[Elecraft] Balun with a G5RV?

[Charles Greene]

At 09:26 PM 4/21/2002 -0700, Ron D' Eau Claire wrote:
> > When I first got my license a lot of hams were using TV 300 ohm twin lead
> > for feed line, and for folded dipole antennas.  When it rained,
> > the loss in
> > the 300 ohm twin lead went up.  One trick we learned was to coat the twin
> > lead with bacon grease.  Not that I would recommend it today, but
> > it helped.
>
> > 73, Chas, W1CG
>
>Har! I can imagine what the raccoons, and other critters around here (on the
>edge of a wetlands) would do with that bacon grease, Hi!
>
>Actually, a folded dipole made up of 300 ohm twin lead and fed with the same
>twinlead was one of the BEST ways to use that stuff, since it should have
>presented an impedance of close to 300 ohms to the feeder so it did not
>produce a real high SWR on the line.
>
>I did that in my early days too, and experienced the same detuning issues
>though - a sure sign I wasn't very close to resonance. But then I didn't
>even hear about an SWR bridge (nor did anyone I knew have one) for almost
>another 10 years <G>
>
>Ron ,

One local ham had a home made SWR indicator on his 300 ohm feed line.  It 
consisted of two flashlight bulbs and two strips of 300 ohm twin lead each 
about 8" long.  One end of each twin lead was shorted and the light bulb 
was soldered across the other end.  The two light bulbs were placed 
together and the entire assembly was taped to the twin lead, one shorted 
end toward the antenna.  If the SWR was 1:1, the light bulbs were of equal 
brilliance when transmitting.  If there was a SWR, the light bulbs were of 
a difference brilliance, the amount indicated the SWR.  You needed a 
calibrated eye ball.  He was running about 40 watts on 40 to a 300 ohm 
folded dipole.  I guess he used the "indicator" to trim the dipole to 
resonance.

73, Chas, W1CG