Dave wrote:
obviously at 1/4 wave from the load the impedance seen by the bird is not 50
ohms.

That's the whole point, Dave. The poor ignorant Bird doesn't know what
is going on external to itself. You and I have to be smarter than the
Bird and not report its bogus results as "correct". The Bird reports
a 9:1 SWR on a matched-line 450 ohm ladder-line. Is the SWR really 9:1?

this is just how it works, you
can't wish it to be anything else, especially when the actual measurements
prove me correct.

The actual measurements prove you wrong! The forward power reported by
the Bird is NOT the actual forward power. The reflected power reported
by the Bird is NOT the actual reflected power. The SWR reported by the
Bird does not exist anywhere in the system on the load side of the tuner.
The Bird is totally confused because it is being abused by the operator.
The operator is totally ignorant when he reports the readings are "correct".

you have to realize that the bird is not measuring what
is going on outside it's case, the only thing it can measure is the voltage
and current in its little 50 ohm internal world.

That's exactly the point and that's why some readings reported by the
Bird are obviously bogus when compared to the broader knowledge of
actual external conditions. The operator needs to be smarter than the
Bird.

so look at it from the
meter's point of view... it looks out the load side and sees 50 ohms, it
can't know that it is really a 75 ohm line, in fact it can't know there is
any line there at all, it just sees a 50 ohm load, therefore no reflection
into the meter, and no reflected power reading. qed.

But you and I know that 75 ohm reflected energy is flowing through the
Bird and the Bird is ignoring it. Of course, we cannot blame the Bird
for the bogus readings. We can only blame the ignorant operator who reports
that the bogus readings are "correct" when they are obviously false.
--
73, Cecil http://www.qsl.net/w5dxp