Topband: Effect of trees- tree appreciation

[Bill Tippett]

W8JI wrote:

 >  My gut feeling is
the one that looks the best and takes the most work will make you feel like
you have the best signal you ever had, but no one else will notice the
change except you unless you tell them about all the work or they "like" a
particular antenna you are using.


K2XT replied:

 > This is a a very significant statement when you think about it.
Ask anyone you talk to on the air how he likes his antenna.
Most will say they like it, it's doing great.
Ask them how they know.
If they understand your question you will get silence in response.
Because almost no one KNOWS, or even knows how it compares
to their previous antenna.  But how they FEEL about it determines their
satisfaction !

With the advent of ReverseBeacon.net, it's very easy to compare 
antennas with other stations.  I've been doing this after each major 
contest and have learned other things such as QSB cycle depth and periodicity.

I also test multiple antennas at home by time-stamping my 
transmissions and then reviewing the RBN data.  This is so simple to 
do I don't know why anyone wouldn't use it to get comparative measurements.

73,  Bill  W4ZV