[TowerTalk] Mosley Antenna Question

[Rick Stealey]

After reading through all of the Mosley discussion have we learned anything about antennas and the owners of them?
We can see there is still a lack of consensus as to the value of a few db, for one thing.And, at least obvious to me, it is nearly impossible for a lone ham, with only one tower, to judge the gain of two yagis - one that he owns now and one he previously owned.  Not taking issue with the results of the yagi comparison that has been referred to here.  In fact, let's assume for sake of discussion some yagi is on the market that DOES have some deficiency that results in loss amounting to something like 2 db.  IS IT POSSIBLE that not just one, but a very large number of users would not know this from on-the-air results?  Another example, so you might see where I'm going with this - say something happened and your 1500 watt amp was only putting out 1000 watts for the last month but you didn't know it.  That's about the same as a 2 db loss.  Do you think you, and 5,000 other hams with a similar situation would have still worked K1N?  And the Cocos group?  Without realizing it, you MAY have had to call a bit longer in the pileup but you'd have gotten through, right?  So, say this was the same situation with your yagi for the past 30 years.  Might you have still gotten to DXCC honor roll?  I think so, for sure.  Furthermore, when the owner of such a brand new yagi installed it he would see a dramatic change in signal strength as he rotated his yagi, and certainly a sizable f/b.  So he would beconvinced this yagi is doing a fantastic job and he would FEEL GOOD about it.  Almost no one has a reference 1/2 wave dipole, at the same height, with which to make meaningful comparisons, and no real reason to suspect that there would be any benefit by doing so.  And dozens of his friends might have the same antenna, and all are working dx countries by the hundreds.  In the early 80's I knew lots of guys with Classic 33s in NJ.  It was probably the most popular beam going, and the results were exactly as described above.  (I want to be sure you get my point, so another example is....)  Imagine, that without your knowledge, your tribander above was replaced with a 3 element monobander on an 18 ft boom, and you sat down at your station to tune the bands, would you know it?  Almost certainly not.
Most hams feel good about their antennas, and think they are performing well for them.  Ask any ham you talk to "How's that antenna of yours working out for you?"  Invariably the answer is "Great."  Then ask, "How do you know?"  If you don't get dead silence in reply, the answer will go something like, "Because of all the dx I work with it."  He's working dx, he feels good, he's got a good swr, an antenna that sparkles in the sunlight, and he's fat, dumb, and happy.  Life is good.
Rick  K2XT