What you are saying about trying to get to a perfect SWR match sound good in theory, but...
To start I will quote the ARRL Handbook 2013, Chapter 20 Page 16, under a section called "20.4.6 Myths about SWR, the last paragraph.
The fact of the mater is once you get past a certain point you won't notice the difference gained from lowering SWR's further, and neither will the people on the other end. In some cases it might actually be detrimental, if lowering the SWR reading is actually pushing you away from the resonant point of the antenna.
The power gains you are seeking that are achieved with a perfect match compared to, say, your 1.75:1 SWR are insignificant in the real world. You are past the point that you or anyone else will notice the difference. Conditions you have no control over will affect your signal noticeably more than getting to that perfect match.
I know it is hard to get past the point of wanting that perfect match. Unfortunately to much information posted comes from (or at the very least is directed towards) people who only have an SWR meter. This information covers a small part of what is happening with antennas, but is apparently seen as the whole picture. People take this limited part of what is happening to its logical extreme of insisting on that perfect match.
I'm not saying a perfect match is a bad thing, but a goal is all it is. I'm simply stating that you are past the point that any gains in getting to that perfect match will be noticed. I applaud the effort to get to that point just for the sake of getting there, but thinking that it will actually benefit you greatly is a myth.
Interesting that you bring up a 1/4 wave antenna for comparison. There are times that a 1/4 wave antenna will outperform a 5/8 wave antenna. Sounds odd at first as the natural human instinct says longer has to be better, but in the real world you will rarely have more than half of an s-unit difference between the two, and sometimes the 1/4 wave antenna will actually have the stronger reading. The 1/4 wave also has different advantages when it comes to DX'ing.
Have you even tried to use the antenna? With all this discussion about it I have yet to see anything about weather or not you have actually tried to use it...
The DB
