Topband: Beverages 2 basic questions

[Tom W8JI]

> resistors. Id guesstimate the general F/B to be over 20dB on 160. My 
> feeling is that performance could not be duplicated by various other 
> loading methods. If somebody wants to make real world comparisons it might 
> be beneficial.

I looked at slinkys when I lived in Conyers. None of this is magical or 
difficult, nor are antenna slinkys or helical loads "special". The behavior 
is the same as a series of lumped inductors spaced fractional wavelengths 
along the antenna.

There is a certain optimum phase shift along an antenna's length. There are 
many ways to accomplish that, and if the resulting current distribution and 
phase is the same the results will also be exactly the same. Sometimes, like 
with long antennas fired away from the feedpoint, we don't want that delay. 
We actually might need a phase advance.

The only thing magical about slinkys is how they can go down steps without 
feet, and without holding on to the banister! I never have figured that out.