On Wed, 30 Jul 2003 07:15:30 +0100, "Ian White, G3SEK"
wrote:

Excellent suggestions, Ian...I sure like the K.I.S.S. method! Gonna
try the dual band approach with a tuner and mybe try some stubs. (I
also liked the homebrew remote tuner using the kids' car
motors....perhaps one day when my projects to-do list drops to the
single digits!)
73
dan (k0dan)

A few more thoughts, in case they're useful to Dan or anyone else:

* It's sometimes possible to make an automatic two-band network. For
example, the same 33ft end-fed vertical can be matched as both a
half-wave on 20m *and* a quarter-wave on 40m, with one network and no
switching. The same goes for a 66-footer (vertical or inverted L) on
40/20, or a 130-footer on 160/80.

* Remember that the remote network doesn't have to give a perfect match.
If the SWR on the coax is below about 3, the extra losses won't be
significant (except in extreme cases) and you can always do the final
"flattening" to 50R in the shack.

* Instead of remote rotary switches, consider latching vacuum relays
which don't require power to hold them closed. There are surplus vac
relays at very reasonable prices at:
http://www.mgs4u.com/#president

* You can reduce the number of control lines by sending cunning
combinations of positive and negative DC, AC out from the control box,
and using steering/blocking/rectifying diodes at the remote end.