[TowerTalk] $$$ and contesting stations

[Cqtestk4xs at aol.com]

It's not always a matter of $$, although that does help.  I've  seen 
presentations of $100,000 installations that were foolishly designed.   I've seen 
great stations designed on a shoestring out in the boonies.  
 
Many guys sacrifice living near "stuff" to get either lots of land  or to 
be on a remote mountain top.  These same guys scrounge hardline, pick  up 
hardware from estate sales and roll lots of their own hardware.  
 
A great contest station CAN cost hundreds of thousands, but through  
sacrificing convenience and being a wise builder, it can be done much  cheaper.
 
Example 1:  I had to drive to a location about 250 miles from  my QTH, 
wrestle around with piles of hardline tangled up with all kinds of BIG  spools 
laying over them to get some 7/8 hardline....1600 feet of it.   Cost:  price 
of the gas, my time, and a $100 donation to the guys  charity.
 
Example 2:  I picked up 310 feet of Rohn  65, cost...$3900.  I had to make 
four or five 130 mile roundtrips to  move it with a borrowed trailer and my 
truck.  Total cost around $4200 and  my time.
 
Example 3:  Half a dozen 1000 ft rolls of 1/4 and 5/16 inch  EHS from a 
surplus place for less than 8 cents a foot.  Yes, I had to drive  pretty far to 
get them, but I saved a bundle.
 
I'm sure others on the list could come up with even better results  than 
mine, but the point is you don't have to be rich to have a great  
station...just resourceful and willing/able to spend some time searching for  great 
deals.
 
K4XS/KH7XS  Cheap ham...aren't most of us?