This is very well done Jim. Congrats for all the measuring and overlay comparison. I do believe that we as hams are looking at the wrong end of the equation. I have seen some manufacturers from the 1970's CB craze days who actually added a resistor inside the antenna to flatten the SWR curve and create a talking point for their ad team. The resistor actually cut down the output RF, but it looked great on the SWR curve. I believe that all 4 of these antennas will radiate nearly evenly and if there is a db loss between them the receiver will never ever hear the difference in an A/B test. That said, the real measurement I'd like to see hams employ is actual field strength from a fixed distance in the near field. This reading will be unaltered by ionospheric conditions and be a much more accurate representation of antenna efficiency. My elmer showed me this decades ago, and he was correct. That's why I share it here. Keep up the great work! 73 OM 👍
Hi, I just wanted to say thanks for all the invaluable input you have on the live shows as well as the comments sections. Your knowledge is second to none and always very welcome. The fact that you deliver it in a friendly and helpful way is fantastic and sadly such a rare thing. Thanks very much friend.
@@Paddy_Roche Thank you so much for your kind words. You're more than welcome! I try to share my experiences in hopes of it helping and inspiring others. We need more mentors (from all aspects) in this life. I was lucky to have several good ones and they were instrumental in building my career of keeping several 50Kw stations on the air back in the day. This is just my way of passing the baton and paying back to society. Never stop learning and sharing what you know. 73
Hey Hollywood! Thanks! So that's a great point. Ape and I had built some home-brew FSM's - that do work well enough it seems. We used a uA meter hooked up to a pretty simple circuit. Of course, it will really only show relative differences. So for something like you're talking about - how far away from the antenna would you test? I'd assume take measurements in multiple compass points around the antenna?
@@FEPLabsRadio Jim, the FS meter you built will be good for the very near field of the antenna (perhaps a radius of 1 wavelength away). Be sure to test the antenna in a field away from vegetation and in the clear so that the RF is not influenced. For a larger radius (and a more accurate result) you may need to add some tunable filter to the input of the meter to discriminate signals other than the one you are measuring and also add a bit of amplification to the FS meter to make up for the "inverse square" loss as the distance is increased. Certainly measure at several compass points around the antenna and plot them on a map for comparison. (We used to call this an annual "proof of performance" in the AM MW world, and we used calibrated FS meters like the Potomac Instruments model FIM-41)
great testing. love the hard work you are doing. I have used FT 240-61 ferrite on 49:1 and found that better on 10/11/12 and 6 meters. the 43 mix was better 80 threw 20 meters. love the QRO proto type. love all you do for ham radio ! 73's
Good stuff, Maynard. Though I am glad I was sitting down when I saw you outside. 😉
Nice job Jim!
I can't say enough how much I appreciate all the effort, testing and transparency y'all been doing.
Thanks bro!
This is very well done Jim. Congrats for all the measuring and overlay comparison.
I do believe that we as hams are looking at the wrong end of the equation. I have seen some manufacturers from the 1970's CB craze days who actually added a resistor inside the antenna to flatten the SWR curve and create a talking point for their ad team. The resistor actually cut down the output RF, but it looked great on the SWR curve. I believe that all 4 of these antennas will radiate nearly evenly and if there is a db loss between them the receiver will never ever hear the difference in an A/B test. That said, the real measurement I'd like to see hams employ is actual field strength from a fixed distance in the near field. This reading will be unaltered by ionospheric conditions and be a much more accurate representation of antenna efficiency. My elmer showed me this decades ago, and he was correct. That's why I share it here. Keep up the great work! 73 OM 👍
Hi, I just wanted to say thanks for all the invaluable input you have on the live shows as well as the comments sections. Your knowledge is second to none and always very welcome. The fact that you deliver it in a friendly and helpful way is fantastic and sadly such a rare thing. Thanks very much friend.
@@Paddy_Roche Thank you so much for your kind words. You're more than welcome! I try to share my experiences in hopes of it helping and inspiring others. We need more mentors (from all aspects) in this life. I was lucky to have several good ones and they were instrumental in building my career of keeping several 50Kw stations on the air back in the day. This is just my way of passing the baton and paying back to society. Never stop learning and sharing what you know. 73
Hey Hollywood! Thanks!
So that's a great point. Ape and I had built some home-brew FSM's - that do work well enough it seems. We used a uA meter hooked up to a pretty simple circuit. Of course, it will really only show relative differences. So for something like you're talking about - how far away from the antenna would you test? I'd assume take measurements in multiple compass points around the antenna?
@@FEPLabsRadio Jim, the FS meter you built will be good for the very near field of the antenna (perhaps a radius of 1 wavelength away). Be sure to test the antenna in a field away from vegetation and in the clear so that the RF is not influenced. For a larger radius (and a more accurate result) you may need to add some tunable filter to the input of the meter to discriminate signals other than the one you are measuring and also add a bit of amplification to the FS meter to make up for the "inverse square" loss as the distance is increased. Certainly measure at several compass points around the antenna and plot them on a map for comparison. (We used to call this an annual "proof of performance" in the AM MW world, and we used calibrated FS meters like the Potomac Instruments model FIM-41)
I use type 43 cores for all my baluns and ununs. They work fine from. 80 to 15 meters.
Good work son!
Thanks Jim, much appreciated.
Great video Jim, when can we expect a pota video?
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
@FEPLabsRadio. Do it! Do it! Do it! 😊
Hahahahahahahah - that's funny!
Looks like you're on the right track.
Good statistical info Jeem. We like chart comparisons. :)
great testing. love the hard work you are doing. I have used FT 240-61 ferrite on 49:1 and found that better on 10/11/12 and 6 meters. the 43 mix was better 80 threw 20 meters. love the QRO proto type. love all you do for ham radio ! 73's
Thanks for the great comment! I really enjoy doing all things ham and sharing it out. Thanks for watching!
Very good Jim.