[CQ] CQ Digest, Vol 20, Issue 4

[Elise Scher]

Nice post to the list.
My General ticket arrived today.

Elise L. Scher
KI6PUO

On Thu, Jun 16, 2011 at 12:00 PM, <cq-request at lists.noisebridge.net> wrote:

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> Today's Topics:
>
>   1. " Marconi spins in his grave everytime a ham buys an aerial
>      instead of building it. " (Michael Shiloh)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 16 Jun 2011 10:57:20 -0700
> From: Michael Shiloh <michaelshiloh1010 at gmail.com>
> Subject: [CQ] " Marconi spins in his grave everytime a ham buys an
>        aerial instead of building it. "
> To: cq <cq at lists.noisebridge.net>
> Message-ID: <4DFA4400.4030208 at gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
>
>
> Gotta love this guy:
>
> http://www.qsl.net/wb1gfh/antenna.html
>
> I recommend you read the whole article
>
> Such gems as:
>
> "Back during the disco era when I first got on the air, I
> got a pair of really cool antique pyrex antenna
> insulators from a flea market table in Derry, NH
> for 25 cents each. They looked like the kind Hiram
> Percy Maxim used in 1910, and seemed able to pull in
> exotic DX all by themselves. The other day I found out
> that Radio Shack wants $5 apiece for insulators made
> from some kind of white plastic crap. So I improvised
> my own by sawing up pieces of an acrylic adjusting rod
> from a discarded miniblind. I think Hiram would've
> been proud of me.
>
> and
>
> "Ham Tradition
>
> Today's new hams have been cheated out of the constructive experience of
> being harangued and berated by crabby old "Elmers" preaching about how
> they did things in the "good old days", so I am taking it upon myself to
> provide you with a taste of it here.
>
> There is very little experimentation among hams these days, and most
> stations are cookie-cutter duplicates of one another: same antenna, same
> Japanese transceiver, same 599 QSO. This is not the ham radio tradition
> of old. In the 1930's and 40's you might find one ham using twisted bell
> wire as a feedline. Another might be using bare electric fence wire on
> ceramic standoffs nailed to wooden planks. Another might be using copper
> tubing. Or pieces of metal roofing. Or auto ignition cable. Or tin cans
> soldered together. If you looked at their stations you'd discover a
> wealth of marvelous invention, idosyncratic design, and an incredible
> ability to press available objects and materials into service. During
> the 1960's, groups of hams would get together to swill cases of beer and
> then make antennas out of the discarded cans by soldering them together,
> end-to-end. Improvise. Experiment. Take notes of what works and what
> doesn't. This is what ham radio is all about.
>
>
>
>
>
> When you put up your antenna is also crucial. I must mention here the
> importance of what many early hams called "antenna weather". That is,
> snow, sleet, freezing rain, or combination of all the above. It has been
> proven time and time again that any antenna installed in conditions
> better than abysmal will not function worth a damn. Or, put another way,
> it takes bad weather to put up a decent antenna. Dark and cold New
> England winter days are ideal for this activity. Any antenna erected on
> such a day will inevitably produce miracles.
>
>
>
>
> Many of you will recognize THE $4 SPECIAL's design as the venerable
> "double zepp" aerial, a variation of the "end-fed Zepp" -- the skyhook
> responsible for the dramatic Hindenberg tragedy in Lakehurst, NJ. It
> seems the blimp's radio op decided to work a little DX while waiting for
> landing clearance. He sent out a few CQ's. Unknown to him, the ladder
> line had twisted in the breeze, shorting the bare conductors. A
> brilliant spark flared up, and....well, that's another story altogether.
>
> To see an "end-fed Zepp" version of the $4 Special, click here.
>
> Alas, I never had a 100 foot tower to hang this antenna from. The one in
> Mass. was up 50 ft. and worked what I considered terrific DX. The one I
> have now is only up 30 ft. and gets good to average results. It won't
> outdo a yagi at 100 feet. Very few things will.
>
> But for $4....who can complain?!
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
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> End of CQ Digest, Vol 20, Issue 4
> *********************************
>
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