I read through this locked thread - This Ought To Be Worth a Discussion (apparently someone was bad), and found the capacitor tube/tuning ring interesting. I am not trying to reopen that thread. I am expressing some thoughts it stimulated for me.
I was especially perplexed by capacitor tube/tuning ring matcher use on a 5/8 wavelength antenna when it is commonly held that more matching network complexity results in unnecessary potential losses.
As for the 1/2 waves I've done with the cap/inductor network, it is the only way I know how to transform a self-supporting 1/2 wave end fed omni.
Nevertheless, I was intrigued by it, so using stuff in the garage I put one together. It isn't very pretty, but works.
I hope to refine it and do it better, and I hope the next generation will be smaller, cleaner, and less ugly.
It is built onto the bones of the .64 wave I made last Spring (I reuse everything to keep my experimenting cost as low as I can. The bottom of the antenna is the bottom sections of the .64, the top is a fishing pole with a wire up through it that was a 1/4 wave GP in a former life.
Why bother?
I have looked over some end fed networks made-to-order and without exception they employ ferrite core donuts. All of them refer to power limits based on the the limits inherent to the ferrite wound inductors and vari-caps utilized.
I am not a power oriented operator by any stretch, but there are those whose investments in amplifiers are likely to cause them to pass up opportunities to operate portable because of the apparently delicate components in those matching boxes.
I have also read of folks wanting stealth antenna systems - ie wire - that have special challenges who might find a well crafted, or easily duplicated sturdy end fed wire antenna matching system the best solution over the venerable middle fed wire dipole. A good power handling EFHW wire match box could make this quicker and easier.
Many operators do not know how to properly make a ferrite core transformer. And despite the ease with which some Amateurs grasp the particulars of the craft, I can attest to how confusing things can be that only begin to make sense when the previous building blocks of understanding are in place. An immediate need can not always wait on a growing education. Furthermore, without a good local resource for a large variety of ferrite cores of various types, being able to put something together in a hurry isn't possible using those methods.
I may be missing something, and I am sure my ignorance shows.
If anyone has any thoughts about any of this speak to them. I have a long way to go.
I was especially perplexed by capacitor tube/tuning ring matcher use on a 5/8 wavelength antenna when it is commonly held that more matching network complexity results in unnecessary potential losses.
As for the 1/2 waves I've done with the cap/inductor network, it is the only way I know how to transform a self-supporting 1/2 wave end fed omni.
Nevertheless, I was intrigued by it, so using stuff in the garage I put one together. It isn't very pretty, but works.
I hope to refine it and do it better, and I hope the next generation will be smaller, cleaner, and less ugly.
It is built onto the bones of the .64 wave I made last Spring (I reuse everything to keep my experimenting cost as low as I can. The bottom of the antenna is the bottom sections of the .64, the top is a fishing pole with a wire up through it that was a 1/4 wave GP in a former life.
Why bother?
I have looked over some end fed networks made-to-order and without exception they employ ferrite core donuts. All of them refer to power limits based on the the limits inherent to the ferrite wound inductors and vari-caps utilized.
I am not a power oriented operator by any stretch, but there are those whose investments in amplifiers are likely to cause them to pass up opportunities to operate portable because of the apparently delicate components in those matching boxes.
I have also read of folks wanting stealth antenna systems - ie wire - that have special challenges who might find a well crafted, or easily duplicated sturdy end fed wire antenna matching system the best solution over the venerable middle fed wire dipole. A good power handling EFHW wire match box could make this quicker and easier.
Many operators do not know how to properly make a ferrite core transformer. And despite the ease with which some Amateurs grasp the particulars of the craft, I can attest to how confusing things can be that only begin to make sense when the previous building blocks of understanding are in place. An immediate need can not always wait on a growing education. Furthermore, without a good local resource for a large variety of ferrite cores of various types, being able to put something together in a hurry isn't possible using those methods.
I may be missing something, and I am sure my ignorance shows.
If anyone has any thoughts about any of this speak to them. I have a long way to go.
