Category: Antenna Tuners (ATU)

The system wide conjugate match stuff crashes out again

Walt Maxwell (W2DU) made much of conjugate matching in antenna systems, he wrote of his volume in the preface to (Maxwell 2001 24.5):

It explains in great detail how the antenna tuner at the input terminals of the feed line provides a conjugate match at the antenna terminals, and tunes a non-resonant antenna to resonance while also providing an impedance match for the output of the transceiver.

Walt Maxwell made much of conjugate matching, and wrote often of it as though at some optimal adjustment of an ATU there was a system wide state of conjugate match conferred, that at each and every point in an antenna system the impedance looking towards the source was the conjugate of the impedance looking towards the load.

This was recently cited in a discussion about techniques to measure high impedances with a VNA:

WHEN the L and C’s of the tuner are set to produce a high performance return loss as measured by the vna, then in essence, if the tuner were terminated (where the vna was positioned) with 50 ohms and we were to look into the TUNER where the antenna was connected, we would see the ANTENNA Z CONJUGATE. Wow, that’s a mouth full. The best was to see this is to do an example problem and a simulator like LT Spice is a nice tool to learn. Or there are other SMITH GRAPHIC programs that are quite helpful to assist in this process. Standby and I will see what I can assemble.

The example subsequently described set about demonstrating the effect. The example characterised a certain antenna as having an equivalent circuit of 500Ω resistance in series with 4.19µH of inductance and 120pF of capacitance (@ 7.1MHz, Z=500-j0.119, not quite resonant, but very close). A lossless L network (where do you get them?) was then found that gave a near perfect match to 50+j0Ω. The proposition is that if you now look into the L network from the load end, that you see the complex conjugate of the antenna, Z=500+j0.119.

I asked where do you get a lossless L network? Only in the imagination, they are not a thing of the real world. Continue reading The system wide conjugate match stuff crashes out again

Last update: 25th January, 2020, 6:34 AM

Series match for a half wave dipole

An online poster was demonstrating the effect of varying line length on a half wave dipole on VSWR50 and by mistake configured the line be of of Zo=75Ω.

He asked the question

In the general case, if you are trying to match 50 Ohms, would you be better off feeding a normal backyard dipole with 75 Ohm coax if you are willing to prune it to a specific length after the fact?

Continue reading Series match for a half wave dipole

Last update: 7th November, 2019, 11:48 AM

Transmitter / antenna systems and the maximum power transfer theorem

Jacobi’s Maximum Power Transfer Theorem

Jacobi’s law (also known as Jacobi’s Maximum Power Transfer Theorem) of nearly 200 years ago stated

Maximum power is transferred when the internal resistance of the source equals the resistance of the load.

Implied is that the internal resistance of the source is held constant, it does not work otherwise. The source must be one that can validly be represented by a Thevenin equivalent circuit. This was in the very early days of harnessing electric current, direct current initially.

Later adaptation dealt with alternating current and it became

Maximum power is transferred when the load impedance is equal to the complex conjugate of the internal impedance of the source.

Again a necessary condition is that the source must be one that can validly be represented by a Thevenin equivalent circuit. Continue reading Transmitter / antenna systems and the maximum power transfer theorem

Last update: 21st October, 2019, 4:34 AM

Walter Maxwell’s teachings on system wide conjugate matching – a SimSmith example

I have written on Walt Maxell’s proposition about simultaneous system wide conjugate matching in antenna systems. I will repeat a little to set the context…

Walt Maxwell (W2DU) made much of conjugate matching in antenna systems, he wrote of his volume in the preface to (Maxwell 2001 24.5):

It explains in great detail how the antenna tuner at the input terminals of the feed line provides a conjugate match at the antenna terminals, and tunes a non-resonant antenna to resonance while also providing an impedance match for the output of the transceiver.

Walt Maxwell made much of conjugate matching, and wrote often of it as though at some optimal adjustment of an ATU there was a system wide state of conjugate match conferred, that at each and every point in an antenna system the impedance looking towards the source was the conjugate of the impedance looking towards the load.

This is popularly held to be some nirvana, a heavenly state where transmitters are “happy” and all is good. Happiness of transmitters is often given in online discussion by hams as the raison d’être for ATUs, anthropomorphism over science. Continue reading Walter Maxwell’s teachings on system wide conjugate matching – a SimSmith example

Last update: 29th November, 2023, 7:31 AM

End Fed Half Wave matching transformer – 80-20m – LO1238 variant

A reader of End Fed Half Wave matching transformer – 80-20m asked if a good transformer could be made with with a FT114-43 core.

The original transformer above comprised a 32t of 0.65mm enamelled copper winding on a FT240-43 ferrite core, tapped at 4t to be used as an autotransformer to step down a load impedance of around 3300Ω to around 50Ω. Continue reading End Fed Half Wave matching transformer – 80-20m – LO1238 variant

Last update: 14th April, 2024, 1:36 PM

End Fed Half Wave matching transformer – 80-20m – 2xFT240-43 variant

A reader of End Fed Half Wave matching transformer – 80-20m asked if a better transformer could be made with a stack of 2 x FT240-43 cores and using half the turns.

The original transformer above comprised a 32t of 0.65mm enamelled copper winding on a FT240-43 ferrite core, tapped at 4t to be used as an autotransformer to step down a load impedance of around 3300Ω to around 50Ω. Continue reading End Fed Half Wave matching transformer – 80-20m – 2xFT240-43 variant

Last update: 14th April, 2024, 1:36 PM

Matching a 5/8λ ground plane – a single stub tuner example

A chap seeking details for a matching inductor for his 5/8λ vertical on 20m reported “my AA54 RigExpert analyser gives the following reading (SWR 8,2). (R 81,5). (X -158) ” measured looking into a “length of rg58 about 15-20 cm” and asked “is the inductor coil going to be enough or will I need an L match to bring the real resistance to 50 ohms”. Continue reading Matching a 5/8λ ground plane – a single stub tuner example

Last update: 3rd September, 2019, 7:07 AM

Inherently balanced ATUs – part 4

Inherently balanced ATUs reported an experiment to measure the balance of a simulation of Cebik’s “inherently balanced ATU”, and following articles explored balance in some different scenarios, but none of them real antenna scenarios.

As pointed out in the articles, the solutions cannot be simply extended to real antenna scenarios. Nevertheless, it might provoke thinking about the performance of some types of so-called balanced ATUs,  indeed the naive nonsense of an “inherently balanced ATU”.
Continue reading Inherently balanced ATUs – part 4

Last update: 18th March, 2019, 8:21 PM

Inherently balanced ATUs – part 3

Inherently balanced ATUs reported an experiment to measure the balance of a simulation of Cebik’s “inherently balanced ATU”.

This article reports the same asymmetric load using the MFJ-949E internal voltage balun.

The third experiment

The test circuit is an MFJ-949E T match ATU jumpered to use the internal balun and resistors of 50Ω and 100Ω connected from those terminals to provide a slightly asymmetric load.

The voltage between ground and each of the output terminals was measured with a scope, and currents calculated.

Above are the measured output voltage waveforms at 14MHz. Continue reading Inherently balanced ATUs – part 3

Last update: 15th March, 2019, 12:19 PM

Inherently balanced ATUs – part 2

Inherently balanced ATUs reported an experiment to measure the balance of a simulation of Cebik’s “inherently balanced ATU”.

This article reports the same equipment reversed so that the common mode choke is connected to the output of the MFJ-949E.

The second experiment

The test circuit is an MFJ-949E T match ATU followed by A low Insertion VSWR high Zcm Guanella 1:1 balun for HF.  A banana jack adapter is connected to the balun output jack, and resistors of 50Ω and 100Ω connected from those terminals to provide a slightly asymmetric load.

The voltage between ground and each of the output terminals was measured with a scope, and currents calculated.

Above are the measured output voltage waveforms at 14MHz. Continue reading Inherently balanced ATUs – part 2

Last update: 15th March, 2019, 12:19 PM