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Hi, I just got my new (used) HF rig, and I strung up a half wave dipole
for 10 meters using 28.4 mhz in my calculations. Several hours later I
am getting an SWR reading of 2:1 at 28.4mhz. Is that pretty good or
should I try to do better?

I appreciate any opinions.

Jim

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if the radio is happily putting out its rated power then don't touch it,
keep operating! remember, too low an swr can kill you!


"James Barrett" wrote in message
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Hi, I just got my new (used) HF rig, and I strung up a half wave dipole
for 10 meters using 28.4 mhz in my calculations. Several hours later I
am getting an SWR reading of 2:1 at 28.4mhz. Is that pretty good or
should I try to do better?

I appreciate any opinions.

Jim

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LHfGOxSNluOb7JXvTpx3OLY=
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"James Barrett" wrote in message
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Hi, I just got my new (used) HF rig, and I strung up a half wave dipole
for 10 meters using 28.4 mhz in my calculations. Several hours later I
am getting an SWR reading of 2:1 at 28.4mhz. Is that pretty good or
should I try to do better?

I appreciate any opinions.

Jim

What are you feeding your dipole with? Coax or ladder line ?I found that if
you use 450 ohm ladder line for your feed the length of the feed line can
cause you problems . What kind of rig are you using ? BTW welcome to the
group !

73 Will _._ ._ ..._ _ ..._ .. _..



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"James Barrett" wrote in message
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Hi, I just got my new (used) HF rig, and I strung up a half wave dipole
for 10 meters using 28.4 mhz in my calculations. Several hours later I
am getting an SWR reading of 2:1 at 28.4mhz. Is that pretty good or
should I try to do better?

I appreciate any opinions.

Jim


Go up and down in frequency a few hundred KC and see what the swr is in
several places. Depending on the feedline and length it should probably be
lower at some frequency near 28.4.

James Barrett wrote:
Hi, I just got my new (used) HF rig, and I strung up a half wave dipole
for 10 meters using 28.4 mhz in my calculations. Several hours later I
am getting an SWR reading of 2:1 at 28.4mhz. Is that pretty good or
should I try to do better?

That's marginally OK. What is the SWR at 28 MHz.?
What is the SWR at 29 MHz?
--
73, Cecil http://www.w5dxp.com

ahso#1 wrote:
What are you feeding your dipole with? Coax or ladder line ?I found that if
you use 450 ohm ladder line for your feed the length of the feed line can
cause you problems.

Not if your ladder-line is a multiply of 1/2
wavelengths at the frequency of operation.
--
73, Cecil http://www.w5dxp.com

"James Barrett" wrote in message
...
Hi, I just got my new (used) HF rig, and I strung up a half wave dipole
for 10 meters using 28.4 mhz in my calculations. Several hours later I
am getting an SWR reading of 2:1 at 28.4mhz. Is that pretty good or
should I try to do better?

I appreciate any opinions.

Jim

If you can hear - and be heard and the band is open - then you're ok.
If you can't hear or get heard - raise the antenna and try again.
Good swr does not automatically mean a good antenna.

"James Barrett" wrote in message
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Hi, I just got my new (used) HF rig, and I strung up a half wave dipole
for 10 meters using 28.4 mhz in my calculations. Several hours later I
am getting an SWR reading of 2:1 at 28.4mhz. Is that pretty good or
should I try to do better?

I appreciate any opinions.

Jim

It's probably too long, but check it at 28 & 29 Mhz. If the SWR at 28 is
better, it is too long; if the SWR at 29 is better, it is too short.
Assuming you are using 50 Ohm coax, no reason you can't get it below 1.5:1.

Tam

On Tue, 23 Oct 2007 17:19:02 -0400, James Barrett wrote:

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Hi, I just got my new (used) HF rig, and I strung up a half wave dipole
for 10 meters using 28.4 mhz in my calculations. Several hours later I
am getting an SWR reading of 2:1 at 28.4mhz. Is that pretty good or
should I try to do better?

I appreciate any opinions.

Jim

Nobody else has asked this magic question yet....

How high off of the ground is your dipole?

--Teh

Try transmitting up and down the band to see where your lowest swr is.
Then you can shorten or lengthen the antenna a bit to get a low swr in
the 28.4 mhz range. If you can't quite get it to 1:1, coiling the coax
at the feedpoint, 4 or 5 turns about 6 inches in diameter can get you
pretty close to 1:1.

2:1 isn't bad, but you're probably not getting full power output if
your rig is solid state.
=================================
When SWR is 2:1 the reflected power is only 11% of the tx output power,
which will hardly be noticeable at the receiving end .
Even when SWR would be 3:1 only 25% of the transmitter power would be
reflected , still resulting in only a fraction of an S-point at the
receiving end.
But a low SWR will make the solid state PA of your radio feel happier !

Frank GM0CSZ / KN6WH