[TowerTalk] G5RV vs 40M dipole

[Jim Brown]

On Mon,4/27/2015 1:56 PM, Bry Carling wrote:
> Can you hear a difference of 1.2 dB on the other end?

If the signal is very weak, or at the edge of the noise, the answer is 
YES.  It can be the difference between no copy and rough copy that's 
enough to make the QSO.  AND -- there are many changes we can make to 
our antennas to get another dB or two. For heights below a half 
wavelength, 5 ft of added height on 40M, or 10 ft on 80M, is good for 
0.9 dB.

> That's about one fifth of an S unit.

While 6 dB is considered by most to be one S-unit, the 3-4 JA radios 
I've measured by cranking down a calibrated HP generator show that 
they're typically more like 2-3 dB per S-unit below about S6.

73, Jim K9YC