[Elecraft] KAT500 and KAT500 Utility Question

[Phil Hystad]

First, this is a curiosity question about KAT500 utility only.  I don’t intend to use my antenna on 160 meters.

I use the KAT500 with my 80-meter dipole fed by ladder line and a 4:1 Balun to Coax for last 20 feet.  This antenna works excellently in concert with the KAT500 for 80, 40, and 30 meter bands.  I don’t use it with other bands.

This weekend, I was curious as to how close (or far) the KAT500 could bring the antenna in for the 160 meter band.  I knew that it would not work though I was wondering how bad it would be.

So, as I expected, the tuning never closed in on a descent SWR, the best I saw on one test only was SWR about 49:1 as reported by the KAT500 utility.  But, the BYPASS SWR reported was about 11:1.

Further tests showed varying bad reports of incomplete tuned SWR while also showing a much lower BYPASS SWR (under 13:1).  According to my own tests of the impedance for the antenna on 160 meters, the BYPASS SWR is bogus.

So, I am assuming that unless the KAT500 reaches a tuned SWR value under 1.5:1 (or, whatever threshold I set), the BYPASS SWR is totally meaningless.

73, phil, K7PEH