[Elecraft] KX2 Matching Power Amplifier

[Jim Brown]

In an ideal world, perhaps. But much of the limit on what you can work 
with 5W is not QRM, but rather the noise in the other station's receiver 
(man-made and static) and the quality of his/her RX antennas.

I can give MANY examples of stations whose TX signal far out reach their 
RX capability. A club station active in 160M contests is hard to work 
with 1.5 kW and a full size vertical with a tower as a passive 
reflector, whereas I've worked all the W1 and W2 states except VT with 
5W on that band.  Several years ago, I had a JT65 sked with an ND 
station. He was running about 30W. and WSJT software said he was 16 dB 
below my noise (the latest WSJT-X software can decode signals as weak as 
28 dB below the noise floor). I called with barefoot at about 50W. No 
response. Over about 10 minutes, I increased my TX power in 3 dB steps 
(using the KPA500). He finally heard me at 400W.  And it's well known 
that stations in the tropics and those in summer seasons tend to have a 
lot more static than those at higher latitudes and in winter seasons.

73, Jim K9YC

On Thu,4/6/2017 1:46 PM, Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:
> For
> example, if everyone ran 5 W maximum you'd be able to work almost all the
> stations you hear with the KX2 "barefoot".