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Re: Topband: Inverted L - newbie questions

To: topband@contesting.com
Subject: Re: Topband: Inverted L - newbie questions
From: Jeff Blaine <KeepWalking188@ac0c.com>
Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2019 11:36:05 -0500
List-post: <mailto:topband@contesting.com>
An inverted L without radials is a random length wire and the measurements are of no meaning until there is a ground system to make up the other half of the antenna.

But to Wes point, the 259 and big 160m antennas is a recipe for going nuts.  You don't even need a high powered BC station - even a low powered station a pretty far distance away can cause the 259 to give results in error.  A VNA or something like the Rig Expert are FAR more robust in this application.

73/jeff/ac0c
alpha-charlie-zero-charlie
www.ac0c.com


On 8/21/19 12:04 AM, Wes wrote:
How many high-powered BC stations do you have around?

Wes  N7WS

On 8/21/2019 8:55 AM, N4ZR wrote:
I just put up an inverted L, with a vertical length of about 60 feet, and a total of 135 feet.  It is fed through 16 turns of RG-400 on a ferrite core at the base. There are, as yet, no radials.

Because I was impatient to see what was going on, I grounded the shield to a single copper-plated ground rod and connected my MFJ259B. I expected a high R value, and I got one - 112-122 ohms. But surprisingly (to me), lowest SWR was at 2.070 MHz, and X remained at zero over quite a wide range - all the way down to about 1.7 MHz.

Is this all to be expected?  I plan to put down at least minimum radials in the next few days, and would expect the R value to drop as I do so. Am I off-base?


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