[Elecraft] KAT2 with EFHW antenna

[Phillip Shepard]

Thanks for all of the great advice.  This reflector is a fountain of
knowledge!  I checked the 33' antenna/16' counterpoise combination with an
MFJ259B, and it indicated over 25:1 SWR.  Extending the antenna to 39' and
adding a second "radial" of 6' gave an SWR reading of about 11:1 with the
antenna analyzer.  The KAT2 seems to handle that much better.  This will get
me through one or two SOTA peaks at Crater Lake later this week; and I can
look for better solutions after that.  Thanks again.

73,

Phil, NS7P

-----Original Message-----
From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net]On Behalf Of Phillip Shepard
Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2011 4:00 PM
To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
Subject: [Elecraft] KAT2 with EFHW antenna


I have been using my K2 with an MFJ tuner to feed an end fed halfwave wire
for portable use (like SOTA).  The 20m antenna is 33' long and I use one or
two 16' counterpoise wires.  It seems to work well for what it is and 10W.
I just built and installed the KAT2 ATU into the K2 to lighten my pack by
the loss of the MFJ.  The KAT2 tuner checked out fine on the bench, but it
had a very hard time getting a good match to the antenna.  In AUTO mode, it
only got the SWR down to about 5:1.  I put it in ALT mode, and it spent a
long time searching before it got down to between 3:1 and 4:1, depending on
the 20m frequency.  I added about 2" of wire to the antenna, and the tuer
got down to about 2:1 to 2.5:1.  I added another foot of wire (now 36'), and
it got down to about 1.5:1.  Five or six feet added yielded a perfect match
(1:1).  So I now have a 39' wire for 20m use.

Is this normal?  Should the KAT2 be able to more easily match the 33'
halfwave antenna?  Thank you.

73,
Phl, NS7P

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