I agree with Roger that power does matter, and, like him don't understand why some ops insist on running low power in less than optimum conditions the idea is to get the message through. I have a similar complaint with those hams who go out and work a 2M public service event , using minimal power and making copy difficult when it shouldn't be.
The only time that I see power as an issue is in PSK, where a station running QRO is wiping out a large portion of the frequency segment by dominating the frequency. A little common sense goes as long ways, but unfortunately there are those who would prefer to run 500w on 14070, if given any encouragement to do so. On non-psk modes, I usually run 80 to 100 watts since the rig I use can take a high duty cycle (TS480) on most modes and still run nice and cool. I usually get 100% copy reports, while struggling to copy the station running at 30 watts. I regularly use the rig's filters to enhance the signal quality at my end. one thing I haven't got my head around yet are the noise blankers and noise reduction devices, which seem to have an adverse effect on the quality of some signals. Being technically challenged I don't understand that........... John VE5MU
