Dave wrote:
... when really you are all saying the same thing.

Unfortunately, we are not all saying the same thing.
W7EL and W8JI are saying that using standing wave
current phase to make a phase shift measurement is
a valid approach. They keep reporting their results of
using such an approach as if it were a valid thing to
do. When those useless phase measurements are discarded,
the technical picture becomes a lot clearer.

I, and others, are saying that using a signal with
unchanging phase will not and cannot tell one anything
about any phase shift. There is no phase information
contained in the standing wave phase. All of the phase
information is contained in the standing wave magnitude.

I'm building a web page about this subject. The initial
graphic is at: http://www.qsl.net/w5dxp/travstnd.GIF

Note that for a standing wave current, the only thing
changing with length is magnitude. The flat phase line
of the standing wave current is completely useless for
making phase measurements.
--
73, Cecil http://www.qsl.net/w5dxp