Topband: Inverted L - newbie questions

[WW3S]

Where did you connect the analyzer? You want it as close as possible to the feed point, with as little length of coax jumper as possible. Even a 6 ft jumper can skew the results, been there done that....

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> On Aug 21, 2019, at 12:36 PM, Jeff Blaine <KeepWalking188 at ac0c.com> wrote:
> 
> An inverted L without radials is a random length wire and the measurements are of no meaning until there is a ground system to make up the other half of the antenna.
> 
> But to Wes point, the 259 and big 160m antennas is a recipe for going nuts.  You don't even need a high powered BC station - even a low powered station a pretty far distance away can cause the 259 to give results in error.  A VNA or something like the Rig Expert are FAR more robust in this application.
> 
> 73/jeff/ac0c
> alpha-charlie-zero-charlie
> www.ac0c.com
> 
> 
>> On 8/21/19 12:04 AM, Wes wrote:
>> How many high-powered BC stations do you have around?
>> 
>> Wes  N7WS
>> 
>>> On 8/21/2019 8:55 AM, N4ZR wrote:
>>> I just put up an inverted L, with a vertical length of about 60 feet, and a total of 135 feet.  It is fed through 16 turns of RG-400 on a ferrite core at the base. There are, as yet, no radials.
>>> 
>>> Because I was impatient to see what was going on, I grounded the shield to a single copper-plated ground rod and connected my MFJ259B. I expected a high R value, and I got one - 112-122 ohms. But surprisingly (to me), lowest SWR was at 2.070 MHz, and X remained at zero over quite a wide range - all the way down to about 1.7 MHz.
>>> 
>>> Is this all to be expected?  I plan to put down at least minimum radials in the next few days, and would expect the R value to drop as I do so. Am I off-base?
>>> 
>> 
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