[CQ-Contest] Reciprocity in signal strength

[Gerry Hull]

Interesting discussion.

As many have said, the local conditions, qrm, qrn, etc play a lot into
the equation.
>From the arctic, it is usually pretty quiet, so I can hear a lot more than
I can work.
Also, if there is any aurora, it makes conditions one way -- I hear
perfectly but cannot get out.

In NAQP CW, I was on from VY1AAA on all bands, with 100w.  The only antenna
that worked at all was the full-size 1/4-wave 40m vertical.
It has the most signal "capture".   Of course, that meant the most
productive bands were 40 and 15, but even with a tuner 10 was great due
to conditions.

With a small station, it is really important to know when you can call in a
pile and work someone.  I passed by many because I knew I would
sit there and call forever.   However, that is not universally true: some
ops are just awesome.  One call for 8P5A even though he was 339 to me.

73,

Gerry VY1AAA (W1VE)


On Sun, Jan 22, 2023 at 7:52 AM Barry Jacobson <bdj at alum.mit.edu> wrote:

> Hi guys, it seems that in a contest like NAQP where presumably almost
> everyone is running the same 100 W power, you should be able to hear the
> other guy at the same level he hears you. Even if the other guy has a
> $25,000 dollar beam, and you have a simple 10 foot random wire, the
> weakness in your transmission ability will also weaken your received signal
> just as much in the other direction. So if you can hear him, it guarantees
> he can hear you. (Unless one or both of you has separate receive and
> transmit antennas, or the receivers you are using are of very different
> quality.) Does that make any sense?
>
> Barry WA2VIU
>
> --
> Barry Jacobson
> WA2VIU
> bdj at alum.mit.edu
> @bdj_phd
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