Michael Coslo wrote:
K=D8HB wrote:
"Michael Coslo" wrote

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.

This assertion is different from your original question which implied t=
hat
100W/dipole stations are manned by better operators than "knob twiddler=
s" found
at better equipped stations.

It was a question, Hans. Not an implication. It isn't an either or
proposition either. I'd be purdy dum to think that those who have more
mundane setups have better ops than those at the better stations.

And I would still want to have that good op with a 100 watt station
than the not so good op at the "contest station".

Obviously the best setup is the good op at the good station.


My assertion is that competition-grade STATIONS
("competition grade" does not mean "most expensive") are built and oper=
ated by
competition-grade radiomen. Witness K1TTT, KC1XX, W3LPL, W0AIH, N0AT, =
K0KX,
K3LR, W7RM, etc., etc.

Of course. But this whole tangent of the thread was based on my
assertion that between the good operator and the good equipment, your
best to side with the good operator.

Kinda like buying that huge Craftsman (or Snap-On or whatever) tool set
and cabinet doesn't make you a master mechanic. However, many master
mechanics have that same tool set.

I look at it another way...

The basic evaluation factor in contesting is "what are the limitations"
- IOW, what limited/limits your score?

Put up the classic "100W midrange HF transceiver and G5RV at 40 feet"
station. Paper logs.

If you sit an unskilled op in front of it during a major contest, the
score will be mostly limited by the operator's skill, not the setup.
Put a skilled op in the same seat, and the score will be mostly limited
by the setup.

The key to improvements is to identify what the limiting factors
are, and how to deal with them. That's where SO2R came from in
the first place. The top ops found that their scores were being
limited by the choice between running contacts and grabbing
multipliers. SO2R permits doing both at almost the same time. For
an op capable of using such a setup well, it removes a limitation. To
an op who is not so skilled, it won't make much difference.

73 de Jim, N2EY