"Buck" wrote

give or take 1/2 db, what is that to signal strength anyway?

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It's about 1/12th of an S-unit on your S-meter. Just the thickness of
the meter needle.

It matters even less when plus or minus 2 or 3 S-units, or 15 dB, of
fading occurs on radio paths through the ionosphere. ;o)

Why all the worry about antenna gains within about 0.01 dB ?

Just get some wire high up in the air and enjoy yourself.
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Reg.