[VHFcontesting] looking for input.....

[Gregg Seidl]

Antennas are VERY important but don't forget one thing about having a top 
notch rig as well.If someone is high power-big antenna station they can send 
a rig into melt-down real easy.736's are terrible at that.Problem is with 
them rigs that if you use a high gain antenna you end up feeding that much 
more signal into a rig that can't handle it anyway.
    The trick is to try to balance it out.
    Having said that though I think I would lean toward a decent antenna 
system first and then upgrade the rig as $$ permits.Then I'd try to step up 
into some decent power of 100-200 watts.
    I still think nothing can beat a good HF rig tied to good xverter.I LOVE 
my IC-7700 hooked up to a DEMI xverter.No one can make that combo desense.In 
a station where you are a portable though that just isn't feasible.You do 
what you can with what you got!!  Gregg K9KL