[TowerTalk] Rai Beam

[Ian White, G3SEK]

Pete Smith wrote:
>
>I think Mauri's right, in the context that he (and I) usually consider,
>which is contesting. 2-3 dB can make a whole 'nother layer of stations
>available to work,

Coming from a moonbounce background, I can confirm that it's not simply
about signal/noise ratio. 

You could probably work many of those stations anyhow, but that extra
2-3dB means you can work them faster... like, before the contest ends!
On TX, an extra 2-3dB helps you hold the QSO together if the other
station is very weak. On RX, it makes the difference between having to
ask for repeats or not. Instead of still struggling to complete the QSO,
you're on to the next one. When you're really working down into the
noise, the improvement in contest scores can be much bigger than the
improvement in signal/noise.

73 from Ian G3SEK          Editor, 'The VHF/UHF DX Book'
                          'In Practice' columnist for RadCom (RSGB)
                           http://www.ifwtech.com/g3sek

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