How about those YouTube influencers who shout into their SSB rigs “Can you hear me now?” “I’ll switch to the other antenna, and let me know which is better.” Can we trust our ears? Maybe in the cases with very notable signal differences. Yet, within a few minutes, the sun is likely to change the propagation enough to fool our ears.
Our analog hearing is very subjective. That’s why audiologists use sound proof booths and calibrated instruments to objectively measure how well we hear.
Being a data driven geek (40 years in the Information Technology business) I prefer more objective measurement. Let’s use some actual instrumentation rather than subjective judgement … and don’t get me started about bouncing S-meters.
My objective comparisons use results from far field WSPR receivers as measurement instruments. The method is to put both antennas on an A:B switch, to feed a WSPR signal to the switch, and to switch between the two antennas every two minutes (the normal WSPR cycle), and to continue switching back and forth while each antenna has 5, 6, or more cycles. The minute-to-minute changes get averaged into a longer timespan. Then, compare results.
A series of 3 articles described the process. Start here.
BETTER YET… Coming SOON, a less tedious approach to objective far field comparisons.
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