[Elecraft] Transmission line loss

[Bill W5WVO]

N2EY at aol.com wrote:

> Third is maxing out performance. While an S-unit of loss will
> normally not be noticeable most of the time, when things get tough it
> can be the difference between a QSO and no QSO. This is one big
> reason the big guns work stations the rest of us don't.

Right on, Jim. This is a very important point. What's the difference between a 
signal just barely above the noise floor that you can copy and a signal just 
below the noise floor that you can't copy?

(A) About a dB or dB-and-a-half, and
(B) A new country/grid/zone/state, or not.

That dB wouldn't be even measurable if the guy's signals were S9 and 50 dB 
above the noise -- but when you get down to the bleeding edge in weak-signal 
work, that last dB or dB-and-a-half is what separates the big guns from the 
wanna-be's.   :-)  There's the difference in your coax right there.

> Fourth is purely esthetic - some folks like knowing that they have the
> highest efficiency reasonably possible.

What's the difference in cost, twenty or thirty bucks? Come on, you spend that 
much for dinner with the XYL, and by the next day, it's all down the drain. 
Literally.  :-)  Your coax will be there helping (or hurting) you for years. 
Get the best stuff you can. You'll never regret it.

Bill W5WVO

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