That's a good resource but it doesn't tell the whole story. An
amplifier will give you around 10 db improvement in signal on the other
end. That's more than the difference between a dipole and a five
element monobander. As little as 3 or 4 db will make a significant
difference when competing against others in a pileup, and of course as
little as 2 db can make the difference between no copy and clear copy if
your signal is right at the noise level.
http://www.ab7e.com/weak_signal/mdd.html
Hams have turned their noses up at amplifiers for decades, but the
reality is that an amplifier and a decent vertical is often a more cost
effective way to put out a good signal than is low power to a tower and
big antenna ... especially if you live in a low noise area where you
don't need lots of discrimination to hear DX (and even then there are
compact receive loops that make possible alternatives).
Dave AB7E
On 3/22/2013 12:49 PM, Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:
For the newer hams, here's an interesting resource that will demonstrate to
you what a DX signal sounds like at 100 watts, 10 watts, 1 watt and 0.1
watt. All you have to do it tune into the beacon frequency of 14.100,
18.110, 21.150, 24.930, 28.200 using CW mode and listen. The beacon stations
in 18 countries take turns sending call signs and 4 dashes, each dash in
descending power level. You might be amazed at how often you can hear 10
watts or less clearly from half way around the world when the band is open.
When the band is not open, a kilowatt doesn't get through.
A complete list of the stations, locations and the transmission sequence is
at:
http://www.ncdxf.org/beacon/beaconSchedule.html
IIRC, all of the stations use a simple 1/4 wave vertical antenna.
I'm not saying that an amplifier isn't useful, but this helps put the
advantage of having one in perspective.
73, Ron AC7AC
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