Broadening a 160 meter dipole

[Steve - K4HX]

So tune one more cap on the TX or one or two more on the tuner. I'm not seeing any advantage.

[WA1GFZ]

Like any other final. It is all about tricking it to be happy.

[k4kyv]

If you want single-button instant QSY capability without having to adjust a separate ATU, the best solution would be some kind of auto-tune circuit. I seem to recall seeing circuits in recent handbooks. It can be made to work with the final and ATU.

Take your pick.  Choose a  circuit that senses mismatches and reactance and automatically tunes them out, or a circuit that allows you to manually tune then "remembers"  the settings, using modern technology to work like the old Collins electro-mechanical auto-tune as used in the ART-13.

[K1JJ]

You could always pick up a PW-1 (PissWeaker One) - a new no-tune 1KW solid state amp for $10K and have the $15K transceiver control it with one button.   That's not too bad, the price of a new car for a rig - plus antennas?  Might as well add on a bunch of Stepper IR automatic Yagi antennas for another $8K and you're Doctor Robotic.   

 No more knobs to tune, lice all done, until boredom sets in. You find no one is impressed and you wanna sell it all. 


T

[KM1H]

It's German, right?

Via New Jersey

[KM1H]

Steve said:

Reflected power and loss are not equal. Steve's loss at 2:1 SWR will be about 0.07 dB more than if the SWR was 1:1. Doesn't seem worth worrying about.

Yes it is. It helps promote the sale of watt/SWR meters! 

And useless antenna tuners that eat up more watts than the VSWR feedline loss.

Worrying about VSWR, within reason, on the lower bands is a constant waste of forum bandwidth better spent understanding how to make the final stage load into what you brung to the gunfight.

[KB2WIG]

I don't work 160m, but i'd suggest rubbing the antena with toilet paper. It's worked for my wife, as she's more broad than when I met her.


klc

[K6JEK]

Steve,

QST, Sep 1993, page 27: "A Simple Broadband Dipole for 80 Meters"  Turn your existing 80 meter dipole into a broadband antenna by simply modifying the feed line
Frank Witt, AI1H, 10 Chatham Rd, Andover MA.

The technique is a transmission line transformer. A length of 75 ohm coax is inserted but not where you might expect.  System losses are analyzed, SWR curves plotted. The numbers look good.  The curves look good.  The technique should be applicable to 160 meters.  If you're an ARRL member you can download it free.  If you aren't and want the article, let me know.  I have a PDF

I believe he generalized the concept for a piece published in the ARRL Antenna Compendium, Volume 4.  That's where I read it but that book is at the other QTH so I can't compare the two.

Jon

 

[The Slab Bacon]

"Better" is often the enemy of "good enough".

There ya go!! that says it all!!

Do what ya gotta do to make the transmitter happy, and run enuff soup so the losses dont matter!! Then spend your time worrying about things that matter more.

(Like scheeming up on the cute honey down the street, or a good plate of Sushi)                                             

[WA1GFZ]

Jon, You are going to make walt explode

[K6JEK]

Jon, You are going to make walt explode

That wouldn't be good.
I won't tell him if you don't tell him.