Topband: dynamic range

[Tom Rauch]

> My thought is you start with a generator with an output much greater than
> 50uV, then follow it with an attentuator connected between the generator
> output and the receiver input. This pads the generator and it sees a load
> very close to 50 Ohms. Is this the correct way to go about setting this
up?

Not really. If you want XX volts to be applied, you'd use a voltage
regulated source with no padding after the voltage sample point.

Most good generators already have some pad, and appear as a 50 ohm source
that has peak power into 50 ohms, maximum voltage into an open, and maximum
current into a short.

None of this matters anyway, because the entire system is certainly not a
precision system. Why do we care what S9 is anyway? Every antenna is
different, so it tells us very little about how loud the guy is anyway.

S meters are useful for relative comparisons if verified for a dB change so
you can give comparisons between two signal levels. Other than that, they
are pretty much sources of meaningless information.

73 Tom