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Re: [TenTec] Field day antennas

To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec@contesting.com>, Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TenTec] Field day antennas
From: Jim Brown <k9yc@audiosystemsgroup.com>
Reply-to: k9yc@arrl.net, Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec@contesting.com>
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2015 14:41:01 -0700
List-post: <tentec@contesting.com">mailto:tentec@contesting.com>
Hi Don,

I did read the NCJ article. Some of it is great, but some of it is wrong. Specifically this -- the standing wave pattern on the line is determined by the LOAD Z, which varies WIDELY with frequency.

Consider, for example, an 80M dipole. Depending on height and , it's in the range of 40-90 ohms at resonance, and gets increasingly reactive either side. On the 2nd and 4th harmonic, the load will be a very high Z. On the 3rd and 5th, it will be back in that low range.

On the other hand, consider an 80/40 fan -- on the second and third harmonics it will have a low Z in that 40-90 ohm range at resonance. Likewise, a tribander will be in the range of 50 ohms on the three bands. BUT -- in all cases, even for resonant antennas, those high voltage points will move up and down the line with frequency as Z varies around resonance.

The really excellent thing about George's piece is that he recommends putting stubs at the high voltage points on the line, which is dead on right -- if you can do it. But what seems to be missing is that they want to be at a high voltage point on the line AT THE FREQUENCY THAT THE STUB IS INTENDED TO KILL. Caps added for emphasis. Then you must measure both the Z at those "kill" frequencies, as well as the length of the length of the line, with a VNA or VIA, then export the data to SimSmith or equivalent to first transform the data to the load end of the line, then use SimSmith to find those high voltage points. To do all this, of course, you must also know Vf at the frequencies of interest.

BTW -- this same issue of the variability of the Z of the source and the load strongly affect the performance of ANY passive network, including bandpass filters. We tune them with a 50 ohm source and 50 ohm load, but use them with sources having very different impedances, especially in their stop-bands.

In simpler words, things are more complex than they often appear. And this comes not from a throne, but from staying awake in my EE classes 60 years ago.

73, Jim K9YC

What's On Thu,4/16/2015 2:13 PM, Don Jones wrote:
BS? Wow... I think you would benefit from reading W2VJN article recently published in the NCJ. But the would require you to get off the fricken throne to go find it.
But then you have it all figured out so why bother.
KO7i said that.

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