[Milsurplus] Car Whip Antenna "gain"

[Facility 406]

> 24 db gain only sounds possible as comparison to a severely mismatched 
> antenna you are using to transmit. Like a high Z antenna connected to a 
> low Z port.

In this case, it's relative.  24dB "gain", as in 24dB better reception 
ability, however it's coupled to the ether, or the receiver, compared to 
something a few tens of inches long, whether sending out, or taking in.

It may still stink, unto itself, but has more gain, than something far, 
far worse.  Gain is relative, and works both ways, TX, or RX, and has no 
specific starting point.  This 24dB of gain, could make it work like 
gang-busters, or be lousy compared to something even better yet.  Is it 
24dB of gain, starting at 0dB, which would still require a strong signal 
to adequately detect, or 24dB gain, when picking up signals at -123dB, 
allowing one to hear something as weak as -147dB?  It's all relative, 
and I'm just hoping for something a little better than what I have.

For example, 12" of wire has far more relative "gain", than a resistor 
wrapped in tin foil.  A coat hanger has more relative "gain", than a 
light bulb filament.  A Yagi-Uda antenna would have far more relative 
gain, in a specific direction, than any of those, even when just 
receiving, not transmitting, like a satellite dish TV antenna.  Even 
though the Yagi may have only 9dB "gain" over a dipole by design, it 
could have 50dB gain over something else.

The whole gain thing, and how it's used, is a very fluid, and general 
term, but it's precise when used to compare one specific thing, to 
another specific thing.  For example, a pre-amp may provide 10dB gain. 
That's 10dB over what it sees at the input, which can be from nothing at 
all, to overwhelming.  However, an amplifier with a specific input level 
of 10dB, with 10dB gain over the input, will have a precise, and very 
specific 20dB output.

As for how they came to that exact number for AMBC reception, once I 
find the article again, I'll study it more closely, AND, I'm hoping to 
find the AMBC coil mentioned, to try for myself.  I figure, the bigger 
antenna, 102", will work better for AMBC reception in my fringe area, 
and, possibly, with a coil designed for the band, even if only tunable 
to a portion of the band, to be used with that whip, may work even 
better yet.

Kurt