As Readability and Tone can only ever be an operator's subjective
assessment, is there any point in trying to make Signal an objective
measurement?
Some people give out RS(T) reports like medals - handing out a 59+ to
a QRP novice to make them feel good, or handing down a 338 to a
station 100 QSOs ahead in a contest to take the wind out of their
sails (heh heh!).
Other people attach an almost religious significance to signal reports
- hence reports like "you're 5&9+11dB off the front of my beam with
the preamp in, 5+9 with the preamp out, 55 beaming WSW, and 5 & 6 off
the back of the beam". Showered with these goodies, you ruin the
moment by saying "yes, but did you get my call correct?"
I often tune across a local HF net where "meaningful" RSs are handed
out every week. Everyone is always S9, but sometimes +5dB, +22dB,
+16dB, etc. These are groundwave QSOs, where the only meaningful
variables are AGC/RF gain and background noise.
If and when we need an accurate measurement of signal strength, we
need something better than the vague tidings of RS(T). Perhaps a
reading in microvolts from a separate RF meter or from a
panadaptor/scope, could be the answer.
Then we can go back to using RS(T) simply as the rubber stamp of a
QSO.
73
Al, GM4BAP
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