OK - I just bought a new in the box 1955 Heath GD-1B grid dipper
with the extra low band coil set. $25. The dipper works FB and I
used an old SO-239 chassis jack plus a bit of 22g wire and a cut
down pill bottle to make a 4t coupling loop big enough to "dip" -
that is I inserted the dipper's coil inside the pill bottle coil
attached
to my feedline.

Now here is where I make myself look stupid - My antenna's best
SWR is at 7185 with a 1.1:1 but the dipper showed max dip at
6990 (I tuned into the dipper with my K2). What's going on here?

Someone educate me.....lol

73's de Ken KG0WX

Resonance and VSWR are NOT related!

My 75 meter mobile antenna is resonant at 3.94 MHz. My VSWR is 5:1.

You are measuring two different things.

The dipper is a very nice tool. I owned the Heathkit unit in the olden
days. I now use the Military surplus AN/PRM 10.

KG0WX wrote:

OK - I just bought a new in the box 1955 Heath GD-1B grid dipper
with the extra low band coil set. $25. The dipper works FB and I
used an old SO-239 chassis jack plus a bit of 22g wire and a cut
down pill bottle to make a 4t coupling loop big enough to "dip" -
that is I inserted the dipper's coil inside the pill bottle coil
attached
to my feedline.

Now here is where I make myself look stupid - My antenna's best
SWR is at 7185 with a 1.1:1 but the dipper showed max dip at
6990 (I tuned into the dipper with my K2). What's going on here?

Someone educate me.....lol

73's de Ken KG0WX

KG0WX wrote:
OK - I just bought a new in the box 1955 Heath GD-1B grid dipper
with the extra low band coil set. $25. The dipper works FB and I
used an old SO-239 chassis jack plus a bit of 22g wire and a cut
down pill bottle to make a 4t coupling loop big enough to "dip" -
that is I inserted the dipper's coil inside the pill bottle coil
attached
to my feedline.

Now here is where I make myself look stupid - My antenna's best
SWR is at 7185 with a 1.1:1 but the dipper showed max dip at
6990 (I tuned into the dipper with my K2). What's going on here?

Someone educate me.....lol

73's de Ken KG0WX

1. Although it's usually close for simple antennas, the point of minimum
SWR isn't necessarily the resonant frequency. The dipper measures resonance.

2. The coupling loop adds inductance to the circuit, lowering its
resonant frequency.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL