Maybe my little 80m dipole was not acting like a 'wet noodle' after
all? Reading about everyone's experiences seems like I was right in
there with you! I only managed one good run on 20m Sunday morning,
otherwise I kept glancing at my wires to see if they were still up!
As for operator skills, I certainly agree. Listening to the very poor
skills of operators, prior to the contest, who were chasing the
Caribbean expeditions, kinda gave a clue about an almost total lack
of operating skill today. But we have to be honest about this! The
primary reason these guys operate the way they do is because us OP's
(old pharts) just don't take the time to tutor new hams any more.
Today, you cant go by call signs to pick out a beginner, but you sure
can by listening to their lack of skill.
A local friend, who just passed his Extra exam in Lawerenceville (sp)
recently, did not know how to make his IC-756 Pro II operate on CW.
I went over to help him get it working. While there, he was on SSB
and I noticed he was running his amp at 2400 watts output!! He
thought it was a 'cool' thing to do. No matter how much I tried to
convince him that his antennas were the real clue, he had been told
by others to 'crank everything to the right!' So I sent him out to my
house to listen to his own radio. When we started, he gave me an
S-meter reading while I ran his amp at 1000 w output. Then I cranked
his amp up 'too high' and ask for the reading again. He was kinda
astonished he could not tell the difference. He now does not run
illegal power any more. His next lesson will be how to operate split,
then how to operate in a pile up. I hate to admit that this is the
first ham that I have taken the time to 'tutor' in the 53 years I've
been in the hobby. What about you?
Tom - W4BQF
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