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G9A07

ANTENNAS AND FEED LINES · - Feed lines: characteristic impedance and attenuation; standing wave ratio (SWR) calculation, measurement, and effects; antenna feed point matching

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What must be done to prevent standing waves on a feed line connected to an antenna?

  1. AThe antenna feed point must be at DC ground potential
  2. BThe feed line must be an odd number of electrical quarter wavelengths long
  3. CThe feed line must be an even number of physical half wavelengths long
  4. DThe antenna feed point impedance must be matched to the characteristic impedance of the feed line
Why Standing waves exist because part of the forward wave is reflected back toward the transmitter. A reflection happens only when the load impedance differs from the line's characteristic impedance, so when the antenna feed point impedance equals the feed line's Z0 (commonly 50 ohms for coax) all the power is absorbed by the antenna, nothing comes back, and the SWR is 1:1. Line length, line type, and grounding do not change this: only the match at the load does.
Watch out The choices about the line being some number of quarter or half wavelengths are tempting because line length does matter for impedance transformation tricks like quarter-wave matching sections, but a length alone cannot stop a mismatched load from reflecting power. DC ground potential at the feed point relates to static and lightning protection, not to SWR.
No reflection, no standing wave. Match the load to the line's Z0 and SWR is 1:1, whatever the line length.
HamSandwich explanation, first draft. The question and answers are the NCVEC text.
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The rest of G9A

  1. G9A01 Which of the following factors determine the characteristic impedance of a parallel conductor feed line?
  2. G9A02 What is the relationship between high standing wave ratio (SWR) and transmission line loss?
  3. G9A03 What is the nominal characteristic impedance of "window line" transmission line?
  4. G9A04 What causes reflected power at an antenna's feed point?
  5. G9A05 How does the attenuation of coaxial cable change with increasing frequency?
  6. G9A06 In what units is RF feed line loss usually expressed?
  7. G9A07 What must be done to prevent standing waves on a feed line connected to an antenna?
  8. G9A08 If the SWR on an antenna feed line is 5:1, and a matching network at the transmitter end of the feed line is …
  9. G9A09 What standing wave ratio results from connecting a 50-ohm feed line to a 200-ohm resistive load?
  10. G9A10 What standing wave ratio results from connecting a 50-ohm feed line to a 10-ohm resistive load?
  11. G9A11 What is the effect of transmission line loss on SWR measured at the input to the line?
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