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Re: [TowerTalk] OptiBeam OB2-40M

To: Artek Manuals <Manuals@artekmanuals.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] OptiBeam OB2-40M
From: VE6WZ_Steve <ve6wz@shaw.ca>
Date: Sat, 22 May 2021 15:36:27 -0600
List-post: <mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
Dave et al,

This has drifted off topic, but I dug out my 4NEC2 Cushcraft XM-240 models and 
coil calculations.
(please be aware I have not checked the details of this modelling since I did 
it some time ago, so there could be errors)

Using Brian's coil 3.33, which is not the latest version, the original CC coil 
with 68 turns of 12 ga wire on a fibreglass form gives a Q of 258 on 7 MHz and 
a resistance of 1.5 Ohms.
A high Q coil made from 3/16” Aluminium tubing, 11.5 turns, 5” diameter and 5” 
long gives a Q of 890, and a resistance of .6 Ohms.
(these two input values do not yield identical inductance, but are close enough 
for estimation) 

In 4Nec2 I model the Yagi at 21m high.

For the original CC coils I insert 1.5 Ohms in series at each of the 4 coils to 
account for the loss.
This yields the following gain:
7.010-  10.8 dBi  this is peak gain (SWR 2:1)
7.100-  10.2     this is the 1:1 SWR point at resonance (R=48.6 Ohms)
7.200-  9.48

Using the HI-Q coil I insert .6 Ohms in series at all 4 coils to account for 
the loss.
This yields the following gain:
7.010-  11.3 dBi this is the peak gain (SWR 2:1)
7.100-  10.52    This is the 1:1 SWR point.
7.200-  9.63

So I calculate the gain advantage of the HI-Q coils to be about .5 dB.
The “penalty” for getting that big bandwidth will range from .6 dB on 7.100, 
and 1.3 dB on 7.2 MHz.

In both cases (HI-Q and CC coil) the SWR 2:1 band width is from 7.000 to 
7.280…a full 280 kHz !!!
This huge BW is because the driver is tuned for 1:1 SWR a full 100 kHz above 
the max gain point.
As I said earlier, CC did this because the R is 50 Ohms…a perfect match to coax 
and the Yagi can be “used” from the CW to SSB part of the band.

However, if we tune the Yagi driver closer to the peak gain point, say at 7.05 
(which is also the peak F/B qrg), then the feedpoint impedance is only 33 Ohms 
(we need a matching network).
The 2:1 SWR BW is now only 170 kHz…..from 7.000 to 7.170, so in-band switching 
will be needed to go from CW to SSB.

On both my 40m and 80m Yagis, I have a series of relay switched inductors that 
will move the operating window across the band, so from CW to SSB, I am almost 
always within a fraction of peak gain.
I have 4 segments on my 40m Yagi, and 18 band segments on my 80m Yagi.  All 
relays switch automatically using the Station Master band decoder that follows 
the radio.
Many have commented that relays can be un-reliable, and a maintenance 
problem…well...my 80-40m Yagi has been in service for 18 yrs.

Here is a paper I wrote explaining the 80m Yagi, that shows the in-band 
switching system.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IksvND0LfeSBcH6j7UEWkyjkIvexDIgX/view 
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IksvND0LfeSBcH6j7UEWkyjkIvexDIgX/view>

73, de steve ve6wz
 
> On May 22, 2021, at 9:24 AM, Artek Manuals <Manuals@artekmanuals.com> wrote:
> 
> Steve et all
> 
> So what is the "penalty" in DB (gain) for the using the increased bandwidth 
> settings on this beam vs an optimized for gain approach? For the sake of 
> discussion ignore the F/B degradation ...just raw dBd or dBi gain comparison
> 
> Dave
> NR1DX

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