[TowerTalk] [CQ-Contest] Contest QTH, hilltop or seaside?

[Bill via TowerTalk]

I can vouch for checking out QTHs by driving around.
 
Before I actually set up my tower at KH6 I was working W9RE from my  mobile 
from exactly where my tower was eventually going to be erected.  The  QSO 
started on 40 SSB and he was S-7 at around 4 PM local time.  The QTH  was 870 
ft above sea level and about 3000 feet from the Pacific.  Only a  couple of 
minutes later as I drove down to the 300 ft level, and closer to the  
Ocean, he steadily dropped into the noise never to come back up.
 
Oh, do I long for that QTH!
 
K4XS/KH7XS
 
 
In a message dated 1/2/2015 3:56:08 P.M. Coordinated Universal Time,  
k3bu at optimum.net writes:

Oceanfront, salty ground typically ads about 15 dB especially  with 
verticals. Low angle, close to horizon, on RX and TX plus no noise  
sources from the ocean, can't be beaten. Just get into the mobile and  
drive around, in and out from the beach or on the bridge over salty  
water. Like driving into the  amplifier.