"J. McLaughlin" wrote -
Dear Reg:
Lab equipment was not used. The lab was just a convenient gathering
place with a blackboard. (No cigarettes in our lab or anywhere inside
buildings.)
I suspect that we made an arithmetic error. Need to revisit what we
did - much too late at night right now.
Thanks for the poke. 73 Mac N8TT
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Mac, you didn't make an arithmetical error. I think you used the wrong value
of terminating reactance Xt. Just a Sherlock Holmes deduction. ;o)

The value of terminating reactance which gives greatest possible magitutude
of reflection coefficient is equal to the magnitude of Zo which is equal to
|Zo| = Sqrt( Sqr( Ro) + Sqr( Xo) ).

As you have already deduced, maximum value occurs when the angle of Zo is
equal to -45 degrees at which Ro = -Xo.

You incorrectly set the terminating inductive reactance XL equal to -Xo
whereas XL should have been Sqrt( 2 ) times greater.

Now if XL is incorrectly made -Xo then the reflection coefficient calculates
to Sqrt( 5). Which is where your 5 comes from.

Somewhere in these threads I made the exactly same error myself in a
non-calculating context where it was not likely to be noticed. The pair of
errors, yours and mine, were probably just coincidental.

I do hope I have not just introduced another. ;o)

You appear to be in an educational establishment. There are two programs
available from the website below which you may find useful. Download in a
few seconds and run immediately programs COAXPAIR and RJELINE3. They have
been written according to classical transmission line formulae, generally
accurate to all figures displayed and may be used to check other work which
uses only engineering approximations. There are others also of educational
value.
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Regards from Reg, G4FGQ
For Free Radio Design Software
go to http://www.g4fgq.com
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