I don't use the SWR meter to measure the standing wave anyway... more just
to keep the finals running kewl... lucky for me there is some kind of
relationship to replacing finals in high power amps and the dumb meter...

I can just lay a hand on the amp and start a conversation... adjusting match
for lowest heat (or least smoke)--but the meter takes a lot of guess work
out of it... I miss tubes for that very reason... you could always adjust
for least red glow on the plates... grin

Warmest regards,
John
--
If "God"--expecting an angel... if evolution--expecting an alien... just
wondering if I will be able to tell the difference!

"Reg Edwards" wrote in message
...
| The number one reason for attenuation being higher is because the
| conductor diameter is smaller and, as a consequence, its resistance
| is
| higher.
|
| The exact simple mathematical relationship is -
|
| Line attenuation = 8.69*R/2/Ro dB.
|
| Where R is the resistance of the wire and Ro is the real component
| of
| line impedance, all in ohms.
|
| Make a note of it in your notebooks.
|
| And, hopefully, that should be the end of the matter. But, knowing
| you lot, it probably won't be. ;o)
| ----
| Reg, G4FGQ
|
| ================================
|
| To you all.
|
| As predicted, I appear to have stirred up a hornet's nest.
|
| First of all, give credit to where credit is due. The simple equation
| is not due to me but to Oliver Heaviside, 1850 - 1925. May God rest
| his soul. And mine!
|
| It applies from DC to VHF where the predominent loss is due to
| conductor resistance including skin effect. At higher frequencies, say
| above 0.5 GHz, loss in the dielectric material begins to play an
| important part.
|
| The complete equation is -
|
| Attenuation = R/2/Ro + G*Ro/2 Nepers
|
| where G is the conductance of the dielectric, which is small for
| materials such as polyethylene and Teflon. And 1 Neper = 20/Ln(10) =
| 8.686 dB.
|
| The Neper is the fundamental unit of transmission loss per unit length
| of line, familiar to transmission line engineers. It is named after
| Napier, a canny Scotsman who had something to do with the invention of
| Logarithms around the 18th Century.
|
| Attenuation is simply the basic matched loss of a particular line,
| unaffected by SWR and all the other encumbrances which amateurs such
| as W5DXP ;o) worry about. KISS.
|
| Incidentally, the additional-loss versus SWR curves, published in the
| ARRL books and copied by the RSGB, for many years, are based on an
| incorrect mathematical analysis. But they are near enough for
| practical purposes.
|
| Not that SWR matters very much. SWR meters don't measure SWR on any
| line anyway. You are all being fooled. ;o) ;o) ;o)
| ----
| Reg, G4FGQ
|
|