[TowerTalk] Maxcom Matcher info needed

[Chris R. Burger]

K5ED wrote:

> I picked up a Maxcom High Speed Antenna Matcher (per label)...
> Anybody know anything about this unit?
There were some anonymous mentions of this device on this Reflector 
recently.

It's a dummy load.  You connect wires to it, and those wires end up 
in parallel with the loading resistor.  You end up with a reasonable 
match, but poor efficiency.

There was an expose' about these units in QST in the early eighties.  
There were even some X-ray photographs, showing that scrap PC boards 
had been moulded into the casing to make the unit appear a lot more 
complex than it really is.

Advertising at the time claimed that they'd sold large quantities to 
the US Government (including the Navy, as I remember).  

If you have a solid state radio and you ragchew on 40 during the day, 
this is your unit.  If you want to work DX, get a real antenna.

Chris R. Burger
ZS6EZ


--
FAQ on WWW:               http://www.contesting.com/towertalkfaq.html
Submissions:              towertalk@contesting.com
Administrative requests:  towertalk-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems:                 owner-towertalk@contesting.com
Search:                   http://www.contesting.com/km9p/search