Posted by
wayne burdick on
Jun 07, 2007; 5:50pm
URL: http://elecraft.85.s1.nabble.com/K3-S-meter-calibration-redux-tp448734p448759.html
Brian Lloyd wrote:
> ....being able to change the S-meter slope and intercept strikes me as
> being a bad option. To me that is like changing the calibration of a
> voltmeter or wattmeter because you like the needle pointer to move
> differently.
I'd agree with you if there were a single world-wide standard for S-9,
and no need to compensate for slight differences in receive gain from
one unit to the next. But reality is that S-meters usually require both
scale and offset calibration.
This is also more flexible. As I mentioned earlier, I set my S-meters
up for 4 dB per S-unit. Here's why: I like a greater degree of
sensitivity in the S-meter so I can see the effects of things like
preamp on/off, filter changes, notch, NR, etc. It also makes band-pass
filters easier to tweak when there isn't a scope or AF voltmeter handy,
and you can more readily see the effect of an improved antenna during
A/B testing.
If hams wanted to be precise in assessing signal levels, we'd report
them in dBm and do a lot of averaging. But for most operators this is a
hobby, not a job :)
73,
Wayne
N6KR
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