Phil,  You have missed quite a bit!  There is no short quick answer to what you asking as you
appear to have missed the boat entirely on this one.  Not to worry, though. Another boat is coming soon!  Thankfully, getting a ham license is not an end. It is a beginning!  The beauty
of the hobby is that you can proceed at your own pace.
Some helpful suggestions;
1. Find a ham radio club close by and find some one in there to mentor or "Elmer" you.
    Preferably someone with the integrity to let you know when he does not have "the answer".
2. Get some ARRL Antenna books.  New, old, whatever.
3. Remember that this hobby ain't no stinkin' TV 30 minute sit-com where all of the problems
    are solved by the end of the show.  It is an on-going process that can be life long.
4.  Go to the internet and let Google be your friend.  Google search RF feed lines, impedance,
     reactance, standing wave ratio, etc.
5.  For a start go to   http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_2/chpt_14/6.html
     for some reading.  You may want to explore that site a little and review some of the
     stuff that you'll need to know first.
6.   Get an Elmer!!!

73 and good luck on your journey!  Cal  K4JSR

Jim said, "IOW the practical problems aren't figuring out the electrical details; they're getting the thing built and in the air."

Well said, Jim.   I was afraid that I might have had to return all of the tuition collected from
over 38 years of teaching free ham radio classes.

I, for one, really enjoy the technical debates between Tom, Owen, Cecil, and Mr. Katz.
However, one must realize that these folks are on a whole different plane of thought than the
average ham operator.  Without that due consideration the poor new ham will be left to a
form of paralysis by analysis.  This paralysis is exactly one of the root causes of some thinking
a commercially constructed dipole is superior to a home made dipole.  Or even worse, putting
an undue amount of worry about "is my antenna good enough?"
Of course the true answer that develops to all hams with experience is that no antenna is ever good enough.  We all eventually develop the antenna "GAGE"---Good Ain't Good Enough."
I am not knocking the pursuit of excellence at all.  I am just pointing out, as you and Phil,
we don't all have the same idea of where we want our excellence.

For most hams the joy is operating on the air and not the means of getting there.

Phil, You are hereby nominated for the IOTY Award. (Iconoclast Of The Year)
See you in June in Marietta for the Atlanta Hamfest.

73,   Cal  K4JSR

¡Come mas Zarigüeya!

Yo!  Phil Sr!!!

At least you didn't say "Cry me a Liver, Riberal!" 
Catch you at a hamfest!

73,  Cal  K4JSR

A single loop in your coax at the antenna end is not required.
However, it is an excellent idea for at least two reasons;
1.  The loop provides stress relief from thermal expansion/contraction and
     wind stress.

2.   The loop also leaves you with enough coax to re-work the connector at the
      antenna end without the necessity of re-dressing the coax along the entire tower.

Take a look at what the cable TV people do.  They have frequent loops in their hard lines
to provide for future rework,   One loop by itself will not provide sufficient inductance to
choke anything other than some hapless critter that got its head into that loop! 

73,  Cal  K4JSR
COME MAS ZARIGUEYA!

I'm ready to party!!!  BOOGITY! BOOGITY!  BOOGITY!!

I was on a party line once that was soooo big that it later became a Super Group!

All of the neighbors complained about the "Boompa-
Thoompa" music provided by our Bass Band!!!

Hey!  Somebody had to make a couple of puns.  WIK did
not look like he was going to!  :-(

73,, Cal  K4JSR

Fully tombstoned SMT parts are easy to spot and repair.   The partially tombstoned parts are far more difficult to to troubleshoot visually as one end is only slightly lifted.  Those can be hard to see even when using a good binocular microscope and lighting.
I actually think that the new Lead free solder makes
the tombstone problem worse because of the difficulty of getting decent wetting during the reflow process.
Regardless, proper electrical testing of the boards
would weed out most of the solderability issues.

73,  Cal  K4JSR

PS. SMT gets more difficult to deal with the closer to 70 I get!  :-(

Funny that you think the sparse examples in your ARRL License Manual as being "dry".  I teach ham classes
using the the ARRL License Manuals.  In one sense the
manuals are sticking strictly to the Q&A Pool by only
working out those problems that may actually appear on
your test. The vast majority of my students agree with you, and so do I.  My students have me make up
extra problems and put them up on the chalk board.
I have even gione so far as to make up examples and
get photocopies made for the class.
I commend you for not wanting to just memorize the
Extra Class Q&As, but actually learning some skills.
I would recommend you find an Extra Class ham and/or a Club near you that offers classes. If no classes then someone with sufficient math skills in Algebra and Trig to assist you with additional practice.
I like to mix it up with my students and give the a few problems requiring formula manipulation skills.

I have already commented to the League about needing more sample problems;  I recommend you do so as well.
The only place I can think of where you can get a book
with lots of examples would be a Technical Mathematics
Text book from a local Technical Cillege.  Warning!
Be sitting down when you hear the price!  Try to find
someone with a used book.  
73 and good luck.
Cal  K4JSR

I referred a few of my ham students to the OCARC page
http://www.ocarc.ca/coax.htm

which was handy for calculating the loss characteristics for several feedlines.
All anyone gets back is an error 404 message.
Anybody know what happened or if someone else has a
similar service?

Thanks & 73,   Cal  K4JSR

I m glad I gots good spellig and gramer!!!

70 trees,  Cal  K4JSR

I would reply to this insanity about <3 dB,
but I can't see my monitor screen for all of the coffee spewed on it!  
And I thought I was a good guy, but evidently I can't
take a choke!  :-)

"Ask not for whom the deciBel tolls..."

Gasp!  Choke!  Wheeze!

73,  Cal  K4JSR

your ferrite core balun forever!  :-)

May it not precess or limit you in any way!!

Back to the fracas.  I had to pause this to go get
some more popcorn and pop.

73,  Cal  K4JSR

PS.  Where is N6AJR and his Fan 86 foot dipoles?

It would work great on 60 meters.
But why 86 feet?

73,  Cal K4JSR

Teddy;
   Your Elmer taught you better than that!!!
Build your own stinking adapter, or better yet,
go to HRO (you know the way) or to the Hootchie-
Kootchie Hamfest*** this week end and get the mike
plug for your FT-450.  I know you have a soldering iron---I've seen your burned fingers!!!

    Am I going to have to bring WA4AUU and WD4AVA to
the hamfest with me Saturday to help straighten out
your old, useless retired body out?

    You are doomed to at least 3 hours of my best "worst jokes" this Saturday.  Like the old days on the shooting range, bring your eyes,ears and hat! Dip it, Teddy!!  :-)

73,  Cal "Nobody Expects The K4JSR Inquisition!"

***Locally used nickname for the Kennehootchie hamfest.

I didn't use an attorney.  Not aware of Rule 11.
I used to be a Real Estate Broker and I *KNEW* there
were no CC&Rs for my street as it was not a "developed" neighborhood.  It just happened, country
style.   I think that the Judge had a few words of advice for the HOA attorney as he was wriggling like
a Night Crawler just put on a fish hook!
I had fun with the whole episode.  Out in the country
people fight "city hall" frquently win.  

I have no problem with HOAs or CCRs.  I just don't buy a residence in an area covered with them.  There are plenty of "Boon Docks" left for folks who don't
need or want other folks sticking their noses into
your privacy.  I have no sympathy for those who just contractually sign away their liberties and then cry.

I cannot see why any sane person would want to live in a 0.5 Mega Buck house on a 1/4 acre lot.  Those
places look like ant nests to me.  Might as well live
in the big city (YUK!) and in a Condo.

Some folks love that life style. I never will.

73,  Cal  K4JSR   Bethlehem, Ga. (Don't blink!)