[VHFcontesting] Yagiphobia, Confusion and Infusion

[aduhawk at comcast.net]

Good points, Buddy.  I was drawn to the challenge of weak signal VHF work and set out to give it a try.  I bought a used IC-211, and a 4 element beam.  I had some old RG8U.  I got the antenna up about 35 feet.  It was 1983.  Within an hour I was told that my radio was garbage (nobody thougth that my IC 720 was garbage) my beam was too small (4 element monobanders are monsters on HF) and that I needed to get 1/2" hardline. 
Not very welcoming.  Here's an aside.  In July I saw WB0TEM at the CSVHF Conference.  I related to him that he was my first Aurora contact.  That QSO was made with the above mentioned equipment.  
  
Over the next ten years the station grew to cover 6 VHF+ bands with stacked antennas, 4CX350Bs and sequenced preamps. 
  
I now live in an antenna restricted environment, but will sneak antennas out onto the balcony.  I began last weekend's contest with loops.  I operated for about an hour.  I couln't hear anyone who was not in a grid that touched my grid.  I took the antennas down and put up a 6 meter rotatable dipole, a 5 element 2 meter beam and a 5 element 222 beam.  They were all just above the roofline, just above 30'.  I received many reports complimenting my barefoot signal strength and now could easily work the grids that touched the grids that touched the grids that touched my grid. 
  
One day in the distant but not unforseeable future we will be in a postion to put up the tower and add those long boom antennas.   In the meantime, let's do as Buddy says. 
  
73, Tim K0PG 

----- Original Message -----

From: BEAMAR at aol.com 
To: vhfcontesting at contesting.com 
Sent: Tuesday, September 17, 2013 8:16:40 AM 
Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] Yagiphobia, Confusion and Infusion 

This is a response to several posts. First off Yagis. There are some newer   
people that seem to lean towards loops. I have tried to steer them toward 
yagis  with limited success. It should become obvious to them, after a while, 
that the  yagi is a much better deal. The greatest incentive I have ever 
had in ham radio  is to hear somebody work a station that I could not hear. 
These people that are  getting on with loops, if they are really interested, 
will progress. 
  
As to the people that are using HF antennas. Around here there are several   
stations that are using HF antennas, on 6M. Some of them think, what they 
have  is wonderful. There is a 6M SSB net, in a nearby community, that I 
check into,  whenever my schedule permits. I am the only participant that I 
would call a weak  signal op. All different types of antennas are used by the 
net participants -  500 foot horizontal loops, HF verticals, yagis, you name 
it. Listening to the  net, from 20 miles away, a 6M dipole is somewhere 
around 20 db above one of the  HF antennas. On two occasions I tried to give one 
of these guys a real 6M  antenna. He turned me down, because he knew his 
160M loop was a much better  antenna. This situation needs some work. 
  
Verticals: You talk to the guy with the multi band, multi mode radio. He   
has never pressed the SSB button above 10M. But, he has a 440/2M ground 
plane. I  explain about how much further you can talk on SSB.  "I tried it, I   
couldn't hear anybody and the SWR was sky high", is what I get back. He/she is 
 disgusted with the local repeater denizens. But, he/she is unwilling  to 
make the investment in a horizontal antenna, that is resonant on the low end   
of the band. I don't know what to say to these folks. 
  
Two meters is for repeaters only: I have one friend who was licensed in the 
 early days of the VEC program. When he got his license, the president of 
the  club told him, "Buy a 2M/440 dual band FM radio, that's all you need". 
My friend  says he would have missed out on a lot of fun, had he followed 
this person's  advice. Many hams whole world revolves around the local 
repeaters. There is so  much more to ham radio than talking on a repeater. Weak 
signal work is just one  of the many, many things you can do with Amateur Radio. 
We should encourage  people to get out of the repeater sandbox  and try 
other bands and modes. 
  
Just about every HF radio, manufactured in the last 15 years has 6M. I   
think that is the place to start. Encourage people to put up a simple 
horizontal  dipole for 6M and push the SSB button on their radio. Some percentage of 
them  will get interested in weak signal work. 
  
Above all, when new people show up on, 6M or 2M, we should make them feel   
welcome. Many of the "tinkers", mentioned in earlier posts, when they do get 
on  the air, could be a lot more friendly. 
  
A long harangue. But getting more activity is a subject that is  dear to me. 
  
Buddy WB4OMG 
EL 98 
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