[TenTec] TUNING, MATCHING, TUNERS

[Ken Brown]

At my station I am the tuner. I tune the VFO (PLL Encoder) knob on my 
Omni VI to the frequency I want to operate on. I tune the Pi-network in 
my Titan 425. I tune the inductor and capacitor in my 238 L Network  
impedance matching unit. The antenna radiates some of the power as RF 
and some as heat. Some of the RF power gets reflected back through the 
feedline towards the 238 matching network, which in turn may reflect 
some of it back on the transmission line to the antenna again. Some of 
the RF power gets dissipated as heat in the transmission line and in the 
L network. I do not tune my antenna when I am operating. I tune my 
matching unit for maximum power transfer to the antenna system. I have 
an inverted L which is resonant on 160 meters. In order to make it 
resonant I tuned it by trimming it's length. I cannot do that while I am 
in that shack. I can use the 239 L network to tune the whole SYSTEM. To 
tune the antenna I have to go outside and mess about with ropes and 
pulleys and cut or splice wires. The L network in the shack cannot do 
that. My antenna does not get tuned while I am operating. My antenna 
SYSTEM does get tuned while operating.

DE N6KB