[TenTec] SWR is a DUMB Indicator of Antenna Performance

[Jim Brown]

> My Ten-Tec 238 tune my 80 double ext.zepp on all bands 160-10 with a 
> 4-1 balun 182 ft of 400 ladder line then the 4-1 with 20ft of coax. 

No, it doesn't "tune" your 80 double ext.zepp, it creates a match 
between the transmitter and the FEEDLINE that allows the transmitter to 
dump power into the FEEDLINE. How much of that power gets to the antenna 
depends on the mismatch between the feedline and the antenna. It's 
pretty common to lose 10 dB between the transmitter and an "all band" 
dipole. 10 dB is 90% of the transmitter power.

I can make my 80M dipole look like 1:1 on 30M to my 200W amplifier, but 
mismatch loss is determined by the match between the ANTENNA and the 
FEEDLINE, and I would be burning 180 of those 200W in the feedline.

Bottom line -- SWR is DUMB, STUPID, and USELESS as a measure of antenna 
performance. I can LOAD a lightbulb, but it's a lousy antenna.

73, Jim K9YC