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[TowerTalk] Front to Back Measurements

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Subject: [TowerTalk] Front to Back Measurements
From: W8JI@contesting.com (Tom Rauch)
Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2001 13:57:28 -0500
MFJ sells a push-button step-attenuator (I designed it) that has 1 
dB steps up to 81 dB.

It uses surface mount components and 0.5% chip resistors on a 
groundplane double sided board with BNC connectors, so it is very 
good up to a few hundred MHz.

Assuming it is assembled correctly by the mechanical monster 
that places and solders surface mount components, it would be an 
excellent and reasonable cost attenuator for signal measurements.

I'm always amazed at how often I hear one S unit defined as 6dB. 
There is not only NO standard establishing 6dB, none of the radios 
ever come close. Most radios shoot for around 5dB (even Drake, 
Collins, etc) and wind up being about 1 dB at the low end of the 
scale up to perhaps 5 or so at the S-9 area.

I've never found a radio yet that is even close to being reasonable 
over more than the upper part of the scale. This is probably one 
reason why some antennas are said to operate on special theories 
and surpass "conventional theory" and defy the results predicted 
by models for gain and F/B ratio.

73, Tom W8JI
W8JI@contesting.com 

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