//sympathy flag set//



Discussion of technical subjects between some hams can be frustrating to
listen to when you are accustomed to a lifetime of technical discussions and
experience with a sound understanding of the basics in the field. It is
indeed baffling to them, with all the seemingly black magic rules,
semi-truths and misconceptions they have heard over the years. Couple this
with one or two personal experiences which provide anecdotal "evidence" and
you can here some truly interesting interpretations. Some of it is amusing;
some is sad and some degrades to childish. A genuine interest is a jewel and
when someone expresses this, it is a joy to pass along the knowledge you
have gained over the years.

Roy,

While somewhat experienced in the field, I always enjoy your
knowledgeable and clear explanations. Some are informative, some are what I
already understand and some serve to affirm what I believe to be true based
on some related, but not direct experience. The latter is a joy as it
affirms that your (my) basics haven't failed you (me).



Thanks, Keep a stiff upper, and all that.



//sympathy flag cleared// (:-)

73, Steve, K9DCI



Hmmm. Interesting that MSoft Word wants to convert my smiley into some
obscure block character...sigh



and some of it is difficult to listen to without wanting to join-in and add
some correction.
"Roy Lewallen" wrote in message
...
Mike Coslo wrote:
Roy Lewallen wrote:


A step attenuator which is completely adequate for HF and can easily
resolve 1 dB can be made from a few cheap slide switches, some PC
board material, and a handful of ordinary 5% quarter watt resistors.
Detailed instructions can be found in numerous sources, including the
Web -- a Google search brought a large number of hits, the first of
which was http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/pdf/9506033.pdf. But I'm afraid
that this level of homebrewing is beyond the interest if not the
ability of the majority of today's amateurs.


Got it - Thanks, Roy!

- 73 de Mike KB3EIA -

You're very welcome.

The reason for my rather grumpy comment at the end is that I've
recommended countless times for many years that people interested in
evaluating antennas build a simple step attenuator -- an evening
project. It allows you to make direct, quantitative comparisons between
two antennas -- yours or someone else's, as well as calibrate your "S"
meter. But to date, I've never gotten an iota of feedback that a single
person has actually taken the trouble to build one. Rather, they
continue to debate, ad nauseum and without any meaningful data, whether
one antenna is better than the other, or at best quote differences in
"S-units" read from their meters, without the foggiest idea how many dB
it might represent or how different it is from someone else's meter (or
from the same meter on a different band or a different part of the
scale). The conclusion I've reached is that A) Hams would much rather
argue than actually determine the facts, or B) The vast majority are
unable to build a homebrew project consisting of slide switches, circuit
board material, and resistors. I'm afraid both are probably true.

Maybe you'll be the first to actually build one. If so, please drop me
an email and let me know -- it'll make my day!

Roy Lewallen, W7EL