#Antenna tuner simulator how to#
#Antenna tuner simulator tv#

Many hams don't realize this, but when an antenna tuner achieves a low SWR for your transceiver, the SWR between the antenna tuner and the antenna is unchanged.įor example, if you have a 2.5 to 1 SWR between the antenna tuner and the antenna, the SWR in that portion of the feed line - let’s say it is your coaxial cable - will remain at 2.5 to 1.

Seems simple, doesn’t it? But as you can imagine, there is a catch - and it’s a significant catch. The result is a 1:1 SWR, and your transceiver is happy to dump its power into the circuit. By using different amounts of inductance and capacitance, the antenna tuner can convert the antenna system impedance to 50 ohms for the radio.

That’s where the antenna tuner comes to the rescue. So, if you want to load all your available power into the antenna system, you need to get the SWR at the transceiver below 1.5:1. It sounds complicated, but all the circuit does is reduce the radio’s output whenever it detects that the SWR has exceeded about 1.5:1. Transceiver manufacturers try to protect your radio from damage by including something called a foldback circuit. Suffice to say that an elevated SWR can be problematic for your radio.Īn elevated SWR can cause high voltages to appear in your transceiver’s output circuitry, and this is never a good thing. We explain SWR in the January/February 2021 issue (see “Untangling SWR”), so I won’t get into it here. If the antenna system impedance deviates too far from 50 ohms, the result is an elevated standing wave ratio, or SWR, at the radio. So instead, manufacturers design radios to deal with 50-ohm impedances at their outputs. They certainly could be more flexible, but that would add substantial cost - and physical size - to the radio. What’s the point of doing that? Well, modern transceivers are only designed to handle a narrow range of antenna impedances. When you reduce the function of an antenna tuner to the bare minimum, it’s as simple as this: It matches the impedance of the antenna system - measured in ohms - to the impedance the transceiver needs to see, which is 50 ohms.

#Antenna tuner simulator how to#

In the January/February 2021 issue of On the Air, we spent several pages talking about antenna tuners, in the articles “Two Types of Antenna Tuner,” “Untangling SWR,” and “Antenna Tuners: Making a Match.” Here’s a closer look at how they work, how to buy one, and other considerations.

#Antenna tuner simulator tv#

Set the TV to Channel 3 or 4 as indicated on the back of your digital tuning device.Īll digital converter boxes and digital TVs are different in terms of scanning procedures.By Steve Ford, WB8IMY, ARRL Contributing Editor.Use a second coaxial cable to connect the “Out to TV” on the digital tuner box to the “Antenna In” on the back of the TV.Connect your antenna coaxial cable to the “Antenna In” jack on the back of your digital tuner box.

The coaxial cable can be plugged directly into your TV’s input jack if it has a built-in digital tuner.įollow these instructions to connect your antenna to a digital converter box or a VCR, DVD recorder, or DVR with a digital tuner: (For more information about what type of antenna you may need, go to ) Step 2: Plug your indoor or outdoor antenna into your TV set or digital tuner device. If your TV set does not fit those criteria, you need one of the following:

After March 2006 and the screen is 25″ or larger.

After July 2005 and the screen is 36″ or larger.

You already have a digital tuner in your TV set if it was manufactured: Follow the three easy steps below to receive free, over-the-air TV.