At 04:10 PM 10/6/1999 +0000, alsopb wrote:
>Comparisons with bigger arrays is also needed so
>one can get a realistic assessment of how well you
>can likely compete with the multitude. Also it
>provides some info on just what it will take
>(cost) to become more competitive.
>
>I really wonder what the "average array" looks
>like today. 5 elements on 20 at 100' or what?
Several years ago, Scott Tuthill, K7ZO, compiled a database of US/Canadian
and DX contest stations, by hand-collecting information from the 3830
contest score reflector. The database contains a wealth of station
information, including antennas by HF band, transceiver(s), amplifier(s),
and contest software. The task of maintaining the database became
prohibitively time-consuming, and as a result he retired from actively
pursuing the project in December 1997, at which point the database
contained 716 US/Canada records and 379 DX stations.
Recently, I got interested in bringing that work up to date, but couldn't
face the manual labor involved. Scott has kindly authorized me to build on
his excellent compilations if I can find a less time-intensive way to do so.
Since I have access to a web site, I am developing a web page that will
respond to queries by call. That way, the next time you get waxed in a
pileup, or wonder why W7XXX did so much better than you in CQWW, you can
look up his station description and find out.
You will also be able to look up your own station and, if the description
is out of date, update it by posting new data to a form on a companion web
page. It won't be posted directly to the database, so it may take a day or
two for it to turn up, because I want to maintain some quality control.
Eventually, I hope to have each field sufficiently controlled that we can
do statistical operations on the database. For example, we might be able
to generate data on the average number of elements in 20-meter arrays, the
average height above ground, the most popular transceiver, etc.
All this last bit is pie in the sky, but I hope to have the basic database
retrieve-and-revise functions operational within a month. I'll advise all
the usual reflectors when that happens.
73, Pete N4ZR
Sometimes a tower is just a tower
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