[50mhz] Attitude adjustment

[rm2usn at juno.com]

Hi All: It's me again! I keep reading posts where people tout the
properties of antennas regarding their gain and they always post
This data in "dBi"!! I guess I don't quite understand why someone would want to consider gain in dBi because from what little I remember
about my engineering past (graduated in 1957 so am obsolete) is that
is dB over an isotropic antenna in free space. If any of you know
how to attain that, let us all know. If you state gain in terms of
dBd, gain over a reference dipole, it might make sense. A dipole has
no gain uless you stack two or more of them and compress the pattern,
at least that is what I recall unless you consider the figure 8
pattern with a null of the sides as some gain?? In my feeble memory,
when you talk about gain, gain over what? There has to be a reference. I think I need to be re-educated again. This growing
old ain't for sissies!
73's de Stan W5ZF DM65rd and others