Saturday, June 24, 2017

Measurements

Recently there was a discussion on Facebook about a new radio with low power output. "A reading is not a reading" and it is seldom absolute. 



Keep in mind just looking at the reading on any instrument doesn't tell you the whole story. You need to understand a little about what you're measuring and what you are using to do the measurement. It's also important to understand why you are making the measurement. I offer these terms as food for thought:









Accuracy – designates how close a measured value is to the true quantity of what is being measured. Without comparison to a standard, accuracy cannot be determined. It's often specified in terms of being +/- some percentage of the indicated value.
Repeatability – describes how well a system or device can reproduce an outcome in unchanged conditions. In some applications, repeatability is more important than accuracy. If the system is repeatable, an error can be mapped and compensated for.
Resolution – is the smallest increment the system can display or measure. A system can have a high resolution with poor repeatability and accuracy.

73

Tim N9PUZ

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