[Elecraft] KPA500 (another view)

[Alan Bloom]

Very true.  But even 6 dB would not make a big difference for a
rag-chewer or a casual contester.  Even for a fairly serious DXer, being
in the right place at the right time and having superior operating
skills are more important than an S-unit of signal strength.

The place where the best possible signal is really essential is for a
world-class contest station.  Those guys agonize over every fraction of
a dB of feedline loss.

Alan N1AL


On Tue, 2012-01-17 at 16:20 -0800, Vic K2VCO wrote:
> Keep in mind that it all adds up. If you get 2 db more from your beam, and 3 db from going 
> from 500 to 1000 watts (say), and maybe a db by replacing your old coax, etc., that's 6 db 
> -- a huge advantage.
> 
> On 1/17/2012 4:15 PM, Alan Bloom wrote:
> > Interesting experiment Dave.  I think that kind of test is valid for VHF
> > operation.  But on HF it is very rare to hear a signal at a constant
> > level like that.
> >
> > Normally signal strength varies considerably from moment to moment due
> > to fading.  Even if the average signal level is right at the noise
> > level, most of the time it will be well above or well below that level.
> > A dB or two increase or decrease will vary the percentage of time the
> > signal is copyable, but only a little.  The QRM also varies in signal
> > strength from moment to moment.
> >
> > Of course, louder is always better.  But unless you are a big-gun
> > contester, where winning or losing depends on a few extra contacts over
> > the course of the weekend, I think you'd have a hard time noticing a
> > couple dB difference in normal operation.
> >
> > I am just about to order a 2-element SteppIR Yagi.  I decided that the
> > extra dB or two of the 3-element model is not worth another $450.  :=)
> >
> > Alan N1AL
> >
> >
> > On Tue, 2012-01-17 at 16:52 -0700, David Gilbert wrote:
> >> A power ratio of 3 (1500 watts versus 500 watts) is just under 5 db.
> >> Check out these audio files (CW, though ... not SSB) I generated to see
> >> what kind of impact that can have for readability of signals near the
> >> noise threshold.
> >>
> >> http://www.ab7e.com/weak_signal/mdd.html
> >>
> >> 73,
> >> Dave   AB7E
> >>