On Sat, 13 Nov 2004 12:35:32 -0500, "J. Mc Laughlin"
wrote:

A long time ago, when there was not so much man-made noise, I found that in
the almost-flat-country at the extreme edges of coverage from a base station
to a mobile station, the rate of decrease was roughly one db per statute
mile. This was in the 160 MHz range.
The mobile is so far away from the base that the received signal is
"noisy." I am considering rural locations and a terrain without significant
hills.

On the average, +3db of power at the base provided another 3 miles of
(poor quality) coverage. More often than not, coverage was limited by the
transmitter power of the mobile and the noise level at the base!

The question asked can start to be answered when one knows the value
placed on increased coverage.


I'll bet I can get good reliable converage to a 100 miles with a 5
watt HT and a rubber duck with todays receivers.
50 to 75 mile coverage to mobiles.

It's worked on 52 simplex every time I've tried it.
Fasten the belt clip to the strap above the arm rest with the rubber
duck sticking straight up into the big window, Hook a boom mike and
ear piece to the HT and put my ANR head set over it.
Call CQ and darn near get a pile up.

Ain't nothing like a good tall antenna.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com
73 Mac N8TT