Line of Sight vs Power.

[WRHS218]

On 9/7/2024 at 7:33 PM, WRUU653 said:

I’ve just accepted it’s PFM

That is certainly the easiest way to explain some things. I was in a school in the military and at one point, after trying to explain a concept to a class of young men just out of boot camp for way too long, the instructor told us to place our left hand over our name tape and raise our right hand and repeat "I believe". After I had been in the fleet for a while I learned the correct term for "accepting it and moving on" that was PFM. I still believe...

[LeoG]

Trust the science...

[WRYZ926]

I've done enough tests with mobile setups and base station setups running at 5 wats, 10 watts, 25 watt and 50 watts.

Going from 5 watts to 50 watts will definitely make a difference. But going from 25 watts to 50 watts will not make much of a difference at all. If fact most people will never be able to tell the difference between 35 watts and 50 watts as FARZ go or what they actually hear.

Where 50 watts generally helps is if you have to push through an obstacle such as a bunch of trees our bounce signals off of buildings, etc. Good coax and a good antenna with a clear line of sight makes as much if not more of a difference than power output alone.

[SteveShannon]

44 minutes ago, LeoG said:

Trust the science...

Smart people do. Smart people also understand that there’s a lot more to the science than meets the eye, that limited data and shallow assumptions are not the same as science, and that scientists must always be willing to admit that they don’t know what they don’t know. 

[LeoG]

1 hour ago, WRYZ926 said:

I've done enough tests with mobile setups and base station setups running at 5 wats, 10 watts, 25 watt and 50 watts.

Going from 5 watts to 50 watts will definitely make a difference. But going from 25 watts to 50 watts will not make much of a difference at all. If fact most people will never be able to tell the difference between 35 watts and 50 watts as FARZ go or what they actually hear.

Where 50 watts generally helps is if you have to push through an obstacle such as a bunch of trees our bounce signals off of buildings, etc. Good coax and a good antenna with a clear line of sight makes as much if not more of a difference than power output alone.

"S" units, 6dB more/gain/increase.  Going from 5 watts to 50 watts is about 8dB, so it a large gain in power.

[WRYZ926]

6 minutes ago, LeoG said:

"S" units, 6dB more/gain/increase.  Going from 5 watts to 50 watts is about 8dB, so it a large gain in power.

Which is why one WILL notice a difference going from 5 watts to 50 watts. But there is not much of a noticeable difference between 25 watts and 50 watts.

[LeoG]

Actually what I meant to say is 7.8 watts to 50 watts is about 8dB.  5 to 50 is 10dB, yes?

[dosw]

33 minutes ago, LeoG said:

Actually what I meant to say is 7.8 watts to 50 watts is about 8dB.  5 to 50 is 10dB, yes?

dB difference = 10*log(p2/p1)

10*log(50/7.8) = 8.07dB

10*log(50/5) = 10dB

At least that's how I understand it. And every 3dBi is a doubling.

[LeeBo]

On 9/10/2024 at 11:07 AM, SteveShannon said:

Maybe you’re not really seeing the repeaters that you think you’re seeing.

That thought did cross my mind.  I'll be back there in November at which time I'm taking a road trip to confirm.

[LeeBo]

On 9/10/2024 at 11:42 AM, WRXR255 said:

Obi Wan Steve: "These are not the towers your looking for, move along"

Those are not the towers I'm looking for.