I have a story for you ..... Back in the 1960's I had a mentor ( Elmer ) named Wyman Holden K2GB ..... He got his first HAM license in 1919 YES 1919 ..... He worked in RF for DECADES and was very smart when it came to anything RADIO .... Well he wanted to get on 2 meter AM which was the mode of choice then and built a 2 meter AM solid state station battery powered that he could hide from his wife... We will not get into what a jerk she was ..... Well he would put a ground plane in his window and talk to all of us sometimes getting out 10-20 miles at night. And became well known all around New York city and very well liked ..... About the time I went into the ARMY she died .... he could now set up his station but still ran the home made radio .... well as time went by he got the landlord to allow him to put up a small 2 meter beam and it was up 60 foot ...... His Battery Power station ran about 200 MW ( .2 watts ) and now he was heard very well and at great distances. One night in the early 70's I was running my station at several hundred watts into (4) 17 elm beams and talking to north Carolina about 300 miles away when I heard him try and break in ..... all 200 MW of him ..... He asked me if that guy might be able to hear him ...... and was answered " HEAR YOU YOUR ALMOST AS STRONG AS YOUR BUDDY IS !!! " When he died he had worked everything from Georgia to Canada on 2 meters still running that radio ...... Sometimes LUCK and SKILL are as important as power .......
