[Elecraft] KX1 Antenna Idea

[John Harper AE5X]

>How can you measure that a balun is being effective?
>
>Thanks,
>Martin.


That's a very good question. BTW, I'm the guy Dan worked the other night 
when we had this conversation on 40m - good to work you, Dan.

There are 3 reasons I've never used a balun with my standard "field kit" 
consisting of the KX1 and a 40m inverted V fed with ladder line or twinlead:
1. The KX1's autotuner tunes all 3 bands with this antenna; contacts, 
including DX, are easily made. (http://www.ae5x.com/charon.htm)
2. The main advantage of the KX1 is the integration of so many things that 
previously were seperate items: batteries, paddles, tuner and all the 
interconnecting cabling associated with them. The KX1 leaves not only less 
to take but less to forget to take - been there, done that... ;-)
3. An external balun is one more item to pack (or to forget to pack) and, if 
I bring it, how can I tell if it's doing me any good? Would the guy in Spain 
give me a 579 instead of a 569? I doubt it. If there were a measurable way 
to quantify the advantage, I'd consider packing one along but the advantage 
would have to be practical, not merely theoretical.

John Harper AE5X
Portable QRP: http://www.ae5x.com