I was looking for coax to replace the Quarter wave transformer in a commercial VHF Folded Dipole Antenna. Calculations for coax required to match 300 ohms to 50 ohms revealed that a coax with an impedance of approx 120 ohms is required. Z= √300 x 50 equals 122 ohms. RG63 has an impedance of 125 […]
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Author: Gary Gibson
What is so special about 50 Ohms?
Have you ever wondered why most of our Amateur Radio equipment is designed for 50 Ohm transmission lines? The following graph was originally produced by two researchers, Lloyd Espenscheid and Herman Affel, working for Bell Labs in 1929. The graph shows the power handling and voltage handling ability of various coax impedances.
Mosley TA-36 Triband beam
Assembly Handbook and Coax Transformer construction details for the Mosley TA-36 Tri-band beam antenna.
Arduino VFO
Download Arduino VFO By using an Arduino uno R3 and an AD 9850 or AD9851 DDS module a very stable VFO can be created to add a VFO to any crystal locked radio or to replace the VFO in an older VFO controlled radio that suffers from drift or add an external VFO. Give new […]
The National Broadband Network surprise
Up until very recently our phone service was provided via an overhead cable from across the street supported on the far end by a power pole. This phone line also carried our broadband internet service. The two adjoining neighbors were also connected in the same manner. I have long suspected that the broadband services were […]
Measuring Complex Impedances using the H...
Measuring Complex Impedances using the HP8405A Vector Voltmeter and a Return Loss Bridge Measuring complex impedances above 1000Ω is usually not possible with the average Antenna analyser however using a return loss bridge and a Vector Voltmeter this becomes possible. With a return loss bridge the amplitude and phase reading of the Vector Voltmeter represent […]
L Network Impedance matching
The tools required for calculating the vales in an L Network come from the following equations that can be found in the ARRL Handbook. XS = QRs and Xp=Rp/Q Q=Xs/Rs and Q=Rp/Xp Rp=Rs(Q^2+1) Rs=Rp/〖(Q〗^2+1) Q=√(RP/Rs-1) The L network is based on a technique known as series to parallel transformations.
Is Reflected Power Lost Power?
After reading a number of articles by the late Walter Maxwell W2DU ARRL technical adviser, I was prompted to carry out some of my own experiments with mismatched loads. I carried out a couple of similar experiments that Walter described in chapter 19A of his book “Reflections”. My experiments were not as comprehensive as those […]