Yep when you realize going from 1500 Watts to 3000 Watts only adds 1/2 of an S unit (3 dB) it sure is pricey when you might not even illuminate the next segment of the far end receiver’s S meter. Even the gain of going from the typical 100 Watts PEP ham transceiver output to the legal max of 1500 Watts PEP is only 11.8 dB or slightly less than 2 S units. Where I’ve found even a few dB, say 6 dB, from tacking a 400 to 500 Watt amp onto a 100 Watt rig, really helps is when your signal at the far end receiver is close to the integrated noise power, such as with a marginal mobile antenna. Just raising the S/N ratio a few dB helps immensely. Whereas if you already have a decent S/N ratio, adding several dB of signal isn’t helpful; interference or ‘shoot out’ competitions notwithstanding. I know a lot of people say life’s too short for QRP but getting through with low transmit power is a cool challenge. On a backpacking trip with limited battery or solar power it’s all you can do. CW wins due to the lower noise power when the receiver bandwidth is narrowed way down.