Towertalk
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: [TowerTalk] Choke on feed point of dipole

To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Choke on feed point of dipole
From: Jim Brown <jim@audiosystemsgroup.com>
Reply-to: jim@audiosystemsgroup.com
Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2026 13:39:45 -0800
List-post: <mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
On 1/12/2026 1:28 PM, Tom Hellem wrote:
Measured it with an swr analyzer. The dip in the swr curve , approximately
2.3:1, went from 14.1 mhz to 13.1 mhz.

The feedpoint Z of a vertical dipole approximates free space, because it doesn't see a reflection from the earth. Thus, it is best fed with 75 ohm coax. Remember that most indicators of SWR assume 50 ohms, but the actual SWR is determined by the match between the feedline and the antenna. This will cause the minimum reading to shift a bit, but not nearly as much as what you're seeing, so I suspect the parasitic effect.

It should be possible to model this in NEC by including the feedline and the choke. For this purpose, I'd use a 5K resistor as a load 1% down the line from the choke.

73, Jim K9YC

_______________________________________________



_______________________________________________
TowerTalk mailing list
TowerTalk@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk

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