[TenTec] OT: Openwire/Window Line and Bad Wx

[Rick - DJ0IP / NJ0IP]

I'm not sure if you asked me or the group.
I have no clue, and I guess there are several types.

One thing I know for sure:  NOBODY coats their feedline with a wetting agent
before it rains.


Another thing I know for sure:  how much difference 6dB makes in a contest.
It's like running barefoot or with a linear.

Running a linear means I work 90% of all the stations I call with just 1 or
2 calls.
Running barefoot means I get about 30% with just one call.

So in a contest, 6dB means a lot more than 6dB measured in a lab.
I guess it is due to the competition.
On an un-crowded band, it would mean 1 S-Unit but in a contest it means a
lot.

My point:  I have run openwire (window line) countless times in contests
where it rained and if I had been losing 6dB all the time, I would have
noticed it in my score.  I did not.  I only noticed that I had to retune the
matchbox.  

I always use manually tuned matchboxes.  If you have an auto-tuner, then it
really doesn't matter much.

73
Rick, DJ0IP


-----Original Message-----
From: TenTec [mailto:tentec-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Carter

Is the "wetting agent" conductive -- or at least more conductive than rain
water?

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