn't happen, surprisingly... Steve's point that by flexing in the wind the
element unloads a lot of the drag forces is right on... for example, just
look at a willow tree... with the density of the leaf cover and the square
footage presented to the wind there is no way the tree could stand up in a
storm if the limbs were rigid... Force has made a concious engineering
decision to lean towards the bend, don't break, philosophy of mechanical
engineering...their antennas, for the most part, are smaller and lighter and
put less strain on the tower/rotator... If this suits your situation, then
you should be a happy camper with a C3, C4, etc....
Now let me repound on the main points.. no one on this list would seriously
consider making the claim that an Explorer 14 (lambda 0.25) will go head to
head with a KT34XA (lambda 0.46) for the only SU on the band, long path, in
the last sixty seconds of the contest... (at least I hope no one is that soft
in the head)... yet, the minute you utter the F**** word they start babbling
about ohmic losses in joints, and traps having light bulbs inside of them,
and non resonant elements magically doing something, or other...
The bottom line is to buy the biggest tower your budget, and the neighbors,
can stand... then buy the biggest antenna you can manage to put up on that
tower with the remainder of your budget... then contest till you drop and you
will be too tired to worry whether your antenna has 1/10 % more loss than
someone elses...
Now, let's get back to the main question... you exhibit surprising knowledge
about the sacred ceremonies performed on the magic fingers motel bed,
Stevo.... is there something YOU are not sharing with us, hmmm?
Cheers, eh wot...
Denny k8do@aol.com
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