On Tue, 2009-12-15 at 11:14 -0800, Kok Chen wrote: > On Dec 15, 2009, at 9:52 AM, Jim Brown wrote: > > > ...we are working on the signal to noise ratio, NOT LOUDNESS. It's apples > > and > > oranges! The only thing in common is that we're using a log ratio to > > describe it. > > I couldn't agree more with Jim on this one.
I also agree. On the other hand, in actual on-the-air operation you almost never have a constant signal-to-noise ratio. With typical fading and interference coming and going, I seriously doubt you could ever notice a 1 dB change in power level. During 99% of the QSO the signal is either well above the threshold of copy-ability or well below. It would be very rare that a 1 dB increase in power could turn a non-contact into a valid QSO. On the other-other hand, even if 1 dB made the difference in only one contact in a thousand, that might be very important to a world-class contester. At that level of competition, a 0.1% increase in contacts could be the difference between winning and losing. So I think the bottom line is that 1 dB would make no discernable difference in casual operation. But for someone contesting at the highest levels. that is, someone who has a serious chance of winning a CQWW or a Sweepstakes, a 1 dB improvement is very worthwhile. Al N1AL ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
