Hi, folks.

Maybe I ought to go back to basic antennas 101 class, but I just found out 
something with my Carolina Windom 160 compact that doesn't quite make sense 
to me.

I am testing out the antenna to see if water got back into it after the week 
of rain we have had here, and I discovered some strange power readings with 
my LDG TW1 talking watt meter.

Right now, my Carolina Windom, such as it is, seems to be resonant on the 
lower end of 80 meters--right around 3.600 MHZ.

As expected, then, when I go to the upper phone part of the band, say around 
3.976 MHZ, my sWR rises dramatically to a blistering 6.0 to 1.  (ouch!!!!!!)


Interestingly, though, the auto tuner in the TS590 tunes the antenna, which 
was a bit of a surprise to me.

I then took some  forward and reflected power readings with my TW1, and was 
told that the forward power was 102 watts, while my reflected power was 52 
watts.

Again, this is with the auto-tuner engaged.

Can someone tell me what is going on here?

To be honest, I'm still a bit hesitant to use the Carolina Windom, given the 
water problems I have had of late.

Would this antenna be safe to use on the top part of 80 meters, since the 
auto-tuner clearly tunes it, or am I just kidding myself here.

And, could I safely use this antenna on the upper part of 75 meters with my 
Tentech 238A manual tuner and Ameritron
AL811H amplifier?

I guess I'm now a bit gun shy.

73 from Tom Behler:  KB8TYJ