Questions tagged [impedance]

Impedance is the measure of the opposition that a circuit presents to an alternating current when a voltage is applied. This is a force of much interest to the radio amateur especially surrounding the connection to antennas.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
2 votes
1 answer
89 views

What this E(EL) symbol does mean?

I can't understand what this E(or EL) symbol does mean. I know that Zo means impedance and I can calculate trace width according it, but what E symbol does mean?
  • 131
2 votes
2 answers
70 views

Why measuring Voltage and Current becomes difficult at Microwave frequencies? Why measure Power?

I have been reading some Classic books viz. Techniques of Microwave Measurements - Carol Montgomery, Foundations of Microwave Engineering - Collins, and some other google searches and they all claim ...
  • 149
0 votes
3 answers
113 views

SMA Connector Impedance

I am new to antennas, and am trying to create a monopole that connects to an SMA female to transmit a 2.4ghz wifi signal. I know that the antenna needs to be a multiple of 3.1cm in order to have the ...
2 votes
1 answer
57 views

How can a low-impedance load can damage a FET final amplifier?

I believe I understand how an excessively high impedance can damage a final output power MOSFET (voltage rises until avalanche breakdown). But how does an excessively low impedance do that? If the ...
  • 487
4 votes
3 answers
280 views

What is the difference between antenna input impedance and its radiation resistance?

I got to know that the input impedance of the halfwave dipole antenna is given as: Zin=1/Im* sin(β(H-|Z|)) where Im is the maximum current on the antenna( when excited with a 1 volt supply), H is the ...
  • 43
0 votes
1 answer
43 views

How do you create a DC-blocking ground-shunt that looks inductive in an "L" match?

We are optimizing an impedance match with s2p models for an LNA and found that an "L" match with a serial cap and shunt inductor will optimize to provide +3 dB of output, versus using serial ...
  • 597
6 votes
1 answer
287 views

Non-inductive resistors

When we use a "non-inductive resistor" to check the output impedance of say an unun, say 50ohm 1:1, what resistor type is actually non-inductive, or does it not really matter as long as the ...
  • 657
3 votes
2 answers
333 views

Measuring actual feedpoint impedance for a given frequency

Background I'm attempting to tune an antenna with my NanoVNAv2. I calibrated it using the included open/short/(50-ohm)load standards by screwing them directly onto the NanoVNA one by one and running ...
  • 391
1 vote
2 answers
222 views

How do you calculate the impedance of a parallel-wire balanced feedline (ladder line)?

I've looked around and maybe I'm just searching for the right terms to find the answer. I know that the impedance of ladder line has to do with the distance between wires: What is the generalized form ...
  • 597
5 votes
5 answers
208 views

Antenna tuner at the transceiver output confusion

I am a bit confused. Let's take a HF transceiver for example. My understanding is that the output impedance of the transmitter is 50 ohms. The impedance of the coaxial cable feedline is 50 ohms, and ...
2 votes
1 answer
580 views

Need advice for running coax for HF to my shack

I'm looking for advice for running coax cable to my shack on the second floor of my house. I'm planning to use this coax line for HF (recently upgraded to General!). I'm a newbie and I am very handy, ...
  • 367
2 votes
3 answers
312 views

Why do ham radio operators say that a full wave dipole isn't resonant?

Every reputable antenna book that I've read says that dipole antennas are resonant at integer multiples of a half wave length. Wikipedia describes resonance as: the phenomenon of increased amplitude ...
  • 3,578
1 vote
2 answers
159 views

Does the self inductance and velocity factor of the elements of a dipole antenna change its resonant frequency?

Below are well known equations from Wikipedia for the resistance and reactance in the impedance of a dipole antenna. where $a$ is the radius of the conductors, $k$ is the wave number 2πf/c, $η_0$ ...
  • 3,578
3 votes
1 answer
57 views

Impedance of V Antenna as Function of Angle

I'm trying to experimentally investigate the radiation resistance of a v-shaped antenna. When it's fully unfolded and the reactance is at resonance, the resistance is about 73Ω. When it's folded, it ...
4 votes
4 answers
650 views

Is an antenna always matched to free space impedance?

In this thesis the following model for an antenna is proposed: It is seen as a 2 port network, in which only port 1 is accessible (port 2 is an imaginary connection between the antenna and the free ...
  • 279
1 vote
1 answer
118 views

Obtaining input/out impedance from S-parameters for a L network

This L network intend to transform Z1 to 50ohms. The design was made using a smith chart: The s-parameters plotted (S11 red - S22 green) in the smith chart is done sweeping the frequency from 200MHz ...
1 vote
1 answer
457 views

Crystal Oscillator Output Impedance and Output Voltage

I am working on a project designing a 40 MHz radio transmitter, but I need some clarifications. I need to know how to calculate its output impedance. I know how to calculate common collector's output ...
0 votes
1 answer
121 views

Obtaining S parameters using S11 measurements?

Is it possible to obtain the S-parameters of a circuit with only S11 measurements (S11 measurement with a VNA)? My gut tells me that it should be possible by connecting open, short and characteristic ...
  • 163
0 votes
1 answer
23 views

Is this result correct ? [ impedance cavity based on emtamaterials using CST Microwave]

In the contexte of my reaserch about antenna conceptions, I'm trying to simulate using CST Microwave a cavity antenna based on metamaterial structure and a slot antenna as a GND,However I got as a ...
0 votes
2 answers
1k views

How to use 75ohm (RG6) coax?

I know that there have been many similar threads on this, but I still need clarification. At the moment, the only thing I have is a 500' roll of RG-6 and a (very) tight budget, and I should be ...
  • 199
2 votes
1 answer
254 views

Mutual impedance of two parallel dipole

Good Morning all, I want to calculate the mutual impedance of two parallel dipole. The first hypothesis is to assume that the dipole 2 is in open circuit, nothing difficult here I knew how to do it ...
  • 45
3 votes
1 answer
152 views

Looking for criticisms on my VNA-like SWR meter I am designing

I am in the process of building a SWR meter with VNA-like features. I'd be really interested to hear from fellow hams any input, suggestions, or tips they have regarding this before I go get it mass ...
5 votes
4 answers
1k views

50Ohm Coax presents 50 Ohms of impedance on which frequency?

Either there's a simple answer that I'm not finding in a spec sheet somewhere, or, I'm asking the wrong question!
5 votes
1 answer
333 views

Measuring Output Impedance of an RF (HF/VHF) Active Circuit with Hobby-level Tools

Is there a simple (by simple, I mean a hobby friendly method that trades some accuracy for expense) method of measuring the "actual" output impedance of an active or "hot" RF (HF to VHF) circuit? As ...
  • 967
3 votes
2 answers
242 views

What is the impedance of an off-center fed resonant dipole?

Given a dipole approximately 0.48 wavelengths long, such that when fed in the center the feedpoint impedance has zero reactance, how does the complex impedance change as the feedpoint is moved away ...
3 votes
2 answers
691 views

Is an antenna resonant at the frequency of lowest impedance?

I understand that an antenna is resonant at the frequency where the capacitive and inductive reactance cancel out to 0. Only the resistive impedance remains at resonance. Does this mean that the ...
10 votes
4 answers
300 views

Why are there so many coaxial cable impedances?

Why do we have 50, 75, 62 and 92 Ω coaxial cable, to name a few? Why not just one standardised cable? Is there some technical reason or did Mr. Coax and Mr. Cable have a disagreement, like Mr. Tesla ...
  • 331
9 votes
3 answers
2k views

Impedance ratio vs. SWR

The specs of the Elecraft T1 tuner say, that it can match a 10:1 SWR. What does that mean in terms of impedance ratio? What antenna impedance can it match to 50 Ohm then? Or is it not that easy?
1 vote
2 answers
138 views

Matching a 188 ohm antenna to an unbalanced input that expects a 50 ohm antenna

I am new to RF field and trying to use an Archimedean Spiral Antenna design from this paper to capture 915MHz RF for the P2110B power harvester chip. The estimated antenna impedance is 188 Ohm (see ...
  • 113
4 votes
2 answers
295 views

Pi Matching circut for tube PA - what values?

I am working on my 80m and 40m CW transmitter and ran into a problem: I need to match the high impedance of PL504 to 50ohm coax, a Pi match seems to be the best, but I don't know how to calculate ...
7 votes
2 answers
280 views

Can ferrite beads lower coax cable velocity factor?

For VHF and UHF, it seems reasonable to slip ferrite beads over a coaxial cable to act as a transmission line common mode choke. It also seems reasonable to use beads with the smallest diameter ...
  • 1,042
6 votes
3 answers
2k views

Coax or bifilar windings for a choke?

Making a common mode choke out of bifilar windings has proven rather difficult. For me the difficulty lies in getting the impedance to remain a constant 50 ohms from on the HF bands. I've tried 14 ...
  • 781
7 votes
4 answers
1k views

How can the voltage at the center of a resonant half wave dipole be zero if the input impedance is 75 ohms?

If the input impedance of a resonant half wave dipole at the feed point is 75 + j0 ohms, then if an AC sine wave voltage V is applied to the feed point, how can the voltage at the center be zero ? ...
  • 3,578
4 votes
5 answers
792 views

How can the impedance of a half wave dipole at its resonant frequency be purely resistive when the voltage and current are seemingly not in phase?

A half wave center-fed dipole has a resonant frequency where the input impedance appears to be purely resistive. How can this be, when the voltage and current distribution along the length of a half ...
  • 3,578
0 votes
1 answer
297 views

Reflection Coefficient to Impedance transformation on the Smith Chart

A certain RF transistor has a source - reflection coefficient with a magnitude of .105 and a phase angle of 160°. When plotted on the Smith Chart, the normalized impedance is .825 +j .06 Ω. What is ...
  • 161
5 votes
1 answer
62 views

For air coax calculation, what is correct diameter metric vis-à-vis tube stock thickness?

I am interested in creating a square outer-conductor with round inner-conductor air coax post for a hex beam antenna. I found the extremely useful information at: How do I design a round or square ...
2 votes
1 answer
34 views

The 'plating material' materials and constants of the constants

The 'plating material' materials and constants of the Single-Layer Helical Round Wire Coil Inductor Calculator appear wired-in. There appears no 'un-plated' option. How to use this calculator to ...
5 votes
2 answers
875 views

Antenna Efficiency

Intuitively, we all understand that an antenna at fractional wavelengths will not radiate well even with perfect impedance matching systems. From what I understand the efficiency of antenna has a ...
  • 7,510
5 votes
2 answers
3k views

How can I calculate the 1/4-wave monopole impedance dependence on groundplane angle?

I watched this video of a very nice explanation of a simple dipole and 1/4-wave monopole. In that video they show how you can impedance match the 1/4-wave monopole by bending the 4 (virtual ground ...
  • 378
1 vote
2 answers
3k views

Impedance effect of using 75 ohm coax between transmitter and an EFHW antenna

I have been given several hundred feet of very high quality 75 ohm coax. I need a run of about 36' from my QRP transmitter (FT-817 with elecraft T1 tuner) to an EFHW antenna (about 75' long). Running ...
  • 21
18 votes
1 answer
5k views

How does an SWR meter really work?

For ham radio operators, the SWR meter is a ubiquitous piece of equipment. There are dozens of standalone models on the market and most modern transceivers and antenna tuners have this functionality ...
  • 18.3k
5 votes
2 answers
8k views

Can I use a CB antenna with a ham radio?

I just passed General and purchased a FT-450D with an internal antenna tuner. While my ultimate plan is to use a G5RV, it will be a while before I can get it up. What modifications would I need to ...
3 votes
1 answer
204 views

interdigital (finger) capacitor bank for fine tuning of differential loop antenna

I am attempting to implement a PCB trace antenna; namely the sample in this document. Thing is the 1.17 pF for Cp1 is quite hard to achieve in a cost efficient manner with 0603 caps (I loath those ...
  • 201
2 votes
1 answer
82 views

TX output power increase when fed through filter

I came across a weird case, I have a low power 440MHz repeater transmitter, which I thought to set at about 10 watts. I made this measurement using an accurate offset attenuator and service monitor. ...
  • 7,510
4 votes
3 answers
2k views

What is the output impedance of a typical solid state ham transmitter?

I've often heard that the output impedance is 50Ω, and the load impedance should be matched to that and also 50Ω. While the reasons for the load impedance to be 50Ω are clear, is the output impedance ...
7 votes
4 answers
3k views

What exactly is impedance?

I see "impedance" used everywhere. Equipment has an input and output impedance. Antennas and feedlines all have this 'impedance' thing. For someone that understands DC electronics, Ohm's law and a ...
  • 215
1 vote
2 answers
3k views

How to best connect an FM transmitting GPIO pin to an antenna?

I'm trying to use a RaspberryPi3 as a FM transmitter, using pifm and/or PiFmRds to send audio in 88-108 MHz band. The RPi can then use the GPIO-4 pin to transmit between ...
  • 378
10 votes
2 answers
2k views

What is the actual loss in a feed line with high SWR?

It is well-known that it is unwise to have standing waves on the feed line between one's antenna and one's transmitter, unless it is a very low-loss type (e.g. ladder line), because the transmitted ...
  • 23.7k
3 votes
3 answers
1k views

Unexpected Resonance - Dual-Band Dipole

I tried to make a dual-band (2m/70cm) dipole this morning by following the instructions on this page: http://www.amateurradio.bz/2m-70cm_vertical_dipole_antenna.html, with the rather major significant ...
  • 783
3 votes
3 answers
487 views

How do transmission lines affect the impedance of some arbitrary load?

Let's say I have something like a non-resonant dipole, so that impedance changes depending on frequency and could take any number of values. Whatever that impedance is, how does adding transmission ...