Finally a wise posting on the topic on CQ-Contest: Skimmer going on vacation by K1KI and K1AR. I especially like the phrase "let’s get back to posting information that helps readers learn to be better contest operators". That’s what I said before: usefull information is drowned in endless Skimmer musings. So they’ll be discussing this at the Dayton Hamvention? Should be fun (not!). Anyway it was time for me to take a stand. You want skimmer? Then use it. But maybe it would indeed be wise to keep it out of "unassisted" and make it "assisted". Not an easy one. I have nothing against CW code Readers. If it gets someone on the air and provide more contest contacts for everyone: GREAT! But Skimmer might indeed be one bridge too far. On the other hand: the actual advantage remains to be seen. My K3WWP daily read pointed me to a Skimmer Petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/skimmer/ I am not someone who easily signs petitions but I chose to sign this.
Europe’s biggest online ham seller WiMo announces:
The inventor of the well renowned Fibreglas Telescope Towers, Walter Spieth (DK9SQ) has decided to close his business DK9SQ Funktechnik after more than 30 years of active duty. His well known products (masts, SQ Vertical, SQ Loop) will still be available – we will continue to produce these fine antennas.
My ham career is based on DK9SQ masts! From late 2000 when I got my HF ticket, I have had at least one of these in use.
- My first ‘real’ antenna at my parent’s place was a 20m inverted V supported by the DK9SQ mast.
- The first time I went portable on HF was at the XYL’s parental house was with a DK9SQ mast.
- My strongest DX on 40m was ZL6QH: S9+20dB in WAE CW 2002 on a DK9SQ mast.
- My first contest from our own QTH (April 2003, EU Sprint) was with a DK9SQ mast.
- My first real DX on 80m was 50% thanks to a DK9SQ mast…
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Needless to say I like these things, although they are not perfect as you can read in my eHAM.net review. You should be careful too because these things bend a long way but sure do break in the end. And they get brittle by UV exposure over the years. To the left a rare picture of myself taken during the very hot summer of 2006. BREAKING NEWS: I was working on my new 80m vertical when a fiber glass pole couldn’t take it anymore. It was NOT a DK9SQ but another brand and I got a factory replacement: the element somehow was weaker and cracked… |