[Elecraft] Re: ATU efficiency and the Elecraft T1

[wayne burdick]

On Aug 8, 2005, at 9:29 AM, Bob Cunnings wrote:

> So far I've not bothered with a balun when running my KX1 into a
> dipole fed with balanced line (using the internal tuner to match) and
> seem to have pretty good results, better than the random wire and
> counterpoise so far (portable operation over poor ground). My thinking
> was that since the whole system is floating with respect to ground
> (I'm usually sitting on a slab of rock), it wouldn't really matter.

Bob,

Operating in this "floating" mode without a balun may be satisfactory 
in many cases. But a balun should be helpful with antennas that present 
a high impedance to the tuner, for two reasons: (1) it steps the 
impedance down by a factor of 4, which may help if the tuner's range is 
limited; (2) it reduces the RF voltage appearing on the chassis. The 
latter is more of an issue at higher power and in SSB mode, where it 
might prevent "hot mic" syndrome.

73,
Wayne
N6KR


---

http://www.elecraft.com