Tom, I thought you kicked Murphy out of your town but you must not have shut 
the gate.  Hope you find the problem, good luck
Ed  K7UC
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "tom behler" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2011 8:41 PM
Subject: higher-than-usual SWR readings on 40 meters with Carolina Windom


> Hi, folks.
>
> Well, I got my TW1 back from LDG, and they indeed did fix the volume 
> control
> with no charge.
>
> I thanked them sincerely for doing this, and told them that we blind hams
> all appreciate a commitment to service like that.
>
> Anyway, I was doing some antenna testing tonight, and noticed something a
> bit strange with my Carolina Windom 160 compact antenna.
>
> Tonight's  SWR readings seem to be reasonably in line with what I would
> expect on all bands, except for 40 meters.  On 40 meters, they used to be
> around 1.4 to 1 at the bottom of the band, and about 4.7 to 1 at the top.
> Now, they range from around 2.5 to 1 at the bottom of the band, to about 
> 7.3
> to 1 at the top of the band.
>
> Fortunately, I have my Alpha Delta DXCC antenna, which tends to do better 
> on
> 40 meters anyway, but the change in 40-meter SWR's for the Windom concerns
> me a bit.
>
> Maybe it has something to do with more leaves on the trees than there were
> in the Winter when I took my original readings, but I'm hoping I'm not
> starting with my moisture problem again.
>
> We have had a lot of rain here over the past few weeks, and have had very
> little opportunity for things to dry out.
>
> I have tested all coax jumpers for continuity and tightness, and all looks
> good.
>
> Anyway, I'd be interested in any thoughts that anyone has regarding what
> might be going on here.
>
> Again, I want to emphasize that the antenna still looks reasonably good on
> most other bands and frequencies.
>
> Thanks, and 73 from Tom Behler:  KB8TYJ