I am not totally sure about your question but if you are wondering what the difference is between an antenna analyzer and an antenna tuner, basically the analyzer is an instrument to determine the characteristic impedance of the antenna at the antenna terminals or the characteristic impedance of the antenna system, including the feed line, at the end of the feed line. It can also measure a number of other electrical characteristics and is a very useful instrument but I think it is probably in excess of your needs at this stage of your hand career. And antenna tuner on the other hand is a device which will attempt to transform the impedance presented to it at the end of the feed line from the antenna so that it matches the expected load impedance of your radio which is 50 ohms. The resulting transformation or "match" performed by the antenna tuner should result in a 1:1 SWR as seen by the final of your radio. When there is a low SWR as seen by the final of your radio there should be a maximum transfer of RF power from your radio to the antenna so that it can be radiated as a signal. However, if there is an extreme impedance mismatch between the end of the feed line and the 50 ohms expected by your radio there can be problems as noted below.
I think you will find that the K-3 antenna tuner is a very good one and will tune a wide range of antennas. Since you already have it, I suggest you try it first with your antenna. If for some reason it does not work you could always try a different, external tuner. But if the antenna cannot be tuned with the built-in K-3 tuner I think you would be well advised to consider a different antenna. Just because you may be able to reduce the SWR presented to the radio by using a tuner does not mean you have an efficient system or that most of your RF will actually be radiated rather than simply dissipated in the tuner. If the terminal match between the antenna and feedline is very unfavorable, while the tuner may be able to transform the resulting SWR presented to the radio enough to allow the final to run at full power you may find that much of the power is being dissipated in the antenna tuner as heat rather than being radiated by the antenna. If for example you are running 100 W from the transmitter but 80 of those watts are being dissipated in the tuner because of a very unfavorable antenna impedance, there won't be much RF power left to actually reach and be radiated by the antenna. So, I would try the K-3 antenna tuner first. Chances are it will do the job. If not you may want to consider a better antenna before you start looking for external antenna tuners. Frankly, the only time I would consider an external tuner is if I were using a balanced feed line and even then I might choose a 4 to 1 current balin at the output of the radio instead of a balanced antenna tuner. Another situation calling for an external tuner might be if you are using an amplifier following the K-3 and the impedance presented by the antenna system cannot be handled by tuning the amplifier. Good luck with your license upgrade and your new K-3. Bruce-W8FU -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Paul Maruna Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2008 6:47 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [Elecraft] Antenna Tuner versus Antenna Analizer ? I bought a buddipole antenna system and I want to get one of the subject units but I don't know the difference between them, and what each one does, and which one will help me with the setup with my K3 and my antenna system ? When I bought my K3 I also bought a KAT3 which I believe is an antenna tuner for the K3 -- Will this do the same thing to match the antenna to the K3, or am I better off getting another unit like a LDG Z-100 or an LDG AT-200 Pro or something else like one of the MFJ units ? Where does the "baluns" come into this play with either unit ? I am just a Technician class and am studying for the General class and I have not built the K3 that I have yet, and all this antenna stuff is pretty confusing. Can anyone help please ? Thank you, Paul (73) KD8HWP _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [email protected] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [email protected] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
