[Elecraft] Balun

[Mike Markowski]

Ron D'Eau Claire wrote on 06/09/05 21:57 ET:
> A balun will probably work
> okay, but they become unpredictable when the SWR on the line is high, as it
> will be in your antenna.

I use a classic Zepp and found this out first hand!  A 4:1 balun might
not give a true 4:1 change in that case or could show losses.  In the
other extreme, sometimes the impedance can go low to begin with on a
multiband wire and a 4:1 makes it too low to match.

> Sometimes people actually get out better simply
> hooking one side of the open wire feeder to the K2 case and the other to the
> center pin on the output of the ATU. That produces a large degree of
> imbalance in the feeders, so they'll radiate. That can actually be a help if
> your feeders are out in the clear and pretty much vertical. 

If your feeders aren't out in the clear, a 1:1 balun like the w2du type
with ferrite beads does a much better job of suppressing common mode
currents in the shack.  Of course, you might lose the ability to tune
80m without the 4:1 and then have to play with feedline length.  I like
your line Ron:

> Nothing is as much "black magic" in his Hobby as antennas! 

73,
Mike  AB3AP