[Elecraft] New to list; My first question

[Alan Bloom]

On Sun, 2011-07-03 at 11:02 -0700, Larry, KB5HMU wrote:

> Here's my first question to the group:
> I enjoy 6 meters immensely and someone recommended that I buy the
> pre-amp. My understanding about the effectiveness of a VHF preamp is
> to amplify the highest signal, i.e. at the antenna, to give the lowest
> noise increase. The PR6 mounts at the radio. Wouldn't that be
> amplifying noise in a weak signal more than if it were mounted at the
> antenna?

Yes, theoretically it is always better to put the preamp at the antenna
end of the feedline so that the noise figure is not degraded by the
feedline loss.  However, that is less of an issue on 6 meters than on
the higher VHF/UHF bands because:

(1) Coax cable loss is less at the lower frequency and 

(2) Background noise is higher on 6 meters so that a super-low noise
figure is not as necessary.

It depends on what you're doing.  If you are into 6 meter moonbounce or
you have a long and/or lossy feedline then a remote preamp would be
worthwhile.

Alan N1AL