Several years ago, a friend showed me how to wind toroids lto make traps. I use a trapped end fed wire on 20, 30, and 40 meters for SOTA.?
Sometimes on 20 I will see 3 bars, and feel safe to operate. If I saw four, I'd be a little hesitant.
I need to bring the RigExpert along sometime, to see what three bars might mean for a SWR measurement.?
Mark
N0MTN?
On Sat, Feb 25, 2023 at 10:14 AM, Robin Kidd
<w4ien@...> wrote:
AMEN, well said!!
Robin Kidd?
W4IEN
EM73vx
w4ien@...
On Feb 25, 2023, at 11:40, Larry Macionski via groups.io <am_fm_radio@...> wrote:
?Larry-
Lower reflected is always better. It is arbitrary in the case of the FT-718... Lower reflected bars only means your finals are operating in a "safer" zone that if it was all bars..
All too many people demand erroneously that 1:1 at all times. Hence dreams of SteppIR's.. as that antenna is the only one that will alow 1:1 across the band at any given frequency..
If you are tuning the antenna tune for minimum bars (minimum smoke)
Yet you will find the next outing and re-erection of the same antenna it will be different..
Always remember you can measure manyparamaters with lab accuracy test equipment and boast to your friends, you have precision that rivals the bureau of Standards...
But, when I started in Ham Radio I tuned my transmitter with a #47 piolet light bulb and I had a ball working stations with 15 watts CW.. (Well 15 watts was the claim of the author of the single 6V6 transmitter I home brewed. You know what that 15 watts I claimed was input, not RF output to the antenna.
Didn't care.. Today's ham is anal retentive with precision watt meters, expensive low loss coax, mandatory baluns, and $1500 radios, wishing they could afford the $3000 radio..?
They are not happy and not enjoying Amateur radio.. Perhaps the main reason so many loose interest-- Many also claim it's beyond their budget.. You I know hams that are happy with $200 invested in their station.. Including a VHF talkie.
