Checking Standing wave.

[freecell]

these were your questions........

"Was it truly a reflecting ,lying SWR situation in my case ? ....chances are ,that it could have been ? How much can a little Rat Shack 29.99 meter really tell us other then what it was meant to tell us?"

obtain a field strength meter and conduct the test i mentioned earlier and you can confirm or deny for yourself as to whether or not the swr meter was lying to you. i'm already familiar with the outcome of the test. the reduction in swr with the additional 7' of feedline provided a measurable increase in radiated signal strength.

your questions have been answered.

 

[Metal Head]

so in response to the original question, toss the jumper and insert the swr meter *directly at the output of the transmitter using a tuned 1/2 wave line or make your swr measurements directly at the feedpoint of the antenna for best results. *all interconnecting jumpers should be kept to a length of less than 1/20 of a wavelength or approximately 16" or less if the PL-259 barrel connector is unavailable.

Thanks for the responce but I think you need to put it in laymens terms next time. I did understand this part except for the 16" or less part. I was told that coax had to be used in lengths that could be divided by 3 ex. 3" 6" 9" 12" and so on. Also to let you know I'm useing a 102" whip.

 

[freecell]

"I was told that coax had to be used in lengths that could be divided by 3 ex. 3" 6" 9" 12" and so on."

well that's the second version i've heard of that one. the other one talks about lengths of 3' and multiples. both are fairy tales.

"I did understand this part except for the 16" or less part."

all interconnecting jumpers should be kept to a length of less than 1/20 of a wavelength (or) approximately 16" or less. this figure is for foam feedline. it's fairly self-explanatory.

 

[bob85]

freecell i like the way you explain things, i use a double ended connector to hook the directional coupler to the radio then use a tuned lenght of coax for whatever frequency i intend using, only if i find it impossible to get a very low vswr will i trim the coax untill i get a flat reading, is this what you would recomend or do you do it differently?? thanks.

 

[Metal Head]

My mistake, I ment feet not inches.

 

[Switch Kit]

I guess my ole head just ain't work'in to good today ,thanks for all your replys Freecell .....IM confused without a doubt in my mind here , I've never had a problem like this with a Wilson antenna as I did with this one , as I said ,I tried a longer stinger and that didn't change anything but adding the extra coax did , and yes those were the numbers I saw in the change with the coax ,unfortunatley for now ,I have a solid piece of coax now from the antenna's connector (soldered on) weather or not I have a lot of reflected power remains to be seen ? ...I have more to say on the issue but I have a feeling that I will more then likely just end up where I started from so I'll leave well enough alone . I only know I have a 1.3 match on the meter going through my amp to the antenna ,as far as field strengh goes .....the meter reads nicely ,but as far as the 17ft line goes ,I don't feel the need to cut it to see the differance right now ......thanks Freecell

 

[Metal Head]

Let me add a small twist to this. Does it matter if you check the SWR on low or high power? You will get a differant reading on each one. Which on is correct?

 

[2at124]

swr

You should check your swr on both high and low power

 

[freecell]

use only the minimum amount of transmitter power necessary to obtain a set meter reading. if you insist on using higher power levels than this all you will get are higher, inaccurate swr readings.