[Elecraft] Dusting off the old K3 & Considering a KAT3A

[Dave Fugleberg]

Jim, I think that last point is often overloaded and bears repeating. With
rigs like the KX2 or KX3, it's a common practice to connect the radiating
element directly to the rig and put the other end as high as possible. In
that case, 'SWR' is kinda meaningless, as the built in 'ATU' is actually
matching the output to the impedance at the antenna feed point.
The KX2 does this amazingly well, and I'm glad I sprung for that option.
In any other case, I tend to shy away from built in tuners or tuners in the
shack, and instead use a remote automatic coupler at the feed point (I use
the SGC 230 at home).
Good conversation.

On Thu, Aug 31, 2017 at 1:25 AM Jim Brown <jim at audiosystemsgroup.com> wrote:

> Please don't perpetuate that myth, Bill.  Tuners do NOT reduce the SWR
> unless they're at the antenna end of a transmission line. The SWR exists
> on the transmission line, and it is determined ENTIRELY by the match
> between the transmission line and the load.
>
> What tuners at the rig do is get the rig to put power into the tuner
> (and hopefully, onto the transmission line).  If the SWR is high without
> the tuner, it is equally high WITH the tuner. Depending on the cable,
> the frequency, and the SWR, much of the power that the rig puts into the
> tuner gets to the transmission line, but is turned into heat by the SWR
> in the line and doesn't get to the antenna.
>
> A better way to talk and think about this is to say that the tuner can
> match a wide variety of loads to the transmitter sufficiently well that
> the rig can pump the maximum power from its output terminals, whether
> it's feeding a short wet string or a nice long wire we've launched into
> a tree. And if there's no transmission line, SWR has no meaning!  So SWR
> is the wrong way to talk and think about it.
>
> 73, Jim K9YC
>
> On 8/30/2017 10:15 PM, Bill Frantz wrote:
> > My experience with the tuners in both the K3 and KX3 are that they
> > will reach an acceptable SWR with anything. I always check the antenna
> > when they take a long time to reach a match. (I.e. lots of clicking.)
> > Most of the time I find I am trying to match an open antenna connection.
>
>
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