As far as I know, on lower ratios transformers, such as 9:1 or 4:1, iron powder are not uncommon and work fine. One interesting thing about the iron powder is that it can handle higher magnetic flux, so probably it will be fine to use a smaller core than ferrite based ones. It won't work on 49:1 though, as things get messier on those higher ratios... That said, I add a disclaimer that those are just some random comments I found around the interwebs, with some of my tech knowledge added, which means it can be utterly wrong! 😀 I will try to find something about it in the VK guru guy blog, and try to translate it to mere humans like us...
And as I suspected, the guru guy roasts powdered iron cores... "Proponents of powdered iron will claim that large Im does not create much loss because Rm is small, but large Im destroys broadband nominal impedance transformation (ie Insertion VSWR). Powdered iron tends to be low µ which increases leakage impedance and also destroys broadband nominal impedance transformation." What he meant is that, as powdered iron cores create lower inductances, the impedance would be lower, leading to larger flux leakage.
This is where TO. lands - there is "fact based proof" and "reality based proof" and the two are often at odds - even if its just at "I don't live in a perfect world" it matters enough to be important - the G5RV isn't the best antenna. It is the best antenna Louis could deploy - so it was Louis' personal best.
@@rafaelgcpp THanks for the investigative reporting Rafael. I get that these cores "shouldn't" work and / or there are better options but we're having a good time with them 👍
looking forward to some more testing. wounder how would due a 9:1 wrap? compare to the RED power iron one. The core loss is not that bad. with lower SWR across the bands that helps with line loss in the coax. coax gets more lossy with hi SWR. 50 ohm coax hear. when less or more impendence the loss in coax goes up. so using that core makes less line loss . so the overall all performance turns out great. the antenna is more than that core . K9VBR touched on that in his video. that lower SWR sweep reduced line loss. that antenna will work even better with a remote tuner at the UNUN and a choke to antenna . I found this to be true with a 9:1 into a 1:1 then battery remote tuner then feed line to radio. we found less noise and no RF coming back on shield . their is mix 52 ferrite and not the same. that a hard one to find. found some may order some to try, so far I found mix 61 ferrite worked better on 10 and 6 meters . well 43 mix worked better on 20/40/80 meters. 73's
Love the insight on the choice of your design. Love it when someone says it can't be done and you did it!!
Thanks Dean 👍
Woo-hoo my first member only video
Ours too!
@@CoffeeandHamRadios lol
Howdy Country James 🍻
@@TheSmokinApe how's it going Ape
Am I a member too?
They should sell those like Life Savers in their packing.
minty-fresh!
Thank you. I'm always learning from these vids. 73
We are all getting smarter. I fear for the next generation that benefits from this knowlege and eclipses us all... /sarcasm
Glad you like them Ken 🍻
I hope your test includes all 3 cores shown to get a good comparison.
It will
Core Magic!
vooddoo almost!
Great video! 👍🏽
Thank you! 👍
I'm looking forward to more.
aren't we all!
More mass! More power! YES!
YASS!!!
Core colors are how they get ya
Yes it is
Mint flavored... lol
The best kind!
As far as I know, on lower ratios transformers, such as 9:1 or 4:1, iron powder are not uncommon and work fine. One interesting thing about the iron powder is that it can handle higher magnetic flux, so probably it will be fine to use a smaller core than ferrite based ones. It won't work on 49:1 though, as things get messier on those higher ratios...
That said, I add a disclaimer that those are just some random comments I found around the interwebs, with some of my tech knowledge added, which means it can be utterly wrong! 😀
I will try to find something about it in the VK guru guy blog, and try to translate it to mere humans like us...
And as I suspected, the guru guy roasts powdered iron cores...
"Proponents of powdered iron will claim that large Im does not create much loss because Rm is small, but large Im destroys broadband nominal impedance transformation (ie Insertion VSWR). Powdered iron tends to be low µ which increases leakage impedance and also destroys broadband nominal impedance transformation."
What he meant is that, as powdered iron cores create lower inductances, the impedance would be lower, leading to larger flux leakage.
That said, I'm all pro "if it works, it works", and "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" kind of engineer. Duck tape and WD-40 forever!
This is where TO. lands - there is "fact based proof" and "reality based proof" and the two are often at odds - even if its just at "I don't live in a perfect world" it matters enough to be important - the G5RV isn't the best antenna. It is the best antenna Louis could deploy - so it was Louis' personal best.
@@rafaelgcpp THanks for the investigative reporting Rafael. I get that these cores "shouldn't" work and / or there are better options but we're having a good time with them 👍
Okay OPPS WRONG CHANNEL 😂
Lol
looking forward to some more testing. wounder how would due a 9:1 wrap? compare to the RED power iron one. The core loss is not that bad. with lower SWR across the bands that helps with line loss in the coax. coax gets more lossy with hi SWR. 50 ohm coax hear. when less or more impendence the loss in coax goes up. so using that core makes less line loss . so the overall all performance turns out great. the antenna is more than that core . K9VBR touched on that in his video. that lower SWR sweep reduced line loss. that antenna will work even better with a remote tuner at the UNUN and a choke to antenna . I found this to be true with a 9:1 into a 1:1 then battery remote tuner then feed line to radio. we found less noise and no RF coming back on shield . their is mix 52 ferrite and not the same. that a hard one to find. found some may order some to try, so far I found mix 61 ferrite worked better on 10 and 6 meters . well 43 mix worked better on 20/40/80 meters. 73's
Maybe we will do some 9:1 tests
This Type and Mix can be confusing.
They seem to handle power alot better than the ferrite roids.
They all have their purposes, creating this body of knowledge is the most important part. Never be afraid to try something odd.
Just watched, How losey are these compared to a ferite core?
simultaneously "a lot" and "not enough to care about vs the gains of tuning with a 3:1 instead of carrying exta gear"
If I remember correctly its 5-7% more loss, we will coer it on next Saturday's show...