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[antennaware] Twin-Coax-Cable as single feed line to 1/2 impedance

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Subject: [antennaware] Twin-Coax-Cable as single feed line to 1/2 impedance
From: wx0b@arraysolutions.com (Jay Terleski)
Date: Sun, 17 Dec 2000 10:52:48 -0600
My spell checker sold me on the use of Feebleness instead of Feed Lines.
Below.

Please excuse my feebleness.

Jay

Jay Terleski wrote:
> 
> Billy,
> 
> Hi, you have rediscovered an old trick.
> 
> If you look at ON4UN's book "Low-Band Dxing" you will see some arrays of
> verticals using an element fed with parallel coaxial feebleness. To
> match, and also create the magnitude of current needed for the array.
> 
> The triangle array is one such example. Of course in reality when you
> try to build this array it creates a complex relay matrix, since we wish
> to "steer" the array, but it works. Three towers in line is another
> example.
> 
> There are other ways to feed this type of array using single coaxial
> feed lines too.
> 
> But the point is that it is a common practice with phased arrays to use
> parallel coaxial cables.
> 
> Reducing loss in the cable is not usually the concern, but I guess a
> little less IR drop in an antenna feed line that has say 6 ohms of
> impedance would be good. Say a mobile whip used on 160 meters.  Here an
> ohm of IR RF loss would be worth the effort to reduce.
> 
> Or guys on the 1750 meter band. These antennas probably can have a
> fraction of an ohm of radiation impedance.
> 
> Jay, WX0B
> 
> Billy Ward wrote:
> >
> > Greetings Group,
> >
> > I would like to have this groups input on something that I have been working
> > on today.
> > Today was not the first time that I've toyed with this idea but I performed
> > the experiments again that I have done a few times with the same results as
> > before.  There was a question posted on another forum about some ideas for
> > low-loss coaxial cable and I offered some information as a POSSIBLE
> > solution.
> > This is it:
> >
> > The Idea was to use two 72-Ohm Belden cables in parallel to obtain 36-Ohms
> > to match a 32-Ohm 1/4 wave ground-plane antenna.  In doing this, the I
> > squared R losses would also be 1/2 unless there is something that I am not
> > seeing. Since the tests show that it works,  if I qualified the tests
> > properly, I would have no doubts except that I have been a Ham and a RF
> > engineer for almost 40 years and have never heard of  running two cables in
> > parallel.
> >
> > I used an MFJ-259-B and measured the Characteristic Impedance of  three
> > lengths of Belden 72 ohm cable.
> > One of them was Three Feet, one was 12 Feet and the other one was 18 Feet.
> > They measured 71.2-, 71.3 -and 71.2-Ohms.  I then measured the velocity
> > factor using the "Distance to Fault Mode" to determine the electrical length
> > of the cable in inches and and then divided that figure by the actual length
> > in inches.
> >
> > The Velocity Factor measured at .80, .80 and .79 blinking to .80
> >
> > After making up 3 parallel cables by fitting both cables into a single
> > Pl-259 at each end just as you would to make a co-phasing cable for CB
> > radios, I made the measurements again.  The impedances  were almost exactly
> > what I expected at 35.7, 35,7 and 35.4.
> >
> > The Velocity Factors were a little further from the single cable figures
> > than were the impedances, measuring at 82.3, 82,4 and 82.0.  I  figured that
> > this was because the losses from the insulation was divided among the two
> > cables causing the Velocity to be just a little faster than one cable.
> >
> > I am familiar with Conjugate Matching and realize that there is really no
> > practical reason for using this cable arrangement in order to radiate 100%
> > of the power delivered by the transmitter less the power dissipated by the
> > cable losses..  Also the amount of power saved by halving the losses of
> > cable that is already low enough is not worth the time it takes and the
> > extra cost of the cable to bother with it.  However, to stir up a discussion
> > on the other forum, I offered this idea. So please NO preaching about why I
> > do not need to bother with this idea.  It is just a fun thing for
> > discussion.
> >
> > In your opinions, are there any flaws in this being a viable feed line.
> >
> > Billy
> >
> > _________________________________________________________________
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> >
> > --
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> 
> --
> Jay Terleski
> WX0B - Array Solutions
> www.arraysolutions.com
> 
> --
> FAQ on WWW:               http://www.contesting.com/FAQ/antennaware
> Submissions:              antennaware@contesting.com
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> Problems:                 owner-antennaware@contesting.com

-- 
Jay Terleski
WX0B - Array Solutions
www.arraysolutions.com

--
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