Topband: Antenna switch rating for high SWR?

[John Harper]

Morning all,

 

I am planning to put in a DPDT switch (or relay) to allow me to easily
switch from using my 80m dipole as a vertical (T-top) antenna on 160m:

http://www.ae5x.com/docs/antennas/160mT.jpg

 

The dipole is fed with 450-ohm ladder line and used 10-80m in that
configuration so there is a high SWR on the line. I sometimes use a kw
output.

 

I know that T/R switches inside amps are fairly small in physical size,
however they are designed to operate into a fairly low SWR load. I have no
idea of what rating of a DPDT switch I would need (per the diagram) in my
application - perhaps I'm making a bigger deal of something that isn't so
critical.?

 

John AE5X

http://www.ae5x.com/blog