[Elecraft] Suggestions on Antenna Analyzers

[AD0ES]

I have the AIM UHF and love it.  I knew nothing about antennas when I bought it, but it enabled
me to learn a lot.  It tells you just about everything going on from the connector in the shack to
the ends of the wire.  It can be a bit overwhelming to see all that data that means absolutely
nothing to you, but I took it as a challenge to learn what it all meant.  Think of it as an analyzer
that you will grow into...  It also analyzes transmission line.  I have a 250' run of LMR-400 between
shack and top of tower.  I had a connector go bad in the box at the base of the tower, the AIM found
the break within about a foot or so ... I could have spent days trying to find it by other methods.
It is also VERY handy to have those computer graphs.  Save each as you make changes to an antenna,
overlay them to instantly see what factors changed with your last mods.  Periodically run new scans
and compare to old scans to find subtle degradations from weathering, etc.

73,
Steve AD0ES

On Mar 31, 2014, at 10:00 AM, elecraft-request at mailman.qth.net wrote:

> The AIM units are popular and highly advertised, sold by a reputable 
> distributor, and are quite powerful, but they are of little use to 
> someone who hasn't studied antennas and transmission lines a LOT.