K=D8HB wrote:
"Bill Turner" wrote

Contesting hardware has evolved to the point that one must
spend a small fortune to be competitive..........

I don't think money is what makes you competitive.

It's an important factor, though. Always has been. Part of the
game in most contests.

Innovation and thoughtful
design of your station, honing your skills, and picking the
fights you can win are what make a station competitive.

"picking the fights you can win" means "have realisitic expectations".

I'll use my station as a prime example.

This'll be good...

In the major contests in which I
compete I have an excellent record of success with lots of
section and division
wallpaper and walnut on the wall. Any time I get whupped it's due to =
better operators, not the cost of the station.

My SO2R setup consists of a 10-year-old Icom run rig and a 17-
year-old mult rig.

And they are?

The city-lot antenna farm consists of a single tower with a
tribander,

Which is more than many hams will ever have.

And that description covers a lot of ground. "city-lot" could mean an
acre. "Single tower" could be 70 feet or more.
"Tribander" could be anything from a TA-33 to a Force 12 or whatever.

Big differences under that umbrella.

a selection of wire antennas, and a couple of verticals.

I'll take a dipole at 90 feet over a TA-33 at 40 feet...

Station control is an
8-year-old 'consumer grade 486', CT by K1EA (freeware), and
homebrewed
SO2R-relay/wiring system. "Hamfest value" of the entire
station is well below the "small fortune" level.

"Fortune" is in the wallet of the spender. For some folks, a $2000
station is a small fortune. For others, a $2000 transceiver
is "not competitive".

What's the replacement value of the tower and everything on it?
Not hamfest value - replacement value.

And then there's the price of the real estate to put it all on....

You only need a "small fortune" if you're adverse to a
little "sweat equity" and decide to buy it all at
1-800-rigs-r-us.

Agreed! In fact, one of the great levelers is the relatively low
price and high quality of used gear. Say, a good clean TT Omni VI+
with all the filters and mods. Close to $3000 back when it was new -
half that today? Less than half?

The computer that was $2000 less than a decade ago can be rescued from
doorstop status and put to work in the shack. Sure, it won't run
Windoze very well, but Windoze 9x isn't a good choice for contesting
anyway.

In fact, if you depend on "rigs-r-us" to win I'd guess your
station probably
could benefit from some thoughtful design efforts, not more
money.

There's also the big unknown of real estate. Take SS - the ham in a
rare section has a built-in advantage over the ham in a nonrare one.
The middle part of the country has an advanatage over the coasts. The
ham who can live on a big "city lot" with no restrictions has an
advantage over the one who has less room.
Etc. But that's all part of the game.=20

73 de Jim, N2EY