[Elecraft] What is a dB worth was: Re: KX3 vs. K3 and other rigs?

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

True at UHF/VHF. The world if HF is quite a different place for most of us. 

If your purpose is to find that sweet second or two where a very brief
exchange might be confirmed on HF, a difference of a few dB might count, as
Pete notes. 

But for communications involving a lengthy exchange of information such as
in a rag chew, typical QSB on HF means one must have a lot more than a dB or
two of "headroom" above the minimum readable signal to be successful in most
situations.

I'm one of the great many Hams who is not a contester nor do I focus on
brief 5NN exchanges with a DX station, so I never expect anything less than
a 6 dB change - an S-unit - to be noticeable *over time* on HF. I start
getting really interested if I find the opportunity to make a 10 dB
difference. 

That said, many places where one might throw away a dB or so adds up. It's
the difference between managing your station's system gain (or loss)
'budget' and deciding whether any single change is worth making. 

73, 

Ron AC7AC

-----Original Message-----
       
There's a saying among VHF / UHF'ers in reference
to coax and connector losses that every .5db counts.

73! Ken - K0PP