New Top One dimensions for Homer

[hotrod]

I agree hotrod these distributors may still be selling these from inventory, but I don't see the New Top One listed in Sirio's product list. So it may be gone if Sirio does not replentish the distributors.

That was my only point, plus I remember how the old Top One that Copper's sold for years stopped beign sold suddenly and without notice it was gone.

HF (3-30 MHz) Base Antenna

ya i see what your saying

 

[HomerBB]

The weather has taken a dip again. We saw a little snow today. I was tired of the cold before this occurred
When the weather improves again I'll get restarted on the antenna.
Marconi, I have been thinking about your remarks concerning the removal of the gamma match, isolating the radials and running it that way. I may do that temporarily. If so, I could tune the lengths for resonance, obtain a match and then work on the gamma match.

 

[Marconi]

My New Top One shows a nice wide bandwidth of over 4.4:1 using my analyzer at the radio end of the feed line, and about 5.4:1 with my inline meter, so I think the results I would actually get at the feed point would be somewhat less. Sirio publishes a 2.0 mhz bandwidth range of <1.50:1, so I'm not sure what exactly causes your antenna to show 7.40 mhz for <2.0:1.

I know this is late Homer, but about this time I was in the hospital for a day of observations for my AFib condition.

One thing that comes to mind about an unusually wide bandwidth like noted above would be excessive feed line losses, likely due to water deterioration to the shield.

 

[HomerBB]

I agree.
I will get back on this when the analyzer comes back from MFJ Industries.

 

[Marconi]

I agree.
I will get back on this when the analyzer comes back from MFJ Industries.

Long ago I found my experience with this happening was very informative...in light of the fact many folks might experience this phenom and never know what or why.

Hopelly you might still have the feed line, in-tack, so you can check that if interested.

 

[Marconi]

Do you have a method for testing the accuracy for your analyzer?

I can understand that it may be broke, but did you ever test it. That is the first thing I did when I got mine...just to see how that worked and what the results looked like back when it was new.

My meter is off +6 ohms of reactance with a 50 ohm none reactive load and a good battery. It always shows pretty close to 50 ohm value for resistance with a good load, and is very consistent at Z=50 ohms flat with a good load, and that is the complex reading combination for both Rs and Xs

This is too much, but it is consistent.

Did you request MFJ to give you a diagnoses of the problem, in case there is nothing wrong with it, or it just needs a minor adjustment? They might refuse or not tell you, but for your previous information...it is best to ask

 

[HomerBB]

I put it on my dummy load which always showed a 1.0 SWR and R=50 R=0
No antenna setup previously returning resonant readings were any closer than X=38
And antennas can not reasonably be X=0 without being returned across multiple frequency readings when measured at the antenna.
The analyzer would give various readings each time I hooked it up without changing anything.
I can't worked with that so playing with antennas isn't any fun until it is fixed.

 

[Marconi]

I put it on my dummy load which always showed a 1.0 SWR and R=50 R=0
No antenna setup previously returning resonant readings were any closer than X=38
And antennas can not reasonably be X=0 without being returned across multiple frequency readings when measured at the antenna.
The analyzer would give various readings each time I hooked it up without changing anything.
I can't worked with that so playing with antennas isn't any fun until it is fixed.

Homer, my Autek VA1 also shows a 50 ohm match on my dummy load, and it does that at all frequency ranges. However when I test it using the test kit noted below...I typically see about +6 ohms of reactance and 50 ohms of resistance when hook directly to the load.

Here is my Autek test kit, and using this with the resistors included shows the error that the DL can't show.

 

[HomerBB]

I used two 100 Ohm resistors parallel to each other, a 50 Ohm load. the same resistors that previously gave me 1.1 SWR, R=50 X=0 showed all over the place at different times no changes to the resistors.

 

[Marconi]

Homer, I would think it needs fixing too.