[Antennas] Tuner Inductor Q

[Cletus W Whitaker]

de WB2CPN South Central Pennsylvania   2003.01.04

On the subject of Roller Inductors vs Tapped Inductors, what are the
opinions on how to treat the unused part of a tapped inductor.  Let's
say half of the turns are used, the tap at the center is the "Ground"
terminal, should the unused turns be shorted to the center tap or
should they be left open?  If left open I would think that under some
conditions some hellashious voltages could be developed between the
unterminated end and ground.  But if we short the unused turns to the
tap, wouldn't the shorted turns drastically lower the Q?  

Related Thought:  Shouldn't a roller inductor on a ceramic form show
about the same Q as an air-wound coil of the same dimensions, except
for the losses attributed to the dielectric of the ceramic, and the
added capacity between turns.  Some roller inductors are close to
air-wound, most are not.       Tnx    73   Clete