Hi Ed: I don't have a K1, but I agree with everything Don said.
Your situation sounds a bit strange though, because I know a number of people who have K1's who typically have not problem loading all sorts of odd "end fed" wires. You are right to get rid of the coax in almost any situation like that. Coax has huge losses at high SWRs. The ATU only ensures a match between the antenna where it connects to the rig and the finals in your K1. It does *nothing* to reduce the SWR on the feed line between the rig and antenna. A counterpoise is used to produce a low impedance at the rig. It's usually 1/4 wavelength long. A 1/4 wave long conductor with the far end insulated will show a low impedance at rig end. It can replace an extensive RF grounding system, although a simple one-wire counterpoise is seldom as effective. However, it's world's better than no counterpoise or ground at all. Having a counterpoise or RF ground does two things: 1) It keeps troublesome RF voltages off of the case of your K1, the key, etc. 2) It greatly increases the efficiency of the radiator (antenna) when the antenna is an odd multiple of 1/4 wave long or less than 1/4 wave long. You'll want two counterpoise wires for your setup: one 66 feet long (1/4 wavelength on 80) and one 33 feet long (1/4 wave on 40). You can connect both in parallel to the case or ground lug on your K1 and leave them attached at all times. They won't interfere with each other. Indeed, you can run the two wires alongside each other but separate them the last several feet and be sure the ends are insulated from each other and from other objects. Ron AC7AC -----Original Message----- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of E Neubauer Sent: Friday, June 19, 2009 6:21 PM To: Donald Wilhelm Cc: Elecraft Bulletin Board Subject: Re: [Elecraft] elecraft kat1 Don: Thanks for the advice. I will definitely try those things, especially for my attic system. Just a few moments ago, I got rid of my coax feedline altogether and plugged my antenna wire (long wire to the backyard) directly into the K1, via a paperclip. Wow, that made a big difference - got down to about 1.5:1 on both 80m and 40m. By the way, I have read things about using a _counterpoise_. Is this a sort of substitute for a ground connection? I am interested, because we are going to do some camping over the next couple of weeks and I am taking the K1 along for (hopefully) some outdoor "work". 73, Ed KB3SZZ================== > Date: Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:34:09 -0400 > From: w3...@embarqmail.com > To: doublehelix...@hotmail.com > CC: elecraft@mailman.qth.net > Subject: Re: [Elecraft] elecraft kat1 > > Ed, > > One other thing - if your match varies from time to time, look for bad > connections in your antenna system. An intermittent connection can > allow good tuning one time and poor results at another time. > > 73, > Don W3FPR > > E Neubauer wrote: > > Hello: I have noticed that my k1 (with the kat1) seems to have difficulty obtaining a low SWR with most of my antenna efforts. Most of the time, it stays at 4:1 or higher. I have been successful at obtaining 1:1, but it is kind of hit-or-miss and only works for one band. I live in a townhouse, so options aren't great, but I've mostly tried long wires and loops in the attic and yard. Still, I thought obtaining a decent match wouldn't be so hard, especially on 40 meters. I should note that I have the 2-band filter board for 40 & 80 meters. > > Also, I am new to ham radio, so I am not sure whether it is safe to operate the rig when the SWR is that high. Comments or suggestions appreciated. > > 73,Ed KB3SZZ > > _________________________________________________________________ > > Insert movie times and more without leaving HotmailR. > > http://windowslive.com/Tutorial/Hotmail/QuickAdd?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_HM_Tutori al_QuickAdd_062009 > > ______________________________________________________________ > > Elecraft mailing list > > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > > Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > > > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > > > > No virus found in this incoming message. > > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > > Version: 8.5.339 / Virus Database: 270.12.80/2187 - Release Date: 06/19/09 06:53:00 > > > > _________________________________________________________________ Insert movie times and more without leaving HotmailR. http://windowslive.com/Tutorial/Hotmail/QuickAdd?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_HM_Tutori al_QuickAdd_062009 ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
