[TenTec] Contest Data and Conclusions

[Bill Tippett <btippett@alum.mit.edu>]

Hi Billy,

AA4NU wrote:
>You continue to create straw men ... with lots of what-if's
such as the time the M/x staffed the bands/etc.  Ditto as
to the prop/etc. As my prof used to say, beware the sample
size of one ... stats can be used to "justify" about anything.

        Sample size of 1???  How about a sample size of 18 major
DX contests spanning 6 seasons?  I excluded 3 WPX results since
the M/M competition level is much less than CQ WW or ARRL DX):

http://users.vnet.net/btippett/new_page_6.htm

1999-2003: One #1 overall out of 14 tests (2000 CQ WW SSB).
2003-2004: Two #1's out of 4.  6 Q's short of K9NS in a 3rd.
If zero point USA Q's were removed I suspect I would be #1
in that one also.

...same operator, same location, same antennas, same power.
First 14 using an original MP; last 4 using Orion.  Statistical
fluke?  Coincidental?  Possibly, but having extensively used
both rigs I know which one I'm keeping.

>Wonder why KC1XX and others are still using other gear
as the norm after almost 2 years. For most of those guys,
the $3.5k price point is probably NOT the deciding factor
when you look at the total station investment ... These guys
aren't dumb ... many of their stations represent the top tier
of contest station design. If they thought the advantage was
that solid ... Orions would be on every desk there? Mnnn.

>Maybe by next season we'll see that ... not just at KC1XX,
but across the board ... competition is competition.

        K1GQ and W1FV are probably two of the technically
sharpest guys at KC1XX...so stay tuned.  By the time Orion appears in the 
PVRC database, it may be history.
Databases like this are lagging indicators.  If you
followed them, you would have bought a TS-930S about
the same time the FT-1000 family arrived on the scene.

>Bill, your a great op ... can't for a moment believe that you
would not have placed at the top, even without the Orion!

        Thank you...but believe me it is VERY difficult to
ever place at the top of all M/M's as the above results
indicate.  I've operated at W3LPL twice and know exactly
how the M/M game is played at the highest level.  It
is extremely difficult for a single op to ever beat
ALL top-tier M/M's (KC1XX, K3LR, K9NS and W3LPL).  Of
course this is also exactly why I love the challenge of
doing it.

        I believe we are at the end of meaningful dialog
here.  Some people are driven by data (measurements,
results, etc).  Others are more driven by opinion,
popularity, etc.  Let's just recognize our differences
and move on.

                                        73 and Merry Christmas All!

                                        Bill  W4ZV


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