> K2DLJ wrote: Bottom line: Only one station acknowledged hearing me, and I was such a bad > copy that he gave up on the qso before it started. I think with 5 or 10 > watts I would have made it.
SNIP > QRP operating success depends greatly on finding great locations and > operating at the best times. When I operate portable I may not be at a > good > radio location, and the time of day for radio operation is often not the > best. I want to be able to make a contact from anywhere, at any time, for > emergency purposes (and to be able to operate when the xyl wants to stop > for a break). The reality is that no QRP HF radio easily makes contacts > under these conditions, and I need every little edge I can get. A few dB > of > signal improvement means a lot. You're correct about needing perhaps few db improvement. 1 S-unit (on a meter, not by ear) consists of 6 db increase in received signal strength. Thus, a transmit power must be increased FOUR times (400%) to achieve a received signal strength of ONE S unit. This means you have to increase from 5 to 20 watts to gain 1 S unit (400% X 5). An increase to anything less will make a "tiny" difference. However, even an S 5 can sound like 599 to the ear. All this depends on the propagation Gods. I do a secret ritual before air time (smile). 72 Ron, wb1hga ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
