When you have a mismatch on one end of a line you must introduce an
equal mismatch on the other end of the line.

If there is a mismatch at the antenna end of the feed line that
mismatch is reflected back to the transmitter end of the line. You
must adjust your transmitter matching device or if it is fixed at 50
ohms as most are, you must use a tuner to match the 50 ohm transmitter
to the new impedance that is showing up on the feed line end. That
becomes a mismatch to the 50 ohm line. (The line still maintains it's
50 ohm characteristic impedance.) You now have the same degree of
mismatch on both ends of the feed line.

Look up "conjugate match" in your handbook. Interesting stuff.

Whoooa you say! I am just matching the transmitter to the line. I am
not providing a mismatch to it. Well, you are providing a mismatch to
it because the transmission line impedance you are matching your
transmitter to is not the 50 ohm characteristic impedance of the line.
It is the new reflected impedance caused by the mismatch at the other
end of the line.

To prove it replace the mismatched load (antenna) with a 50 ohm load
so that there will be no reflected impedance at the other end. It will
be 50 ohms at the other end of the line. But now you will have a
mismatch at the transmitter end because the tuner will be tuned to an
impedance other than 50 ohms.


This is easiest to see is when the feed line is a 1/2 wave length
long.
Whatever load impedance you place on one end of A 1/2 wave length line
you will see exactly the the same impedance on the other end of the
line. This is regardless of what the characteristic impedance of the
line is.

If you have a 50 ohm 1/2 wave length line and place a 100 ohm load on
one end you will see that same 100 ohms on the other end. The 100 ohm
load represents a 2:1 impedance mismatch to the 50 ohm line. In order
to feed that line with a 50 ohm transmitter you must place a 2:1
mismatch at the transmitter end of the line. In this case we call it a
matching device. Either way, now both ends of the line see the same
2:1 mismatch to the 50 ohm line.

The transmitter is happy because it sees a 50 ohm load through the
matching device. There are standing waves and reflected power on the
line because of the mismatch at the load end.

The reflected power bounces back and forth between the two mismatches
on the line dumping all of the power into the load except for the
small amount that the line absorbs.

These are the same principles that apply when using sections of line
for impedance transformation.

Regards
Gary