Rick wrote:


And the guy on the other side of the QSO will reply, "That antenna is doing a
geat job for you, you're 5 and 9 here."

My question is, How does he know?

There are quite a number of factors, one being the type of
antenna. I have found that mine, for example, is affected
by the time of day, the condition of the ionosphere, and other
weird factors. As well, your transmitter might be working
better at the moment. Perhaps you are pressing harder on
the key or the PTT. It's all relative. :-)

Irv VE6BP