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TopBand: Feedpoint impedance vs efficiency

To: <topband@contesting.com>
Subject: TopBand: Feedpoint impedance vs efficiency
From: w8ji.tom@MCIONE.com (Tom Rauch)
Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 22:15:17 +0000
To: <topband@contesting.com>
> Date:          Mon, 16 Mar 1998 09:03:53 -0800

> The feed impedance altered !microscopically! with the change from 3 to 4 -
> barely visible, no change to tuning settings - so I infer that the
> performance changed in a similar way.

Hi Art and others,

Actually feedpoint impedance is often a very unreliable (or often 
completely misleading) indicator of efficiency.

Even if a noticeable base impedance change is NOT observed, 
efficiency can still be changing. Without measuring FS in the far 
field, we have no idea what portion of the energy is being lost.

It's quite possible and common to install a ground system that causes 
a vertical to have a very low base impedance, and yet provides
very poor efficiency. Inductor loaded resonant radials are one 
example.

73, Tom W8JI
w8ji.tom@MCIONE.com

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