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[TowerTalk] Ladder Line and Coax

To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: [TowerTalk] Ladder Line and Coax
From: 2@vc.net (2)
Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2001 05:04:30 -0700
>
>
>The main  problem with bringing ladder line or any open wire line into the
>shack lies with what I call the "hot shack" syndrome.

//  This suggests that you have been using a so-called "balanced" tuner 
that consists of an unbalanced - usually T - matching network followed by 
a balun.  I used to run one of these, and I got singed fingers if I 
touched the (grounded) chassis of the antenna tuner when transmitting.  
This circuit is also known as the "Ultimate Transmatch".  The ultimate 
apparently comes from the ultimate finger-warming feature on cold 
mornings. RFI-proofing the electret microphone took a bit of doing.   

>With  more than one 160 meter antenna the shack was full of hot RF and
>plenty of RF feedback.   This also gets into the telephones
>radios, and even TVs that are not on cable.   Even using a tuner with a
>balun can cause a problem.
>
//  If there is a balun on the high SWR side -- i.e., the output side of 
the tuner, the balun's location is a problem.  Baluns are current 
friendly, not voltage friendly, and high VSWRs mean the latter.  

>This is another form of fundamental overload.  The cure is to remove the
>ladder line from the shack (by as many feet as possible).  I found that
>using a remote balun (does not matter what values..) just outside the shack
>window still causes problems ...

//   but of course.  To keep RF out of the shack, the balun needs to go 
between the radio and the matching network.  Such a tuner appears in the 
February, 1990 *QST*.  Also, the tuner ground and the station ground need 
to be separate from each other.  At 28MHz, 10-inch diameter copper pipe 
is a quarter-wave RF-choke if it is 8-feet long.  

> ... although far less severe than bring ladder line
>directly into the shack.  A better approach is to move the remote balun to
>40 feet or more from the shack.   I did this with a big L I had up several
>years ago and the amount of RF in the shack was minimal.
>

cheers, Dave
>
>
>
>List Sponsored by AN Wireless:  AN Wireless handles Rohn tower systems,
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>
>-----
>FAQ on WWW:               http://www.contesting.com/FAQ/towertalk
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>
>


-  R. L. Measures, 805.386.3734,AG6K, www.vcnet.com/measures.  
end


List Sponsored by AN Wireless:  AN Wireless handles Rohn tower systems,
Trylon Titan towers, coax, hardline and more. Also check out our self
supporting towers up to 96 feet for under $1500!!  http://www.anwireless.com

-----
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