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Three generations of 20-wpm Extra Class. My dad Forest Gammon received W5GZU in
1938. When I received my license in 1952 (age 11) his rig was a Collins 310B1
driving a pair of 812's (250 Watts) and a National NC-183 receiver. He was CW
only until I received my license, then he added an 811 modulator so I could
work phone. His antennas used homemade open wire transmission line with 6-inch
spacing.
From 1959-1961 I operated F7HC from a US Army transmitter site in Orleans,
France. Ran the Collins S-Line into a large three curtain rhombic antenna
beamed on Washington DC. That is when I discovered how important a good antenna
is. I talked to my dad everyday on 20-meter CW and SSB. My dad and I passed our
Extra Class together at the Dallas FCC office in 1967. My Son John passed his
extra class in 1991 (KI5SZ) and received his Grandfather's call W5GZU under the
vanity call sign program.
My antenna is a 552' (138'X 138') square loop (19,044-Sq-Ft) between four 70
foot power company high-line poles. It is fed with 300 feet of low loss open
wire transmission line and matched with a Palstar AT5K antenna tuner.
http://www.palstar.com/at5k.php The poles are 18-inches in diameter at the
base, weigh 2000 pounds each and are 8-feet in the ground. Three inch angle
steel stingers at the top of the poles bring the height back to 70-feet, the
maximum allowed by the City of Lucas. The size of the antenna poles can be
compared with the standard REA power pole in the right back of the photo.
My station is a Yaesu FT1000MP Mark-V driving a pair of 4CX800's (QRO
HF-2500DX) http://www.qrotec.com/HF25photos.html
On 160M the loop is a one wavelength, high angle "cloud warmer"
giving great local coverage for Texas and Oklahoma.
On 75M the loop is a two wavelength, lower angle (Long haul) antenna with a
cloverleaf pattern NE-NW-SE-SW.
On 40M-10M the loop has multi-wavelength major lobes and a very low angle of
radiation making it a good DX antenna.
http://atanasoff.rf.org/pipermail/tacos/1998/000447.html
W5VYY Quotes:
"Never ask a man where he is from. If he is from Texas he will tell you,
if not, there is no need to embarrass him." Udell Brown W5RJM--See video's
of Udell telling stories at the top of http://www.johngammon.com
"When she was pregnant she looked like a bale of cotton with the middle
tie busted." W5RJM-SK
"He is so cheap, he would not pay a dime to see a piss ant eat a bale of
hay." W5RJM-SK
"Never take on anyone who buys printing press ink in 55-gallon drums"
W5RJM-SK
In business: "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times, but you can only
skin him once." W5TYG-SK
On old age: "Never look over your shoulder, something may be gaining on
you." K5CX-SK
On rubber ducky commandos and appliance operators: "Their numbers are
legion." K5CX-SK
"I have never met a woman that didn't need a little counseling."
K5CX-SK
"I am too old to suffer fools" K5CX-SK
On boring checkins: “He is like Brylcreem, a little dab'll do ya” K5CX-SK
"A mobile antenna on 160M and 75M is an air cooled dummy load. You can't
fool Mother Nature." K5CX-SK
"It is first class, downtown, USDA choice, grade 'A' prime" K5CX-SK
"If you can put your back to the wall of your house and pee on the
neighbor's wall, you are in the ghetto." K5CX-SK
"OM, your audio sounds like a bumble bee in a gourd blossom" K5CX-SK
"You can not fix a radio over the radio" W5JDZ-SK
"You shouldn't discuss politics or religion on the radio" W5JDZ-SK
"You shouldn't give an anal person an opening." W5LH
"Yankee's are trouble" K0ZPN
"The second amendment should have been the first." K0ZPN
"Contests belong in the Olympics" K0ZPN
“Never try to change a Leopards spots! You’ll wind up getting the paint all
over you!” K0ZPN
"If your antenna stays up through the winter, it was not big enough."
K5PY
"Once you get to the 10KW level put your money in the antenna system"
KK5O
What determines top band performance? "Fire and Wire" KD5MEX
"I can see a train wreck coming" KD5MEX
"You can't cure stupid" K5WGA
"QRP awards should go to the poor SOB who has to pull them out of the
mud." W5VJ
"One thing I have learned in life: People do not change" W5VJ
"No good deed goes unpunished" W5VYY
"Jealousy is such a terrible thing." W5VYY
"Do unto others as they would do unto you, only do it first" W5VYY
"There is always one more imbecile than you counted on." W5VYY
A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human
history - with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila. W5VYY
"The three most important things for a good signal, Antenna, Antenna,
Antenna." W5VYY
""The best you can hope for when using a ferrite core balun or a trap
antenna is a little loss and a little TVI." W5VYY
"The guy with the weakest signal does 90% of the talking." W5VYY
"If you talk long enough to take a breath, you have talked too long."
W5VYY
"If you are in a 20-station roundtable, don't try to make every other
transmission." W5VYY
"If you want to make 10-minute transmissions, go to the AM window and wait
your turn." W5VYY
"Verticals radiate equally poor in all directions."
"For every $1 spent above ground, you should spend $10 underground to make
a vertical to work."
"Traps should be spelled with a 'C'."
"Coax is for city folks"
See all the 1990/3819 station pictures. http://www.johngammon.com Click on ham
friends at the top of the page.
Rules for all the Damn Yankee Drugstore Cowboys--"All hat and no
cattle" http://www.cowboyfun.com/liveby/
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