[TowerTalk] antenna gain

[Big Don]

On Sun, 6 Jul 1997 K7LXC@aol.com wrote:

> In a message dated 97-07-06 07:57:22 EDT, you write:
> 
> > My guess is there is no incentive for the ARRL to clear up the confusion.
> >  Better to leave the situation as murky as possible so the manufacturers
> >  can all attempt to out-hype each other with expensive ads...
> [...] 
> The truth is that the ARRL doesn't give a fig about their advertisers.
> I've been directly involved in the amateur market since the 80's and have
> found this to be mostly true. 

The issue is:  Will ham mag publishers restrict the flow of valuable
information to the troops (e.g., antenna gain, equip perfromance, et.al.)
in order to please BigBux advertisers?  Big Don cites a data point...

Go to AG6K's website:  http;//www.vcnet.com/measures/background.html
(search for TS-830 to find the incriminating paragraph).  A terrific
article on how to fix all the common problems with this rig 
(http://www.vcnet.com/measures/830.html) was ready for publication (it is
alleged) when a major transceiver manufacturer got wind of it and applied
heat on the publisher to squelch it.  The manufacturer wanted the troops
out there buying *new* rigs, not fixing up the old ones...the mag knuckled
under (it is alleged).  At any rate, it was not published.  

It's a great article.  It's printed it out and stapled it into *my*  830
manual.  It should unquestionably have  been published.

The same website contains material suggesting that homebrew amp articles
might get the big amp manufacturers spin applied to distort the
publication such that the troops would  favor the big bux
well-advertised production amp...

And I always suspected the reason Heath altogether quit advertisng in QST
is because QST told the (however soft-peddled) truth about the minor
problems their guys had getting the more complex kits to work.  That's
what happens to the mag, if they tell the truth: damaged advertisers go
bye-bye... 

So my breath isn't being held waiting for the long-overdue OK_Corral
Shootout article in QST comparing the 34XA, TH7, and their Moseley/Force12
equivalents...tell me it's in next month's issue ;-)

Big Don



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