FINAL NOTES ABOUT BROADBAND PRE-AMPS
Yes, the Ramsey SA7 or PR2 RF pre-amp will give that promised boost to the signal strength of that distant FM broadcast station that your wife, sister or dad wants to tune in without so much static. However, if there is a strong local station 20 KHz up or down the band, remember that station is entitled to the same amount of boost! The result may be that the radio will try harder to "lock" on to the frequency of the stronger station, wiping out the very station you want to boost. In such cases, a highly directional gain antenna, with a good line-of-sight view of the broadcasting station, needs to be the first improvement, using the pre-amp for a further boost.
When using a broadband preamp with a frequency counter to check the performance of an RF oscillator, remember that neither the preamp or counter have any control over the quality of the oscillator's frequency output. If the next harmonic of the RF source looks better to the counter-preamp combo, that is exactly what you will see and count!
Finally, be aware that adding a preamp to a poorly designed VHF or UHF receiver used in busy RF environments will result in very noticeable boosting of out-of-band images and heterodynes.
SA7—10
