9 Dec 2009

Weather and 500kHz antenna matching

It surprises me how much my antenna matching changes depending on weather, temperature etc. I use my simple ferrite rod ATU for the main antenna tuning (tapping down the coil for best antenna and TX connection but I make final adjustments using my little Elecraft auto-ATU at the shack end of the feed coax to the remote ATU in the back bedroom near the antenna. If it rains or the weather is cold, I need to rematch the T1 ATU to get best SWR.  I guess this is all due to the ground losses changing in wet weather as a result of changes in soil conductivity.

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