Richard and Dave, Thanks for the quick responses. It sounds like it is OK
as-is. Using a borrowed MFJ analyzer, I was able to get the SWR literally
flat at 51.9Mhz. The bandwidth is pretty good too: 1.2 @ 50Mhz and maxes
out at 1.7 @ 54Mhz. All in all, I'm quite happy so far.

This is my first attempt at 6 meters and have not made a single contact on
the band since getting my license last year. This year will also be my
first field day which is why I built this beam. Now to figure out if it
has a F/B ratio, forward gain, etc.


Again, Thanks for the help.
Russ (Back to the backyard) ;-)
73 KG6TDX


"Richard Clark" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 20 Jun 2004 19:13:09 GMT, "Shadow 998"
wrote:
Is it normal for a 13" gamma match
to only need 1-1/2" of rod insertion to obtain the proper capacitance?

Hi Russ,

It seems I ran across a short hand for the required capacitance for
the common gamma match that offered somewhere between 2pF and 5pf
times the wavelength of the band. That is, 12pF to 30pF - not much
especially if the rod is a close fit with a small dielectric layer.

73's,
Richard Clark, KB7QHC