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     Northam, Western Australia
     QRZ Page: VK6YSF

 

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S METER

S meter (signal strength meter) a quantitative measure of voltage of power presented at a communications receivers.


HOME  > OPERATIONAL >REFERENCES >

 

S units for frequencies below 30 MHz

 

S Reading

uV (50Ω)

P Watts

dBm

dB above 1uV

1

0,195

7,63E-16

-121

-14,19

2

0,391

3,05E-15

-115

-8,16

3

0,781

1,22E-14

-109

-2,14

4

1,56

4,88E-14

-103

3,88

5

3,13

1,95E-13

-97

9,90

6

6,25

7,81E-13

-91

15,92

7

12,5

3,13E-12

-85

21,94

8

25

1,25E-11

-79

27,96

9

50

5,00E-11

-73

33,98

9 + 

10

160

5,12E-10

-63

44,08

9 + 

20

500

5,00E-09

-53

53,98

9 + 

30

1600

5,12E-08

-43

64,08

9 + 

40

5000

5,00E-07

-33

73,98

9 + 

50

16000

5,12E-06

-23

84,08

9 + 

60

50000

5,00E-05

-13

93,98

 

S units for frequencies above 30 MHz

 

S Reading

uV (50Ω)

P Watts

dBm

dB above 1uV

1

0,0195

7,63E-18

-141

-34,19

2

0,0391

3,05E-17

-135

-28,16

3

0,0781

1,22E-16

-129

-22,14

4

0,156

4,88E-16

-123

-16,12

5

0,313

1,95E-15

-117

-10,10

6

0,625

7,81E-15

-111

-4,08

7

1,25

3,13E-14

-105

1,94

8

2,5

1,25E-13

-99

7,96

9

5

5,00E-13

-93

13,98

9 + 

10

16

5,12E-12

-83

24,08

9 + 

20

50

5,00E-11

-73

33,98

9 + 

30

160

5,12E-10

-63

44,08

9 + 

40

500

5,00E-09

-53

53,98

9 + 

50

1600

5,12E-08

-43

64,08

9 + 

60

5000

5,00E-07

-33

73,98

 

The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 1 agreed on a technical recommendation for S Meter calibration for HF and VHF/UHF transceivers in 1981.

IARU Region 1 Technical Recommendation R.1 defines S9 for the HF bands to be a receiver input power of -73 dBm. This is a level of 50 microvolts at the receiver's antenna input assuming the input impedance of the receiver is 50 ohms.

For VHF bands the recommendation defines S9 to be a receiver input power of -93 dBm. This is the equivalent of 5 microvolts in 50 ohms.

The recommendation defines a difference of one S-unit corresponds to a difference of 6 decibels (dB), equivalent to a voltage ratio of two, or power ratio of four.

Signals stronger than S9 are given with an additional dB rating, thus "S9 + 20dB", or, verbally, "20 decibels over S9" or simply "20 over 9".

 

Reference:

Wikipedia article based on IARU Region 1 Technical Recommendation R.1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S_meter

 

  

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Page initiated 15 December, 2016 

Page last revised 05 November, 2025 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Space Weather

   https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/

    

Nikola Tesla, born on 10 July 1856, was one of 

history's most influential inventors.

   Notice Board

VK6YSF JS8Call and Olivia 8/250 operations.

Current activity is generally focused - though not restricted to - JS8Call operations on the 30m, and 40m bands.

Olivia 8/250 is used occasionally on the 20m band.

Proposed band and mode activity is often communicated on HamSpots: https://hamspots.net/js8/ or my profile on 

X: https://x.com/vk6ysf97230 .  

Post date: 5 July 2026

 

Local Repeaters

The Local Repeaters page has been updated with expanded and refreshed information on VHF and UHF repeaters across Western Australia's Central Coast, Perth, the Avon Valley, and the Peel region.

See: https://vk6ysf.com/local_repeaters.htm 

Post date: 5 July 2026

 

MARMOTSat

An exciting upcoming amateur radio CubeSat

Proposed launch date: 7 July 2026

Expected payload includes:

145.875 MHz – AX.25 packet digipeater
436.125 MHz – Telemetry & command (digital)
29.410 MHz – CW telemetry beacon, DVB-S2 experiments.

https://marmotsat.ca
https://www.propagationlab.ca/satellite/

Post date: 5 July 2026

Western Australian SSTV net 

Popular Western Australian SSTV net for both digital and anolog SSTV.

Generally found at 7214.0kHz LSB every afternoon from 08:00 UTC (4:00pm WST)

For more details: https://www.wasstv.net/wasstv.net/index.html

Post date: 8 December 2025

 

VK6MJM LF (136kHz) and MF (474kHz) Beacon

VK6MJM is a  LF/MF station located in Manjimup, Western Australia.

Common Mode: FST4W 300 (Similar to WSPR)  

Note: other modes and sub-modes may be used.

Station details were presented by Peter Hall (VK6HP) at PerthTech 2024.Presentation PDF: Peter Hall VK6HP at PerthTech

QRZ Page: VK6MJM on QRZ.com

Post date: 10 March 2025

 

 

 

 

All content may be used for unlimited distribution with full credits.

Amateur Radio Station VK6YSF - Promoting amateur radio communication and experimentation.