[TowerTalk] dump power?

[k1ttt at arrl.net]

in a typical hybrid network used for dividing power and creating phase
shifts in a 4-square vertical array or many other types of arrays there is
a point in the circuit where any imbalance between the loads has to 'go
somewhere'... to prevent this imbalance in loads from badly affecting the
pattern the power at this point is 'dumped' to a dummy load.  if the array
is perfectly designed and matches the design impedances all around the
'dump power' is zero.  this is rarely the case as when you change
frequency away from the design center the impedances will change and more
power gets 'dumped'.  it can also be caused by other objects in the
vicinity that unbalance the array, or from changes in the ground plane
under vertical arrays, etc.  so one measure of how good your 4-square is
performing is to measure the 'dump power'.

> I did a google search on "dump power" and got 149 hits including two of
> Tom's towertalk posting.
> Other hits ranged from John Deere's tractors to garbage dumps but at
> least two others indicated that it is a common term used in power lines
> and also integrated circuit power line layout.
>
> I suspect that some other Towertalkians are like me and it is an
> unfamiliar term.  We will appreciate an explanation?
>
> k7puc
>
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