[TenTec] OT: Openwire Balanced Antenna Tuners (QST Test)

[Rick - DJ0IP / NJ0IP]

Bob, your idea is very sound.  But..not always possible.

It's one thing when we are talking about a monoband antenna, but it's quite
another when we speak of one antenna for working 7 bands.
Balance Tuners are designed exclusively for openwire, and we use openwire
with multi-band antennas, not usually with monoband antennas.

You have to keep these topics separate, or specify which one you are
referring to before you make any statement.
Otherwise your statement is sometimes right and sometimes wrong.

IMO, anyone who is using a tuner with a monoband antenna should have his
head examined!  ;-)

However, anyone using a dipole, fed in the middle with openwire, and using
it on 7 bands with the help of a tuner has got himself a good all-band
setup.  Most of us cannot put up 7 different antennas.

In my case, my landlord allows me ONE antenna.  And I'm a contester.  I need
160/80/40/20/15/10m.
I don't need the WARC bands, but of course they are nice to have.

So I built ONE antenna, an 80m OCF dipole, adjusted the antenna and it works
80/40/30/20/15/12/10m.  Not 17m.
I do not use a tuner on any of these bands, except for the high end of 80m
(which is normal).
BUT occasionally I will use the tuner to match 17m and running 100w (no amp
- don't want to fry the balun), I can work pretty much everything I hear.
THERE IS NOTHING I CAN DO TO MY ANTENNA TO GET 17m WITHOUT LOSING OTHER
BANDS!

In my opinion, that is exactly how you use a tuner - WHERE YOU ABSOLUTELY
MUST.

ANTENNA TUNERS ARE LIKE GOING TO THE DENTIST...
Nobody wants to go there, but if you have to, you're really glad they are
there.

BTW, for 160m I put up a second antenna, well hidden in the woods.  It's
about 100 yards from the house and the landlord can't see it.  He watched me
put it up, but as long as he can't see it, he has nothing against it.  It is
matched at its base and I don't use a tuner with it.

73
Rick


-----Original Message-----
From: TenTec [mailto:tentec-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of bob barnes
Sent: Saturday, February 16, 2013 4:59 AM
To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment
Subject: Re: [TenTec] OT: Openwire Balanced Antenna Tuners (QST Test)

my thoughts on antenna tuners is they will not change an antenna but they
will fool your rig into seeing a  load. not matter what that swr if it is
high with the tuner the swr will still be high behind that tuner no matter
what!
 
 
that tuner is still seeing all the bad things about your antenn best bet
trim the ant to a acceptable low swr and save your cash.
 
i know that may not be believable but that is the way it is.
 
bob k0wtz

all things are possible in Christ Jesus our savior

--- On Fri, 2/15/13, Rick - DJ0IP / NJ0IP <Rick at DJ0IP.de> wrote:


From: Rick - DJ0IP / NJ0IP <Rick at DJ0IP.de>
Subject: [TenTec] OT: Openwire Balanced Antenna Tuners (QST Test)
To: "'Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment'" <tentec at contesting.com>,
Ten-Tec-Omni-VII at yahoogroups.com, TenTec_Eagle at yahoogroups.com
Date: Friday, February 15, 2013, 9:48 AM


The March 2013 issue of QST has another Antenna Tuner test by Joel, W1ZR.

This article is a good read because it also describes the ARRL's newest test
method for antenna tuners.

ONE OF THE BIGGEST MISTAKES I find people make in their thinking is, they
believe that if their ATU can match the antenna, that's goodness.  NOT!
In addition to whatever losses the antenna itself may have, there may also
be SIGNIFICANT matchbox losses. as this article points out on one of the
boxes.

The two Matchboxes tested here are the MFJ-976 and Palstar BT-1500A.
<> What are their matching ranges?
<> MORE IMPORTANT, how much power is lost in the matchbox when matching the
various impedances?

BTW, I have added these results to my "MATCHBOX SHOOT-OUT Spreadsheet" on my
web site.
It compares these tuners to others which the ARRL has previously tested.
LINK:  http://www.dj0ip.de/antenna-matchboxes/matchbox-shoot-out/ 

A HUGE THANK YOU TO JOEL and his colleagues for reporting on this
interesting topic.

73
Rick, DJ0IP


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