BoatBanter.com - View Single Post - HF SSB, remember those no moving parts "ant tuners"?

On 26 Nov 2003 05:26:26 GMT, (BOEING377) wrote:

Some contained
three resistors, some only one and, some tried to pass theirs off as a
computerized tuning unit. X-rays revealed lots of components. Turned out to
be surplus PC boards with the dummy load resistors the only in circuit

I had to laugh out loud. Woudn't be the first time dummy active components were
used. As I recall the Judson Electronic Magneto was just an ignition coil with
dummy transistors on the outside.

Many years ago, one of the bigtime CB magazines had an article about a
"Butterfly Antenna", supposedly some kind of magic DX antenna the
CBers could build that would really get out.

It was all a joke, and in the next issue the CB magazine told them so.
Because so many of them were so gullible and ignorant of basic antenna
science, thousands of Butterfly Antennas were built and put on towers
across the country. The result was massive subscription cancellations
and the magazine, dispite its heavy apologies, soon went out of
business!

Cellphone antennas are the new Butterfly Antennas of the 21st Century.

Larry W4CSC

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