I'm not real sure I understand all of your comment, but I get the gist of it. I don't use arbitrary standards 'Doc, I make up my own standards as I go and I change 'em as necessary. Ain't that where standards come from, somebodies experience that proves-out---over and over as in duplicatable, and repeatable, and without faltering as to results.
Yeah 'Doc, you will be chasing your tail a lot trying to chase down all of the variables, but I can't afford a test range and I'm not even sure there is one nearby, even in Houston. I know you would say you are just too lazy to do such foolishness, but I really don't believe that is really true of you even. You just do it to try and be cute. But, if I saw you, I would probably swear that I was wrong for once in my life.
Your way is not my way, but I will agree you though, it is your way---if it makes you feel better.
I'm not sure about you, but I guess it is possibly a latent thought of some radio guys to one day see, hear, sense, or realize that something you did really could make a difference that was outstanding, noticalble, measurable, and repeatable. But if you were like me---such things occur few and far between. I'm talking about CB gear here 'Doc, and not ham stuff like you read about and look at the pictures.
Well the only thing today that I can talk about is regarding the AstroPlane antenna. Not the new one as yet, but the original or its knockoffs that for some years has been available for CB users.
The story is, I was listening to some local guys talking on my radio and piddling with other things. I happen to have two antennas up, a A99 and a AstroPlane that I had been comparing, and trying to figure out what I could to understand the details of a tuning routine for the A99. I had my antenna switch on the A99. At some point I noticed my bud Phillip was talking to a new radio soul that I could not even hear to start with. For me, I did not know this new guy. Suddenly I realized that Phillip's signal and audio all but disappeared down to zero and I could hardly hear him. He is about 43 miles from me and I knew he had a Moonraker beam, so I figured that he had turned his antenna to continue talking to this new guy. I put on my head phones to try and hear better. I could barely make out Phillips voice as he talked and could copy his words. The other guy was still nothing. I over heard Phillip say he was on the flat side, and that is when I remembered an experience just like this one with another local bud on the flat side with a Astroplane and a A99 up in his yard. At the time I had a flat side beam and a Starduster up in my yard. We were checking antenna responses and noticed that his AstroPlane responded to my beam with as much as 4 to 5 s units better signal than his A99. Basically that was the first experience of this story.
About then I switched to my AstroPlane antenna and boom I could hear clearly both Phillip and this other guy on their horizontal beams. They were both loud with no problems in full copy and no zero signal any more. I was seeing signals like s3 to s5 signals on them both with the AP. but when I switched back to my A99, bamb they both virtually disappeared with no signals at all.
Like I said, I had done this thing before and I confirmed it again. The point here is: that this realization would likely never have been noticed excepting that I had two antenna up on a switch box and comparing responses at the same time.
I guess there is another point that this thing with the AP can be duplicated by others I would guess, so I there is always the chance that others might see a daylight to dark difference with something that they had experienced after all and maybe this story might mean something to a guy that has a AstroPlane antenna up at his place.
'Doc, this story is probably is not worth the time of day to you, but for some it might be interesting hear or read.
Thanks for your comments and again you are right, but not all efforts that are difficult are in vain.
Marconi 39zero
I'm back on the air and sometimes known as Ole' Grandpa from Corpus Christi, Texas live and in color.