[Elecraft] A/B antenna switch for ladder line fed antennas

Ron D'Eau Claire rondec at easystreet.com
Mon Jul 18 20:35:20 EDT 2005


Kevin, KD5ONS wrote:
I have a fancy switch for A/B antenna testing for coaxially fed antennas 
but do not know what folks use for antenna switches with antennas fed by 
ladder lines.  I want to compare a 160 meter full wave loop fed with 
homebrew ladder line to a G5RV fed by 450 window line.  Any suggestions?  

-----------------------------------------------------------

One of the problems you run into A/B testing is that you can't wait for a
re-tune. Any delay more than a fraction of a second is too long under most
conditions unless you're working on a very long wavelength (160/80 meters)
and testing ground wave signals.

So the smart thing to do is to put a proper matching network at the end of
each ladder line, then switch the 50-ohm coaxial links to the rig. 

If you're not sure of your matching networks, reverse them after collecting
data and make sure you get the same results.

Ron AC7AC




More information about the Elecraft mailing list