‰  NOW 20 WPM  ‰  TEXT IS FROM JULY 2014 QST  PAGE 36‰

THAT P9 SHOULD BE ABOUT 100 5V, BUT CHOOSING 50 5V MAKES THE METER ACTIVE
AT LOWER SIGNAL LEVELS, AND MEETS THE IARU RECOMMENDATION FOR AN S 9
READING.  SETTING 5 DB/S UNIT IS AN OPTION WITH AN S 0 TO S 9 METER RANGE
TO 45 DB.  HOWEVER, THE REQUIRED GAIN OF THE RECEIVER MAY STILL BE A BIT
MARGINAL.  MOVING PT TO 67 DBM 100 5V HELPS THIS SITUATION SHOULD YOU
CHOOSE A 5 DB/S UNIT SETTING.  THE MOST IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTIC OF THE S
METER IS A CONSISTENT DB/S UNIT VALUE.  NEARLY ALL ON AIR REPORTS ARE
RELATIVE READINGS COMPARING ANTENNAS OR AMPLIFIERS, SO CONSISTENT DB/S UNIT
SENSITIVITY OVER THE S 1 TO S 9 RANGE IS OF PRIMARY IMPORTANCE.  BECAUSE P9
AND PT CHANGE WITH RECEIVER GAIN, TEMPERATURE, BAND, AND FREQUENCY WITHIN
THE FIRST IF, CONSISTENCY OF PT AND P9 IS PRETTY MUCH A PIPE DREAM FOR AN S
‰  END OF 20 WPM TEXT  ‰  QST DE W1AW  ƒ