[TowerTalk] 1dB more RF Power?

[K9MA]

Whether contesting or not, the small difference will undoubtedly make a 
statistical difference over time. That statistical difference, on 
average, will get you through the pileups a little faster, attract a few 
more replies to your CQ's, and result in fewer repeats.

73,
Scott K9MA

On 5/1/2020 11:09, n6sj at earthlink.net wrote:
> Jim,
>
> All very good points, and I'll accept those statistics re. % SS score per
> each dB improvement during a 24 hour stretch.
>
> But in a DX pileup over a narrow time window, propagation variations can
> easily swamp a dB or two.  When I worked Dima at E30FB, after his 9th call
> to me, my signal upfaded just enough for him to copy my full callsign.  That
> upfade itself could have been 3 to 6 dB, just enough to bring my signal
> above all the other callers who refused to standby while he was trying to
> work "N6S?".
>
> And finally, I agree I'm not much of a contester, but I do love CW SS, and
> won the Pacific Division for LP single op in 2018.  So I have been known to
> make the effort...!
>
> 73,
> Steve
> N6SJ
>    
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: TowerTalk <towertalk-bounces at contesting.com> On Behalf Of Jim Brown
> Sent: Friday, May 1, 2020 12:35 AM
> To: towertalk at contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] 1dB more RF Power?
>
> On 4/30/2020 5:40 PM, Bob Shohet, KQ2M wrote:
>> Every DB matters - wherever you can find it.
> Absolutely. When the signal is close to the noise, small differences in the
> level of the signal become VERY important. And those half and single dB add
> up. 1 dB from bigger coax or hard line, more/longer radials for a vertical,
> raise a 40M dipole by 5 ft, or an 80M dipole by 10 ft, or turn an inverted
> vee into flat dipole at the same height. Three of those 1 dB changes combine
> for 3 dB (equivalent to doubling the TX power.
>
> Another observation. My friend N6SJ is a DXer, but not much of a contester.
> KQ2M and I are both contesters. Contesters, especially those trying to pull
> a multiplier over a difficult path, have experienced the value of a dB,
> often several times in a weekend. N6ZFO, anther contester who's a retired
> statistician/scientist, says that 1 dB is good for a 2.6% increase in an
> ARRL Sweepstakes score; three of those is good for 8%. Casual operators
> won't notice the difference, but the other guy trying pull you out of static
> WILL.
>
> On SSB, we can increase our loudness on the other end with EQ and amplitude
> compression. Rolling off everything below 500 Hz adds 3 dB; amplitude
> compression set for 10 dB on voice peaks adds that 10 dB. That
> 13 dB is equivalent to multiplying TX power by 200!
>
> 73, Jim K9YC
>
>
>
> __


-- 
Scott  K9MA

k9ma at sdellington.us