The article Estimating the magnetising or core loss in a ferrite cored RF transformer discussed a first cut approach to determining the minimum magnetising impedance from a core loss viewpoint.
This article considers the effect of magnetising impedance on VSWR.
For medium to high µ cored RF transformers, flux leakage should be fairly low and the transformer can be considered to be an ideal transformer of nominal turns ratio shunted at the input by the magnetising impedance observed at that input winding.
A good indication of the nominal impedance transformation of the combination is to find the VSWR of the magnetising impedance in shunt with the nominal load (eg 50+j0Ω in many cases), and to express this as InsertionVSWR when the transformer is loaded with a resistance equal to n^2*that nominal load (eg 50+j0Ω in many cases). This model is better for low values of n than higher, but it can still provide useful indication for n as high as 8 if flux leakage is low.
Magnetising impedance can be estimated using one of the following calculators, but keep in mind that there are quite wide tolerances on ferrite cores.
Magnetising impedance can be measured (eg with an analyser), but it should be measured with only the measured winding on the core. Did I mention the wide tolerance of ferrites?
Example – FT240-43 3t @ 3.6MHz
You might ask the question is 3t sufficient for the primary of an EFHW transformer that delivers a 50+j0Ω load to a transmitter. Continue reading Estimating the Insertion VSWR in a ferrite cored RF transformer
Last update: 10th June, 2019, 10:12 AM