[TowerTalk] 6 dB does not make an S unit!

[Tom Rauch]

> Date:          Wed, 29 Apr 1998 13:06:06 -0400
> From:          "Kenneth D. Grimm" <grimm@lynchburg.net>
> Subject:       Re: [TowerTalk] C-3 & TH7 comparison - a revision
> To:            Pete Smith <n4zr@contesting.com>, towertalk@contesting.com

> Pete Smith wrote:
> <some stuff snipped>
> > Now let's see if I understand this -- we haul 75 pounds of aluminum up to
> > the top of your tower, for 3-4 dB gain over a dipole at the same height.
> > Or you stack two of the things, with rotors and other complexities, for
> > another 2 db.  6 dB = 1 S Unit.  Are hams crazy or what?

Hey now, I've yet to see a rig that is 6 dB an S unit:

Look at the R4C, the scale is 5 dB. 

Same for the Collins gear. The scale is drawn and clearly marked at 5 
dB per S unit. (Top dB scale... 20 dB absolute is S-5, 40 dB absolute 
is S9)

If I do a factory spec S meter alignment on my Yeasu, it winds up 
3-1/2 dB per S unit mid scale.

My 751A's are all over the place, from 2 dB to over four dB per S 
unit.

Sooo.. Where the heck is it written an S unit is some kind of 6 dB 
scale standard? S stands for sorta, not 6. One company proposed a 6 
dB standard after WW II, and no one ever adopted it. Here we are in 
1998, still trying to use it!

73, Tom W8JI
w8ji.tom@MCIONE.com

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