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Originally Posted by s/v Jedi  A directional antenna is much better than omni directional even if it has just the same gain. [...] |
Er, barring adding an amp (which is, in a sense, cheating) to the omni-directional antenna, there ain't no such animal. Gain, or enhanced "signal snagging" in some direction, is obtained at the cost of reduced "signal snagging" in the remaining space around the antenna - in the end, it's a zero sum game.
The ideal antenna (a so-called "isotropic antenna") has a spherical pattern; gain, as in a 3db gain boat VHF antenna, swaps out acceptance over part of the sphere (top and bottom) for gain over a limited volume around the antenna.