Topband
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: Topband: Hairpin Matching Coil Questions - "Shunt"?

To: "Jim GM" <jim.gmforum@gmail.com>, "topband" <topband@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: Topband: Hairpin Matching Coil Questions - "Shunt"?
From: "Tom W8JI" <w8ji@w8ji.com>
Reply-to: Tom W8JI <w8ji@w8ji.com>
Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2013 16:22:57 -0400
List-post: <topband@contesting.com">mailto:topband@contesting.com>
Thankyou Charlie.

I got those Q numbers from
http://www.m0ukd.com/Calculators/air_core_inductor_calculator/
Maybe a decimal point was left out.

Jim,

I thought something was misleading you somewhere.


Be careful with online calculators. The one in the link uses pi out to 39 places (which might give the impression of accuracy), but omits many far more critical, important, parameters. It is a very rough guess that might be a mile off, even though the publisher implies accuracy. They would be better off to just use "3.1" for Pi, and add in some more important things.

One way to evaluate an inductor calculator for design omissions is to see if it asks for:

1.) Insulation thickness and type
2.) Turns spacing
3.) Form material
4.) Conductor size
5.) Form length
6.) Form diameter

That one  grossly fails. It doesn't ask for several important things.


To check the calculator for function, start taking a large coil up higher in frequency. If you get weird results like progressively increasing Q that goes over 1000 for normal good conductors, extreme inductance values (like values near whole Henries at HF and higher), the calculator is likely just junk.

That one completely fails. It obviously does not consider turn-to-turn capacitance, skin effect, materials, or internal resonances, because I can "make" door bell wire inductors with Q's in the thousands and almost a Henry of inductance on 50 MHz!!

Since it doesn't ask for enough things and obviously ignores many important traits of inductors, it is unreliable. It might work in some cases by pure luck, but who knows when it could be trusted!!

Things like that can send you down the wrong path, and cause you to start giving out wrong numbers.

73 Tom
_________________
Topband Reflector

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>