Walter Maxwell wrote in
:

....
that rho is to replace upper case lambda as the standard symbol for
reflection coefficient, and SWR to represent standing wave ratio. Most

Chipman's formulae that you quoted work correctly if rho means the
magnitude of the complex reflection coefficient (rather than the
(complex) reflection coefficient as you say above).

The formulae were probably written when we used slide rules and worked
out the real and imaginary parts separately, whereas today with access to
tools that treat complex numbers as such, we can carry a complex value
through calculations as a single value then separate out the real an
imaginary parts at the end. There is also no real burden in treating Zo
as complex instead of the lossless / distortionless line approximation.

The different notation is painful, isn't it. I write Gamma to mean
uppercase-gamma, and use Gamma for the complex reflection coefficient,
rho for the magnitude of Gamma, lambda for wavelength, don't use Lambda
(I don't think), and gamma for the complex line propagation constant. It
think it is a fairly common convention, but if what you say above is
literally correct, it is not compliant with ASA Y10.9-1953.

Owen