My SWR

[trx680]

Picked up a Rig Expert.
My antenna is a Maco V 5/8 on the chimney...for now. I plan on a small tower before next spring to get it off the house.
Checked my swr. It wasn't bad but I tweaked the antenna and brought ch 19 down some.
Then I worked on getting ch 1 an 40 closer.
Here are pictures of my results.

You guys think this is acceptable???

What about that RETURN LOSS ?

I haven't checked anything else yet. I will when I get time. Actually my son is coming home for the holiday and hes a physics major so I'll let him play with it some.

I have the radio on in the background on the corresponding channel just for reference.
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[jessejamesdallas]

i'd leave it alone..

[MDYoungblood]

Picked up a Rig Expert.

Excellent choice, that one will do just about anything you would need for the HF bands.

You guys think this is acceptable???

All 3 reads look fine.

What about that RETURN LOSS ?

This is one you will have to get your mind working, it's kind of backwards from the way we think, the higher the loss at a lower SWR means more energy is getting to the antenna, think your physics major can explain it a little better. Ask him to explain the R and X factors, your head will really get spinning.

3's

Greg

[trx680]

Picked up a Rig Expert.

Excellent choice, that one will do just about anything you would need for the HF bands.

You guys think this is acceptable???

All 3 reads look fine.

What about that RETURN LOSS ?

This is one you will have to get your mind working, it's kind of backwards from the way we think, the higher the loss at a lower SWR means more energy is getting to the antenna, think your physics major can explain it a little better. Ask him to explain the R and X factors, your head will really get spinning.

3's

Greg

so whats a good number for this RETURN LOSS?

[MDYoungblood]

Well 100dB return loss is perfect but I doubt it would be achieved. Search "Return Loss to VSWR", a bunch of info should pop up.

3's

Greg

[Lost Ram]

Any SWR of 2 or less is just fine, 1.5 and under are great, and anything lower is excellent. Now here is the catch, no one on the other end would be able to tell the difference from a 1.1 to a 2 SWR. Don't get too hung up on SWR for HF unless you have an insane amount of small coax length or running an amp. All the reflected loss (well all but a small tiny portion lost to heat) is retransmitted by the transmitter at 180 degrees from the original signal anyway. It all goes out of the antenna besides that miniscule amount lost to heat and coax efficiency.

[The DB]

What about that RETURN LOSS ?

This is one you will have to get your mind working, it's kind of backwards from the way we think, the higher the loss at a lower SWR means more energy is getting to the antenna, think your physics major can explain it a little better. Ask him to explain the R and X factors, your head will really get spinning.

Essentially, return loss is a measure of how much power that was transmitted is making it back to the radio (or measuring device). Sound familiar?

Here is a return loss to SWR conversion table...

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Return loss is simply SWR with a different scale. Nothing more. It has its uses, but not typically when tuning the antenna itself, unless you need a far higher resolution than SWR for some reason...

My VNA uses it to measure coax loss and such.


The DB