I dunno,
About every six months. a spate of complaints about "getting
out" or 'hearing any distance' wafts its way across the ether. This is
usually followed by an etude explaining the very heart of the business in
every aspect.
I just loaned my antenna analyser to a fellow ham in the club
who has raised three new antennas on his 35foot yawl. He brought it back
four hours later saying he's getting 1: 1.5 across the band on each, three
VHF (136-138, 144-148 and 50MHz). That means with 4 watts out he can reach
the horizon from mast-top with 50ohms impedance at band centre.
He will provbably not haul them down until October.
If he can do it, why can't pilots? They can, but not if they
don't consult some wellmeaning ancient member of the Radio Society of Great
Britain who's similarly equipped. Most a/c radio techs are company-trained I
think, as they can seldom look into an 'alien' box without a practised
wince.
Happy QSY.
FGerg A064
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