Towertalk
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: [TowerTalk] New tool - toroidal ferrite core inductor calculator

To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] New tool - toroidal ferrite core inductor calculator
From: Jim Brown <jim@audiosystemsgroup.com>
Reply-to: jim@audiosystemsgroup.com
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2021 14:01:22 -0700
List-post: <mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
On 7/12/2021 1:34 PM, David Hachadorian wrote:
It's quite interesting working with the choke calculator, but I notice that the Rs values differ significantly from K9YC's Choke Cookbook.  For example, with a Fair-Rite 2.4" #31 toroid, on 28.4 MHz, the calculator predicts that 10 turns of RG-400 has Rs=0.8K, and the cookbook shows 4.4K.

Hi Dave,

Ferrite common mode chokes are parallel resonant circuits, formed by stray (parasitic) capacitance between turns, inductance and resistance coupled from the core. That capacitance will depend on the transmission line used for the winding -- it's dimensions, winding style, and dielectric properties. These concepts are discussed tutorially in k9yc.com/RFI-Ham.pdf, with more in the text that is part of the Cookbook.

Measurement of chokes is non-trivial. The test fixture must be carefully designed and calibrated for the measurement, and the choke must have "zero length" leads so that lead length does not shift the resonance.

My Cookbook is based on measurement of hundreds of chokes, all of them wound on four cores at my measured tolerance limits of the 100 or so 2.4-in o.d. and 4-in o.d. cores in my stash. Measured complex Z for each ham band was collected in a spreadsheet for each "limits" core, and for each choke, the published value of Rs is the worst case (lowest) value for each choke.

I haven't studied this calculator, but in general, such calculators will produce wildly inaccurate results for chokes around resonance unless capacitance and resistance are taken into account. Even for widely spaced turns, there is inter-winding capacitance through the core as the dielectric. All of my designs are for tightly spaced turns.

73, Jim K9YC
_______________________________________________



_______________________________________________
TowerTalk mailing list
TowerTalk@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>