On 2/27/2014 1:57 PM, Jim Vohland wrote:
. I have wondered however, why we never see any DXexpeditions
using TenTec equipment? Comments.
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A couple of reasons come to my mind.
One is size and weight. A lot of guys like smaller and lighter radios
for traveling to far away locations. It costs serious folding money to
ship big heavy stuff. If you compare the Orion II to the K3 you get the
point in a hurry.
Another is (I believe) Elecraft has a bank of radios it either lends out
or rents for cheap so they look like the rig everyone takes. They seem
to pursue and promote and cater to the DX-pedition crowd. This sort of
marketing, makes sense to me.
Also, there is a certain "cultural" aspect to ham radio. Hams who go on
DX-peditions must look at what other guys are doing, and they certainly
must talk among themselves and compare notes, and I presume there is a
certain social inertia or momentum that occurs, such that a a consensus
emerges as to what is the right rig to take to Bimini or Foxtail Island.
There is a similar "contest culture" and a consensus emerges such
that some rigs come to be viewed as "contest quality rigs" even though
you can use pretty much any radio in a contest. Consider Rick's point
about the Eagle... some say say it is not a "contest rig" per se, but if
I understand his point correctly, if your receiver is THAT GOOD, and
THAT selective, does the transmit matter all that much? If not, then
having a super selective receiver defines a suitable contest rig, and as
Rick says, the Eagle is JUST THAT. I mean what ELSE would it need
besides a really selective receiver? Are the transmitters all that
different in practice? If not, then the super easy, simple Eagle might
just be the ideal contest rig... but the "contest culture" does not see
it that way. Therefore, I suspect there is a social aspect to all of
this. This is not necessarily a bad thing, just a factor to recognize.
--------------- K8JHR -------------------------
/./
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