Topband: matching an inverted-L

[EUGENE SMAR]

Steve:

     I use a largish air variable capacitor to feed my inverted L on 160M.
Not sure of the actual cap value, but it's a lot easier to tune using this
than a boxful of fixed values.  Plus the air variables are more robust than
fixed ones, unless you go to the trouble of buying transmit fixed micas,
etc.  I have the variable cap just sitting inside a plastic storage
container, with stainless steel hardare making the connections to the wires.
Don't forget to drill a couple of drain holes (about 1/8 inch) in the bottom
of the container.

     As long as you're committed to running relay control wires to the feed
point, you might want to consider a DC motor to remotely tune the cap.  I
haven't done this myself; the rig's tuner handles all off-resonance matching
quite well, including operation on 80M!

GL es 73 de
Gene Smar  AD3F