Skip is right on the money for some circumstances. We recently doubled the power on a repeater and the user response was so positive, we're going to upgrade two more.
I think it depends on your terrain. The guys in CA with the repeater on a 5000 foot mountain (or whatever) overlooking all the users probably do get better coverage with less power. Here on the east coast with a 300 foot tower, flat terrain and lots of foliage, the extra power is very noticeable. The other advice is also correct, upgrade the antenna and coax first (if practical). Check the duplexer too. You can sometimes upgrade to a lower loss model and maybe save a db (every db counts). Dwayne Kincaid WD8OYG > > > Although the numbers will support what you and others say... there is > a much larger psychological difference with some increases in power > level. A very strong repeater transmit signal back to any receiver > (radio) often counts for much more than what you might see on an S- Meter > > ... when at least the TX half of the repeater path is solid as rock. > > Especially into building and the famous nook and cranny locations. > > cheers, > skipp > > > Ken Arck <ah6le@> wrote: > > My experience with an additional 3 dB on the transmit side on UHF is > > that you *might* fill in a few holes *slightly* better but that's > > about it. > > Ken >
