LOL…I run it at 29.7 for some time yesterday. This seems to be a very good setting, at least as a starting point for an optimization routine.
I set it to 29.7 again now, let’s see.
Edit1: Number of planes increased slightly from the 7.7 setting, absolutely no changes in messages.
Don’t you have the graphs running?
In the very first graph, if you are after mostly airplane count, aim for 10 or 15 percent displayed there for the strong messages.
(normally i aim for 1 to 5 percent, but if you only care about aircraft numbers …)
Note that it is an average of the duration of the graph, so use the 1hour graph and check 1 hour after changing the gain.
No graphs of any kind for some time. I used the ADS-B project and the ADS-B Exchange graphs in the past, but not now.
That’s right, and in that respect, 49.6 gave me the highest and most consistent number of aircrafts.
I’ll try again, but from the top down. Set it to 48.0 now.
Use mine, they are a lot simpler to install (or remove).
GitHub - wiedehopf/graphs1090: Graphs for readsb / dump1090-fa / dump1090 (based on dump1090-tools by mutability)
That’s just gonna be too much.
30 should be more than enough.
Wow…simpler to install indeed. Me like it. 
Up and running already.
Well done!!!
Edit 1: Installed in the other station as well. These graphs are very nice.
LOL…even with the Pro+ gain set to zero, I have 96.1% of messages > -3dBFS.
The other station has 12%.
Did you run it for an hour and chose the 1 hour graph?
It’s an average over the duration of the graph, no instant value.
If you want a value since you restarted dump1090-fa, you can use the console command listed here:
Thoughts on optimizing gain - #2 by wiedehopf
Yes, one hour, but I ‘cheated’ a bit. I changed the levels a few times, the overall curve changed, but the > -3dBFS stayed always between 95 and 97%.
Oh, OK. I thought I could just follow the red under the messages received blue line.
That’s a message rate not a percentage.
The percentage is printed in the text.
Are you even changing the gain?
Maybe you are confused with piaware image vs package installation.
For Beginners - How to Set / Change Gain
So the percentage is not calculated between those two variables? The gap between the 2 are minimal. On the other hand, on the other station, it’s very wide.
This is how I do it:
sudo piaware-config rtlsdr-gain XX
sudo systemctl restart piaware
Are these wrong?
Depends which image you are using.
See the link.
FA 3.7.1 SD card image, nothing changed/added other than your graphs now.
The percentage is the red area in relation to the blue line.
So yeah.
I was never good with math, but I figured that was it.
Anyway it’s clear why the message rate is so horrid.
Just too much signal.
Use another dongle.
I’ll remove the LNA. Stand by.
-.-
But i like that LNA 
Oh well.
Man, that garage is hot!
I like it too, but it won’t hurt.
Edit1: Using your favorite gain setting, max, it’s down to 40%.
I’ll lower it in steps to see the changes, if any.
Edit2: Without the LNA, message count is the same between the two stations.
OK…enough for today.
Using @wiedehopf graphs, looks like I can squeeze a tiny performance increase out of the main station, by using his favorite gain setting of ‘max’. 
This is where it’s going to stay.
On the station that I was focusing on, looks like the LNA is history, if using the Pro+. I’m not sure yet which setting is best. It’s currently between 44.5, 48.0, and 49.6. I left it at 48.0 for now, but I will re-visit this in the future.
@wiedehopf your graphs are excellent. Installed to keep. Not sure if I’ll ever use the 1, 2, and 3 years tabs though.
Thanks a lot. It was fun.
P.S. While doing all this, I was still able to ‘work’ Indonesia on the 20M band for an ATNO, for the hams out there. Prop is dismal, but he showed up on FT8 with a -7 signal. Worked him after a couple of calls, and then he was gone in the ‘ether’.