[TowerTalk] best coax/receiving
wa4dou@juno.com
wa4dou@juno.com
Wed, 12 Apr 2000 22:13:01 -0400
Hi Bob,
I'm sorry that you are offended. However i stand by every word i wrote.
And i don't believe i wrote anything that disparages or demeans anyone!
Did you have a bad day Bob?
--------------73 Roy WA4DOU
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On Thu, 13 Apr 2000 09:58:05 -0400 "Robert Shohet" <kq2m@mags.net>
writes:
> Frankly you have a lot of nerve! Your lumping all contesters
> together
> "contester mentality" and "winning at any cost" is grossly
> inaccurate and
> VERY insulting! Many contesters that I know personally are some of
> the most
> decent and ethical human beings that walk this planet. Many are
> not.
> Regardless, you should know better than to generalize in such an
> insulting
> and demeaning manner!
>
> I know of VERY few "contesters" that have $50,000 to spend on a
> station much
> less have done so. Many of the winners that you insult, myself
> included,
> would not DREAM of spending $50K on a station. But so what if we
> did?
> It's our money and we have a right to do with it as we please and
> your
> "sitting in judgment" is inappropriate and reflects badly on you.
>
> Do you really believe that only contesters spend lots of money of
> their
> station? Maybe you never met serious DXers? Or VHF'ers, or new
> radio
> enthusiasts or just casual guys that like to own the best radio
> equipment
> instead of a boat, or a vacation home. Would you demean and insult
> them
> too? I don't insult and demean casual contesters, or DX'ers, or
> QRP'ers.
> Everybody has a right to do as they please if they are not harming
> others
> and who would I be to judge them?
>
> There is nothing wrong with the pursuit of excellence whether it's
> coax
> cables, Dxing, Tiddlywinks or anything else. It is through
> intelligent
> thinking, discussion, testing etc. that real progress is made and
> new things
> learned by all. However, before this can take place in a meaningful
> manner,
> one must also have tolerance for others, respect for other
> viewpoints and
> practices and an enlightened approach to learning.
>
> I suggest you reflect on this and the next time you wish to openly
> generalize and insult others, take an extra few minutes to reflect
> on how
> what you write will be received by others. Better still, before you
> insult
> a group of people by pretending that you know who and what they are,
> actually GET TO KNOW THEM FIRST. Most likely you will discover that
> your
> first impression was WRONG and you will be glad that you did not
> send an
> inflammatory posting which only embarrasses yourself!
>
> Bob KQ2M
>
> -- Original Message -----
> From: <wa4dou@juno.com>
> To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2000 6:37 PM
> Subject: [TowerTalk] best coax/receiving
>
>
> >
> > Hi Dave and Gang,
> > With all due respect to Maurio, and the others who feel like
> him, on
> > the issue, generally speaking, all tests prove something and mean
> > something.
> >
> > It has been my experience that many, if not most hams, give up
> > listening, before signals fall into the noise. You have proven
> that, at
> > least in the time you conducted your test, that your qth is noise
> > limited, that external noise limits your receiving ability. I'm
> not aware
> > of your antenna type, nor the gain-F/B figures, nor would it seem
> very
> > germaine since you found no heading where the noise disappeared
> > completely, except to say that it might be conceivable that a
> larger
> > antenna might benefit you slightly. If your qth is about average
> there
> > might be times where the external noise falls to such a low level
> that it
> > could be demonstrated that you can't avail yourself completely of
> its
> > benefit. In that sense, and circumstance, your feedline might be
> one of
> > your limitations. Those limitations might be minor to you, or
> perhaps
> > even inconsequential. How long is your run of "cheesy" RG-213?
> (Ha!)
> >
> > I am a ham that will listen to signals in the noise. QRP'ers
> develop an
> > affinity for trying to hang with signals, and any ham who has used
> very
> > modest antennas and wanted to work lots of dx, has to be willing
> to do
> > so.
> >
> > I do understand the "contester" mentality. To these guys,
> winning
> > dictates that any edge, no matter how slight, must be gained and
> taken
> > advantage of. Personally, i think the victory is hollow, which is
> why i
> > do not share their enthusiasm for the "winning" mentality. I do
> not fault
> > them for it. I enjoy contesting, but i enjoy the "participation",
> and
> > could not care less if i win or not. I don't have anything to
> prove.
> > Besides, my opinion of "contesters", good or bad, or even
> indifferent,
> > isn't even important here. I must admit that it never dawned on me
> that a
> > contester might spend $50,000 on a station, antennas, towers, etc.
> >
> > In all things, studied carefully and dispassionately, there is
> such a
> > thing as the cost/benefit ratio. My arguements are predicated on
> the
> > premise that for most hams with rotatable type antennas that
> exibit gain
> > ,front to back ratio, directionality, etc., there is a point of
> > diminishing returns, beyond which, costs escalate
> disproportinately to
> > the perceived value. A contester perceives a db as a valuable
> asset.
> > Knowing that a db is "just barely discernable", that 3 db "isn't
> > remarkable", that 5 db is "a worthwhile change" and that 10 db is
> "a
> > whole new level of performance", i am only willing to go but so
> far. What
> > do you expect of one who made a "clean sweep" in the 1977
> Sweepstakes
> > and didn't even bother to send in the log? My station? A Drake
> TR-4 and a
> > 270 ft. longwire.
> >
> > Last year, while building my tower(first, and only in 38 yrs. as
> a
> > ham), it became possible for me to acquire 250 ft. of Andrews
> LDF-4 1/2"
> > heliax, never wet, not even very old, clean outside, loss
> characteristics
> > just as new, for about $.90 a foot. , providing me the opportunity
> to
> > have two runs to the top of the tower, one for H.F., one for 6
> meters. I
> > could just as well done with RG-213, and in fact ,i acquired 150
> ft. of
> > RG-213 for a backup run. There can be other reasons for using very
> low
> > loss line. I wanted to be able to bury it in pvc conduit. That
> ruled out
> > open wire line. I didn't want to risk having lightning puncture
> the
> > dielectric in the feedline, since my driven elements are not at
> d.c.
> > ground. I'm using transient protection at both ends of the runs,
> which
> > will likely "clamp" below the critical voltage and i have an
> "under 5 ohm
> > ground." The power handling capability is of no importance to me.
> I
> > personally would not have paid $1.85 to $2.50 per foot for 1/2"
> heliax .
> > I took advantage of a good deal.
> >
> > You contesters will "cringe" when i tell you that i once worked
> VK9, on
> > 30 meters, in the early morning hours, dead band otherwise. My
> power? 1
> > watt. My antenna? An inverted vee, 35 ft. high at the apex, fed
> with 100
> > ft. of RG-58c/u. Sure, i was the only one calling him in the whole
> world.
> >
> >
> > I love ham radio, i fell in love with radio at age 9. I made
> radio my
> > career(technician), but i like to remind myself, that they throw
> our
> > qsl's in the trash when we die. There really are other things in
> life
> > besides radio.
> >
> > I wish everyone of you, every db you want and deserve! No matter
> how
> > much it costs you! Ha! 73 Roy WA4DOU
> >
>
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> >
>
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> >
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
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>
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