Thank you for your kind words! Of course, it’s definitely better that you not know of my mistakes, of which the numbers are high enough to write a book. I still appreciate and benefit from your advice.
Since becoming a Ham, I’ve read the antenna section of the ARRL Handbook and the entire four volumes of their Antenna Handbook series as well as several other books on the topic that they sell – building my library. But there’s so much there to take in that it takes time to digest. And while I’ve gone back to a number of the topics multiple times and feel as though I’m developing a better feeling for the vagaries of antenna function, the sheer number of permutations that can exist can be confusing, at least for me. I feel as though I get tripped up mostly with the interactive aspect.
The basic tenets of impedance matching, SWR, Ohms Law, Smithcharts, etc., I know well. They are the same whether we’re talking transmitters or electrical grid power. On the utility side, the frequencies are much lower (though ELF transmitters do exist, especially by the military), and the power levels are much higher, but the theory is identical. Impedance matching for maximum power transfer is a given for all circuits regardless of application. SWR and power factor are just two different ways of looking at the same mismatch, so that part, stubbing, hairpins, gammas, etc., while not used in the power industry because, at 60Hz, their size would be gigantic, they’re still easily understood. For me, the new and sometimes difficult to assimilate aspects are those that are wavelength dependent (such as grounding by wavelength) and those caused by mutual coupling in one form or another, like the effects of other metal (gutters, metal poles, a parked car, etc.) too near an antenna; these aspects make things so much more complicated. So wavelength dependencies everywhere, mutual coupling, and parasitic affects are where I need to learn much more to develop an adequate feeling for these kinds of interactions, and I’m just starting out.
And that’s why your explanations and examples are proving so helpful. Understanding theory makes for a good foundation, but without actual experience, one doesn’t truly understand it, and more so, can’t make realistic and informed decisions on how to fix a problem or exploit an opportunity. I need much more experience and that’s why I need to build more of these antennas, modify them, and learn from the many failures that will likely be part of the process. Hopefully, advice from you and other elmers (yes, you really are) will get me there sooner and with less wasted time on the mistakes (and hopefully, less wasted money on burned out parts).
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