RadioBanter - View Single Post

June 23rd 05, 04:59 PM

wrote:

Mike Coslo wrote:

KØHB wrote:

"Mike Coslo" wrote

Who do ya want - a impatient knob twiddler with a FTDX 9000
and an antenna
farm of (insert your favorite antenna here), or a good
capable contester with
say a dipole and an IC-746.

Your example is specious, Mike. Generally the contester who builds a
competition grade station has also invested in building the
skills and
techniques to take advantage of the capabilities they have
sought in their station design.

Do you think so Hans? I have examples of just that, and it
has been my
personal experience. Your statement is true as far as it
goes, but I've
seen what happens when the newbies have access to the
competition grade
setups, as sometimes happens during events such as Field day

The difference is that they didn't build that station themselves.

And that experience is *exactly* why I am convinced that the operator
is so much more important than the setup.

I'm willing to admit I am incorrect, but not unless someone can come up
with an alternate explanation that hold water.

The unskilled operators don't do very well even with an excellent
setup, and the skilled operators do well with a more mundane setup that
the new or less experienced have a lot of trouble with.

Specious, or wrong, I'd love to hear the alternatives.

So many of the newbies I have worked with come in with the
expectations
of sitting down, throwing the tuning knob around, and calling,
then
waiting for the pileup. They get frustrated with the work that
you have to put into the more modest setups.

I think one of the main purposes of FD is that sort of
education. Let folks try out new (to them) rigs, new antennas,
operating techniques, etc., and see what *really* works. And
let the newbies see how it's done.

Yup. It worked for me, and I've seen it work for others. We've gottem a
couple new hams (or gotten inactive ones back) every FD I've been at.

Many times we are told that the station "isn't working".
And of course it is.

Cockpit trouble. Short-circuit between the headphones.

An experienced and patient operator can start making QSO's
immediately. One of the newbies decided that he wanted to use
the QRO
station and referred to the GOTA as a "toy station".

"younger and more capable minds"....

I've had similar experiences on FD. Some folks think they're
doing well to make QSOs on SSB at a certain rate with a beam and 100 W
transceiver, with an op and a logger. Exhausted after an hour or two,
they wander over to the CW tent and find me working
them at 2, 3 or more times their rate, with a dipole, "old"
transceiver, and no logger.

The reactions when presented with a manual transmatch were
priceless, too.

Those QRO stations are powerful competition for lower powered
ones. It
is not terribly difficult to twiddle the knob, start calling
CQ, and
getting return calls. Problem is, it doesn't tend to make you a good contester.

That's why it might be a good idea - next year - to run all ~100 W
setups.

We did last year, and I liked it. Made almost as many points too.

- mike KB3EIA -