[TowerTalk] perspective

[i4jmy@iol.it]

The weight and importance of one or two extra dB gain is a relative 
parameter subdue to peculiar conditions, individual ability and mental 
attitudes.
When I deal to improve my setup before a contest, the aim is that to 
fix first from larger gaps and then moving down to minor details.
If the contest is a 160m monoband one and I know my transmitting 
antenna efficiency is well over the average of my correspondants and 
competitors, I also know I always have more stations calling me than I 
could hear and the best I can do is spending time to be able to hear 
more stations for the next time. Fixing gaps on the RX setup, may be 
adding an extra beverage or improving somehow the existing ones, is 
infinitely more important than struggling for to add an extra dB gain 
(on TX side) to an antenna that's already a top weapon.
On the other hand, when I know the band in use is one where my signal 
is not already emerging over the others and I've a lot of competitors, 
the thoughts are different. Under this perspective, I've to evaluate if 
also the chance to get louder to emerge a bit more the others and 
having more callers is the right one to use at best the allowed time 
for contesting. Sometimes, a single dB is useful to waste a bit less 
time with some multiplier, to extend times beeing called, a bit earlier 
when propagation opens or finishing pile up a bit later when it closes.
When the contest is multiband, the evaluations in order to decide what 
to do are more complex and, as a project director of the venture, it's 
generally more paying to tailor a contest strategy than to waste time 
and money to be one dB louder in one specific band.
All the above considerations applyed in a stable contest location lead, 
sooner or later, to the point were one extra dB gain added to some 
antenna is the right decision or may be, the only possible chance left 
to aerials improvements.
To summarize, one or two extra dB gain can be nothing or instead just 
what's needed to catch finally the contest
d did efforts, sacrifices, etc.
It depends....

73,
Mauri I4JMY

> ---------- Initial message -----------
> 
> From    : owner-towertalk@contesting.com
> To      : towertalk@contesting.com
> Cc      : 
> Date    : Thu, 20 Jul 2000 02:05:19 -0700
> Subject : Re: [TowerTalk] perspective
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Brian Alsop wrote:
> 
> > The contester who is serious is trying to stack the odds in >his 
favor.  If 1 or 2 db will more than likely produce a few >contacts or 
multipliers more, he will probably go for it. 
> 
> Hi Brian
> 
> It is not only the one db now, but add them to the 1 db last
> week, 1 db 2 weeks ago and so on, you end up with quite an
> improvement after a while.  Every one counts!!  73
> Tom W7WHY




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