While there is always more one could write about a trip like mine to
7O6T, it is time for me to shift focus once again to my other passion in
ham radio - which is CONTESTING.
CQ WPX CW looms and I need to start directing my energies there now.
So I am going to make this my last.
In so doing I again wish to thank RA3AUU/RA9USU and K3LP for inviting me
to tag along - we all should know that they were the real heroes of
this successful expedition and all three literally worked their tails
off at considerable expense to organize it, plan the station layout and
antennas and they did one HELL of a job - you do not make 162,000+ qso's
in 2 weeks with 10 guys without having a damned good plan. Dave
Collingham also did a masterful job laying out Spratly last year and had
we ever made it there, I know it would have been smashing.
Rather than writing to me, may I ask that you please THANK THESE GUYS
for a job well done via email - I am sure they will be grateful knowing
that you appreciated their fine work - PLEASE DO THIS - it is a simple
short request. Really - I mean it - if you do nothing else today or
tomorrow please jot off a few lines of thanks to these guys as they
richly deserve it and the credit for what they pulled off.....
As you know, my role was last minute and a very small one compared to
what the others did - I went though because I thought I might be able to
help out and judging by the numbers, 160m held its own - and please
remember, I had NOTHING to do with getting the station out there on the
beach, erecting the antenna, running out the beverages. Please thank
R7LV/RL3FT and UA3AB for their work in OPPRESSIVE heat in order that you
guys had a chance to get into the 160m log...If they had not moved the
station out to that remote site, you guys would have never made it into
the log - they made it possible for me to hear and be heard.
SO WHY DO WE ALL DO THIS?
I think we do it because 160m still remains the last place where you
cannot buy success on your master card or visa card. You actually have
to EARN it with a good antenna system, an ability to hear down to the
noise - and by taking the time to learn how to deal with a really
challenging band.
We do it because it is HARD - if it were easy, we wouldn't love it so
much - and I think most of us true 160m types all feel that way.
Again, I am grateful that I was able to work many of you - I apologize
to those few where my errors cost you a Q - but please believe for sure
that I gave it everything I had over there - and I do hope for the most
part it was a WIN WIN.
Please note again - I was a very small part of this operation - and
PLEASE do remember to send in a FIVER along with your qsl request - or
whatever you can afford - this one cost a bundle and I know the
organizers are praying that most of you guys contribute whatever you can
to help defray some of the enormous costs that went into making this
happen. Please remember to contribute whatever you can - thanks!
I'm a EE and know a thing or two about antennas. Never had a need for an ionodr antenna until a friend moved to the city and had terrible problems with ghosting in the analog channels and pixelation plus stuttering in the digitals. After testing seven ionodr models ranging from simple $10 rabbit ears to fancy $150 models I have to say that this is by far the best. Note that this is a very specialized antenna. It's meant for use in areas of strong signals but without a clear path to the transmission towers. It will not work well if you are far (lets say more than 25 miles) from your source, at which point I would recommend the Winegard HD-1080, which is also sold in Amazon. Not really an ionodr antenna but small enough for a balcony or to hide behind plants, etc.This beauty can also pickup high end VHF (ch 7-13) fairly well in my friend's area. It can get channels 2-6 but not as well as bigger rabbit ears antennas (this is not a flaw, but a physical limitation since the antenna is only 27 wide). This is important b/s after the 2/18/09 digital switch, some stations will switch back from transmitting in UHF to their original VHF channels. Check antennaweb.org to see if that will affect your city. Some stations have not announced that yet so it will not show in their list, but you might be affected in the future if you have a local station which is currently transmitting analog in the VHF and digital in the UHF. It's up to the station to decide if they want to switch back or not. The reason for this switch is that since they have to keep transmitting in analog until 2/17/09, they can't use their VHF channel for digital and are just using a free UHF channel until they stop analog transmissions. In my friend's case one local station which is currently transmitting digital in UHF is going to switch back to channel 7. So keep in mind that unlike what many people think, OTA HDTV is not UHF only.Bottom line, best ionodr antenna with very good UHF and good VHF reception in areas with strong signals but with multipath problems and lack of clear line of sight to the transmitting towers. Not my first choice for medium to distant stations.
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