Why I still write it down
A logbook turns luck into pattern. Three months of entries showed me that my best reception was always after rain, which I would never have noticed otherwise.
Logging the failures too
Empty nights belong in the log. Without them the record only shows the good conditions, and you end up believing the equipment is better than it is.
The cheapest upgrade is a longer wire
Every antenna article online is about clever designs. Adding eight metres of ordinary wire did more than any of them, and cost the price of a coffee.