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« on: May 04, 2014, 1819 UTC »
I'm new to this community and only have started up my interest in HF SWLing since the late 1970s. One thing I do know (being a scientist/engineer) is that there is a prevalent misconception on antennas for receivers vs. transmitters. Most books and online sites talk about tuning antennas to the proper length/configuration to reduce loss from reflection/impedance etc. for transmitting power.
However, this is not true for receiving antennas. In order to tune a receiver you must reverse the concept. Even if a halfwave dipole is 'tuned' by length to the correct frequency, the power or gain in your receiver depends on the impedance of your feed line and receiver input. Definitely not the same.
That said, I would like to hear other's opinions on this subject and what you have found to be the best HF antenna-receiver combination and why. Do you agree with this myth?
Thanks!