This month Paul Topolski, W1SEX will give a talk about the real world effects that antenna system quality has on your signal.  Paul writes:

“In amateur radio we often talk about the losses and gain in our antenna system and how much power we are putting out.  The loss or gain of your antenna SYSTEM not only tells you how much power output you have but also how much energy reaches your receiver.  All that is well and good but what really matters is that the receiving station can hear the message.”

“Unless you have hit the lottery lately or have some other extraordinary means of income, most of us have a modest ham station that our available hobby dollars allow us to buy.  If you have ever wondered what the difference is between RG-58, RG-8 and 9913 coax in the real world of what you can hear, then please plan to attend the meeting this month.  I will demonstrate what the audible difference is at the speaker when you have high power or low power, no gain or unity gain antenna vs. a high gain omni-directional  or Yagi antenna.  This is a real world live demonstration that is a real eye, or better yet, ear opener.“