Topband: Comparison testing

[W2PM]

And also the axiom that if your antenna didnt come down in the winter it wasn't big enough. 

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On Mar 7, 2013, at 10:15 AM, bruce whitney <zuceman at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Tom,
> It is a very well known fact that an antenna erected hastily in harsh conditions always outperforms one erected leisurely -nice warm day, no wind, lots of planning and help, etc.. Every Ham I know - is well aware of this.  I can cite example after example - including temporary Field Day antennas erected in rainy windstorms that outperformed much larger home station arrays. 
>  
> In fact, to take advantage of this - I have been waiting and watching the weather reports for the worst, blinding snow storm of the season - to be absolutely sure that my next antenna project will outperform everything else I have at present.
>  
> Then, you come along and inject all this thinking about objective reasoning, science and engineering into the mix to challenge many of the popular truths - it's just demoralizing... Don't be surprised if there are people that will feel violated or compromised in some way and will lash back.
> 73, Bruce W8RA
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> 
> --- On Wed, 3/6/13, Tom W8JI <w8ji at w8ji.com> wrote:
> 
> 
> From: Tom W8JI <w8ji at w8ji.com>
> Subject: Topband: Comparison testing
> To: topband at contesting.com
> Date: Wednesday, March 6, 2013, 1:25 PM
> 
> 
> This reminds me of an experience I had with a new antenna.  After working several days installing a new antenna, I attached it to an a/b switch to compare it with my old antenna. I was delighted, the new antenna was always better !!!  Then to my dismay I saw I had the switch reversed ... oh boy... I changed the feeds, and continued the test.  Guess what.. the new antenna was still always better.
> Lesson learned .... human nature and switching antennas in face of QSB.>>>
> 
> There is more truth to that than most of us realize.
> 
> I put up a G5RV about 100 feet in the air, and I used a pretty good feedline. Doing tests against a dipole on 75 meters, the antenna I called a "G5RV" would almost always get a worse report than the antenna I called a "dipole", even during the times when I called the antennas by the opposite names of what they really were.
> 
> When I would do a test using "antenna 1" or "antenna  2", they were almost even.
> 
> The most extraordinary thing was with a good friend who just absolutely hated G5RV antennas. He would say "your audio sounds worse on the "G5RV" " . This was true even when I called the dipole a G5RV, or didn't change antennas at all and just said I was changing.
> 
> I really think this is why I installed a 300-foot tower just so I could have a high dipole. I "distinctly remembered' how well a 300-foot high dipole I had worked, and I wanted another one. After I installed the dipole here and compared it to a vertical and other antennas for a year or two, I finally remembered how well my old 1/4 wave vertical worked.  :)
> 
> This was eye opening to me.
> 
> 73 Tom 
> _________________
> Topband Reflector
> _________________
> Topband Reflector