[Boatanchors] An Old Idea

[EP Swynar]

Hi Guys,

The other day I wanted to do some casual SW listening on the bands & had need of a quick-n-easy coupler for use between my zip antenna dipole & Drake R-4 receiver...

I recall reading years ago about using one of those ubiquitous 75-ohm unbalanced to 300-ohm balanced TV baluns (you know the kind I mean---it seems EVERY VCR ever sold in the 80's came with at least one in the box!) for coupling coax-fed antennas to the balanced twin-lead antenna terminals of vintage receivers...well, I'm happy to say that REVERSE connections are just as effective.

I cobbled-up a HB RCA phono-plug-to-"F"-plug adaptor, connected it to the balun from the antenna terminal of the R-4, then clipped the end of the zip cord feeder to the balanced end of same. Voila! A simple, effective set-up that requires NO tuning/adjusting/extra knobs for ANY SW frequency...

...AND I finally got to use one of the vintage TV baluns that have been cluttering the place up here for some 20+ years!

~73~ Eddy VE3CUI - VE3XZ