Frank Gilliland wrote:
Point is that they are usually calibrated for Z0=50 ohms
and are in error when used in Z0 environments differing
from Z0=50 ohms, e.g. Z0=75 ohms.

The point is that the error is insignificant when the directional
coupler is much shorter than the wavelength.

Nope, that's not the point at all. It is true that a 50 ohm
SWR meter designed for HF may not work on 70 cm but the error
I'm talking about is the calibration error in a 50 ohm SWR meter
designed for HF and used on HF in, for instance, a Z0 = 450 ohm
environment instead of its calibrated-for 50 ohm environment. It
works perfectly in a 50 ohm environment at the HF frequency of
operation. Here's the proof using a 50 ohm SWR meter:

XMTR--1/2WL 450 ohm line--SWR meter--1/2WL 450 ohm line--50 ohm load

The 50 ohm SWR meter will read 1:1, nowhere near the actual SWR

XMTR--1/4WL 450 ohm line--SWR meter--1/4WL 450 ohm line--50 ohm load

The 50 ohm SWR meter will read 81:1, nowhere near the actual SWR

An SWR meter calibrated for 450 ohms will correctly read 9:1
in both cases.
--
73, Cecil http://www.qsl.net/w5dxp


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On Wed, 29 Jun 2005 16:37:10 -0500, Cecil Moore
wrote in :

Frank Gilliland wrote:
Point is that they are usually calibrated for Z0=50 ohms
and are in error when used in Z0 environments differing
from Z0=50 ohms, e.g. Z0=75 ohms.

The point is that the error is insignificant when the directional
coupler is much shorter than the wavelength.

Nope, that's not the point at all. It is true that a 50 ohm
SWR meter designed for HF may not work on 70 cm but the error
I'm talking about is the calibration error in a 50 ohm SWR meter
designed for HF and used on HF in, for instance, a Z0 = 450 ohm
environment instead of its calibrated-for 50 ohm environment....


There lies our misperceptions; I was not referring to using an HF SWR
meter designed for coax and plugging it into 450 ohm ladder line.






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Frank Gilliland wrote:
There lies our misperceptions; I was not referring to using an HF SWR
meter designed for coax and plugging it into 450 ohm ladder line.

But I specifically stated above the Z0 environment was different
from 50 ohms. The same type of error happens when one uses a
50 ohm SWR meter in a 75 ohm coaxial line.
--
73, Cecil http://www.qsl.net/w5dxp

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On Wed, 29 Jun 2005 22:39:10 -0500, Cecil Moore
wrote in :

Frank Gilliland wrote:
There lies our misperceptions; I was not referring to using an HF SWR
meter designed for coax and plugging it into 450 ohm ladder line.

But I specifically stated above the Z0 environment was different
from 50 ohms. The same type of error happens when one uses a
50 ohm SWR meter in a 75 ohm coaxial line.


If that were true then the mere existence of standing waves could
render any measurements worthless. Regardless, I did the experiment a
long time ago -- take a 50 ohm SWR meter and plug it into a 75 ohm
line -- it gives you almost the same measurement (in fact, I didn't
see -any- difference at all). Any small error you might see is, as I
said before, insignificant, especially considering the reason you are
measuring SWR in the first place. The objective is simply to get the
reading as low as practially possible. If you feel the need to quibble
about a couple tenths of a point on a ratio then maybe you're spending
a little too much time playing with the calculator instead of the
antenna.





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Frank Gilliland wrote:

Cecil Moore wrote:
But I specifically stated above the Z0 environment was different
from 50 ohms. The same type of error happens when one uses a
50 ohm SWR meter in a 75 ohm coaxial line.

If that were true then the mere existence of standing waves could
render any measurements worthless. Regardless, I did the experiment a
long time ago -- take a 50 ohm SWR meter and plug it into a 75 ohm
line -- it gives you almost the same measurement (in fact, I didn't
see -any- difference at all).

Please run it again in the following configuration:

Xmtr--1/4WL 75 ohm line--SWR meter--1/4WL 75 ohm line--50 ohm load

The SWR meter will read 2.25:1 when the actual SWR is 1.5:1

Xmtr--1/2WL 75 ohm line--SWR meter--1/2WL 75 ohm line--50 ohm load

The SWR meter will read 1:1 when the actual SWR is 1.5:1

Any small error you might see is, as I
said before, insignificant, especially considering the reason you are
measuring SWR in the first place.

A 50% error in SWR reading is NOT insignificant.

The objective is simply to get the
reading as low as practially possible. If you feel the need to quibble
about a couple tenths of a point on a ratio then maybe you're spending
a little too much time playing with the calculator instead of the
antenna.

A 50% error in SWR is NOT a couple tenths of a point.
--
73, Cecil http://www.qsl.net/w5dxp

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On Thu, 30 Jun 2005 07:36:21 -0500, Cecil Moore
wrote in :

Frank Gilliland wrote:

Cecil Moore wrote:
But I specifically stated above the Z0 environment was different
from 50 ohms. The same type of error happens when one uses a
50 ohm SWR meter in a 75 ohm coaxial line.

If that were true then the mere existence of standing waves could
render any measurements worthless. Regardless, I did the experiment a
long time ago -- take a 50 ohm SWR meter and plug it into a 75 ohm
line -- it gives you almost the same measurement (in fact, I didn't
see -any- difference at all).

Please run it again in the following configuration:

Xmtr--1/4WL 75 ohm line--SWR meter--1/4WL 75 ohm line--50 ohm load

The SWR meter will read 2.25:1 when the actual SWR is 1.5:1

Xmtr--1/2WL 75 ohm line--SWR meter--1/2WL 75 ohm line--50 ohm load

The SWR meter will read 1:1 when the actual SWR is 1.5:1


I'm not going to argue this -- either you can play with theory and
speculate about the results, or you can do the experiment yourself,
observe the empirical evidence, and -then- use theory to explain the
results. When you get around to doing the latter give me a holler in
rrcb since I'm done cross posting on this topic.

And BTW, the best location for the directional coupler is at the
feedpoint of the antenna. Barring that, the next best place is at the
transmitter. Regardless of it's location, you should -never- leave the
coupler floating with the coax or you will end up with results like
what you describe above.





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Frank Gilliland wrote:
Regardless of it's location, you should -never- leave the
coupler floating with the coax or you will end up with results like
what you describe above.

The results above obey the laws of physics. What laws do your
results obey?
--
73, Cecil http://www.qsl.net/w5dxp

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But I specifically stated above the Z0 environment was different
from 50 ohms. The same type of error happens when one uses a
50 ohm SWR meter in a 75 ohm coaxial line.

If that were true then the mere existence of standing waves could
render any measurements worthless. Regardless, I did the experiment a
long time ago -- take a 50 ohm SWR meter and plug it into a 75 ohm
line -- it gives you almost the same measurement (in fact, I didn't
see -any- difference at all). Any small error you might see is, as I
said before, insignificant, especially considering the reason you are
measuring SWR in the first place. The objective is simply to get the
reading as low as practially possible. If you feel the need to quibble
about a couple tenths of a point on a ratio then maybe you're spending
a little too much time playing with the calculator instead of the
antenna.


I'm running RG-6 out to my 2 meter antenna. I put my cheap RS HF meter inline
to see what I'd read. I got my expected 1.5:1. Wattage read 1/2 of what the
radio is rated for. It gets out and I'm not worried about it.