>It's hard to understand the reasoning, since 1.76dB doesn't remotely sound
>like enough to make an operational difference in an HF pile-up situation.
>So my guess is that any improvement would be psychological in origin rather
>than actual.
Totally true. I tried to tell someone that they would do better to get a
higher gain antenna than a 1.76 dB increase in power. Of course, if you
have a TH7DXX or some other super array of yagis, then maybe increasing
antenna gain isn't practical. So if you can afford the HUGE antennas,
then buy the big amp. However, if you have just a dipole or a vertical,
you are much better off investing a few hundred bucks in a really good
antenna and purchase a 1 KW amp for less than a 1.5KW. a six dB
improvement in TX AND RX gain is far better than just a 1.75 dB
improvement in TX power.
> But maybe if you feel better about your station and have more
>confidence in it -- however unsoundly based -- you'll do better. Is the
>consequent enhancement in station performance due to your power increase or
>your change in attitude? Either way it's real enough.
What do they say about guys with big power boats or sportscars???
Something Freudian comes to mind. Maybe the same is true with HF amps!
To quote Tim Allen, "Errr..Errr!"
But 1.75 dB might make a difference in some rare instances. Those are
pretty rare. If it makes such a tremendous difference all the time, then
why am I able to work rare DX with 100 Watts? I guess we all like to
"push the limits" and use the maximum of whatever is available.
>
>Amateur radio stations are operated by humans, and humans are highly
>irrational in certain important (and largely unconscious) respects. So it's
>probably wrong to assert that only pure engineering issues such as dB
>increases are involved, although the wider arguments aren't really
>pertinent to this reflector. Personally, I tend to feel there's some danger
>of making the error of logic usually called "post hoc ergo propter hoc"
>(loosely expressed as "A happened after B, therefore A was caused by B").
True true...Psychology is over on the Doctor Laura reflector! :-)
Good points though......
73,
Jon
KE9NA
-------------------------------------
Jon Ogden
KE9NA
http://www.qsl.net/ke9na
"A life lived in fear is a life half lived."
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