Hi Charlie,
When working with caps across the AC line figure a minimum of the peak to peak voltage rather than the RMS value. the 110 VAC is indeed an RMS value so you know peak-peak will be larger.
Best,
Rob

For you guys with the 'fixed pitch' rigs. Zero beat with the rig's pitch to be on frequency then adjust the RIT to your favorite pitch. Best, Rob

An MFJ 259B makes this a whole lot easier. If you can borrow one so much the better ;but, It is one of the most useful pieces of test equipment in the shack.
73,
Rob WA9UAA

Barry,
A little more info please, Is the computer connected to the radio at all? (eg. Sound, USB or RS-232)
Does the feed line pass near the computer, even if the feed line is outside?
Does your gear share a common electrical outlet?
What antenna and feed line are you running?
Best,
Rob WA9UAA

Tom,
This can be done with a 1/2 wave length of wire and a 1/4 wave length matching section out of ladder line. The true end fed Zepp.
73,
Rob WA9UAA

Hi All,
Give the folks at Array Solutions a call, they are a U.S. service center for THP gear.
Best,
Rob

Good Day,
The "Wire Man" used to sell a multi-bead choke using RG-303. It could be had as either a kit or assembly. I use mine on the rig side of my tuner.
73,
Rob WA9UAA

I can echo Alan's sentiments but don't have any idea how to actually measure the Resistive and Reactive values. I have an MFJ 259B but don't know whether to trust it in this case. i.e. When it is not looking at 50 ohms J0. I was running a ladder line fed dipole to a 1:1 current balun and 9 feet of coax to the tuner. If I were to believe the 259B, I saw about 10 ohms of resistive value on 10 meters. This may have been what led to an over loaded trace in the antenna tuner during an experiment with an amplifier.

There is a calculator, by G4FGQ, R.J. Edwards, that allows one to simulate an antenna install with a balun between the ladder line and a length of coax. What I found, according to the calculator, was that the coax added a large amount of reactive component seemingly at the cost of the resistive value. Even with a double W2DU balun and about 8 inches of Belden RG 213 coax between the balun and the tuner I did not like the capacitive reactance as shown on the 259B. Despite the ease of bringing coax into the shack I went ahead and brought the ladder line directly to the tuner. (T-T 238B). What I did with the calculator, in theory, was to pick a length of ladder line that supplied a reasonably high impedance to the internal balun for my dipole from 160 - 10 meters. The dipole is 260 ft. but only 35 feet high at best. The magic length of ladder line for me was 40 meters. (The calculator uses metric units.) HTH
73,
Rob WA9UAA

John,
There only two tuners, off the top of my head, that use "L" matching networks. One is the Palstar BT1500A. the other is the Ten Tec 238-C series. Used older models are available. The Ten Tec is more versatile with one balanced output and three coax outputs. The Palstar BT1500A only has the balanced output but has better metering than the earlier Ten Tec tuners.  I am running a 238B here. GL
73,
Rob WA9UAA

Lyman,
I am not familiar with the Yaesu at all. I put the simplex frequencies in memory and set up the mode (FM) plus any other parameters. In the past FM repeaters did not have PL tone access. You may have to consult a repeater directory for that information. When the band opens up it would not be uncommon to work through a repeater in the Virgin Is. into S.A. or Europe.
 I heard a very small amount of activity yesterday, the time is coming.
73,
Rob WA9UAA

Hi Lyman,
In a word, yes. FM is a strong signal mode so check the FM portion of the band when their is activity in the SSB section. Setup simplex channels on 29.3, 29.5 and 29.6 Mhz. If you have a rig that does splits in memory put the repeater pairs in those as well. A couple of cycles ago I worked a guy on 29.6 who had a wire beam in his attic. He was in CA, I was in IL For about 20 min. he was pinning my meter at 60 dB over S9. I still get chills.
73,
Rob WA9UAA

Hi John,
What tuner are you considering. Most commercial tuners today that have balanced output will also have un-balanced (coax) ports as well. Let us know more about your situation. The Ten Tec 238  (L match) series of tuners have a balanced output as well as coax outputs.
73,
Rob WA9UAA

You could just ask if it was a QRP net.
73,
Rob WA9UAA

Good Day,
The internal tuner in the TS 440s/at was in the transmit path only. I recommend the largest outboard you can afford as they are more efficient and can act as an antenna switch to different antennas. A tuned antenna system is most efficient when feeding a pre tuned coax fed antenna or a ladder line fed dipole. I wouldn't go below 40 meters in frequency with the antenna you have and would encourage the use of a 120 foot center fed dipole. HTH
73,
Rob WA9UAA

One year, after loosing the top half of my push pole to ice on the wires, I lowered the dipole to the roof. Of course, the wire froze to the roof but loaded up anyhow. A few QSOs later it popped free.
73,
Rob WA9UAA