Michael Coslo wrote:

Yeah! I'm trying to come up with a good test protocol that will
allow me to define "work".

So far, I can note that some signals drop into the noise and become
unreadable, while are readable on the other at the same time. That seems
a bit simplistic though.

My main problem is the variable signal levels., and the also
variable noise levels. Turns out that the antenna that was noisier on
one band is quieter on another, and vice versa.

A fellow could come to the conclusion that "this ain't exactly
easy". HA!

It isn't.

The best antenna for transmitting is the one which produces the loudest
signal at the other station. The best antenna for receiving is the one
which produces the best signal/noise ratio at your station. The two are
often different, because they're determined by different antenna
characteristics. So for starters, you can have two "best" antennas for
each station you want to contact, and that "best" will vary with the
skip elevation angle, local noise level, and directions and angles the
noise is coming from.

Have fun!

Roy Lewallen, W7EL