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Topband: To clamp or NOT...that IS the question

To: Top Band Contesting <topband@contesting.com>
Subject: Topband: To clamp or NOT...that IS the question
From: James Rodenkirch <rodenkirch_llc@msn.com>
Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2014 10:37:36 -0700
List-post: <topband@contesting.com">mailto:topband@contesting.com>


A friend of mine is building me a switching arrangement with a reed relay to 
switch between my transmit antenna and a receive delta loop to the one antenna 
input for my Ten Tec Jupiter (I operate at QRP levels for contests).
As an added measure of protection for the KD9SV low noise pre-amp I use with my 
160/80 delta loop antenna, he believes clamping the RX antenna port or shunting 
to ground during TX sounds like a nice thing.  But, he's seen arguments that 
clamping receiver input with diodes degrades the receiver performance. He find 
this believable, but I don't know how true it is, e.g., he knows KD1JV claims 
his RX performance is achieved by using 2N7000 FETs to do T/X switching.
He has a bunch of 2N7000 and will probably use one to turn on the relay.  He 
can turn on another one along with the relay driver that will shunt the RX 
antenna port to ground but he wonders if that would degrade receiver 
performance.
Thoughts?  72/72, Jim Rodenkirch K9JWV

                                          
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