[SECC] GQP

[Tom W8JI]

Well, Van operated here and I operated a bit. I guess we made a few hundred 
contacts.

I had limited time with family commitments occurring during the limited 
hours of the QSO party. Here is what I learned:

The QSO party is not like a contest. No running and especially no running in 
one direction. People call from all directions. Many of them are weak, 
probably low power, so if the TX antenna wasn't pointed right at them it was 
a pain hearing them, especially with QRN.

I learned I needed to get the short tower connected to the radio, so I could 
have beams in different directions. They I could just bang a switch to 
change from NE to west. Since I needed to clean up some wires anyway, most 
of the operating time I had between family functions Sunday went to wiring 
time. I wound up with a control box that would pick different antennas in 
different directions on different towers.

Then I realized how the high antennas are good for long haul band opening 
and closing, but are weaker than my lower antennas when the bands are open 
good. This re-enforces what I saw looking on skimmer a few months back with 
WW4LL's signal compared to a local with tall stacks. I saw the high 
antennas, almost certainly because of the many deep nulls in elevation 
pattern, would go into some big fades. The signal was more consistent with 
the low antennas with cleaner wider elevation patterns. Same pattern as 
Fred's signal had compared to higher antennas with elevation patterns split 
into multiple skinny lobes.

My 40 antennas are about right, but my 20 through 15 antennas are too high 
except for opening the band.

It was so interesting to see the deep long fades on the high antennas I 
barely operated. I just kept watching signals. Over and over again. :-)

Tom