Tech

Do you have a dummy load?

A few years ago I had a problem develop where if it was windy, like today, the SWR would shoot up on gusts. I have a vertical (GAP Titan). Then if the temperature dropped below freezing, the SWR would make things unusable. One morning when it wasn’t raining (I think it was a wet Spring) I took my dummy load and started at the radio and worked my way outside finally finishing at the antenna. I had a commercial choke consisting of a piece of coax with ferrite beads around it. The SWR was FB (fine business) on one side of the choke but bad on the other side. I wrote an article about this and it is in one of the past newsletters. I have no idea why the wind affected it; the cables and choke could not move at all in any wind. I did not see any signs of water in the choke or the connectors. Turns out the choke was not needed and things have been FB since. But, my dummy load got a good workout that day. I have found a loose connector by tracing around with a dummy load. I think in last year’s Field Day preparations, we traced a faulty cable using a dummy load. Everybody should have one. - Joe AA8TA