Perhaps this is a dumb question Reg, but if the transmission line
isn't
there, how does RF get from the transmitter to the antenna?

Thanks, ac6xg

=============================

The 50-ohm line on which the SWR is supposed to be measured is between
the transmitter and the so-called SWR meter.

If the transmitter is connected directly to the meter, (as it usually
is, very often it is inside the transmitter on the front panel) there
is no line and no SWR on it which can be measured.

Neverthess, the meter still provides a reading of SWR. Obviously it
is telling lies and causes confusion and misunderstanding to novices
about what is really happening within their equipment. In fact, just
as it has been doing since Joker, Richard Clark, entered the thread.

Some people force themselves to imagine a 1/4-wavelength transmission
inside the little box in a vain endeavor to explain how an SWR meter
works.

Actually the meter indicates whether or not the transmitter is loaded
with 50-ohms - and nothing else. It is an HF resistance bridge to
which its circuit reduces.

But, as I say, it is a very useful, almost indispensible instrument.
It is a TLI.
----
Reg.